Oil and Gas - A view on the industry status

Unprecedented Status

The oil & gas industry is in an interesting phase of its existence. The previous downturn in the oil industry in 2015 seems like yesterday to me! And here we are in a situation few would have predicted. The oil industry remains critical to the global economic engine. Some may not like that fact, but for now it is. When the great global engine slows down the oil industry is badly affected. There are some interesting things going on and each one on its own would merit serious reflection. All of them at the same time, well, that’s really making life interesting. Interesting times means there are opportunities abound.

The drop in oil demand is unprecedented. Some 10-15% reduction is extraordinary. This is causing oil prices to drop, operators to cut back spending and some smaller or older wells will be shut in.

The rise of renewable energy (exponential growth curve, we know all about that kind of growth now) and the constant reduction in costs of renewables puts pressure on oil & gas.

An Environmental Concern

A growing awareness and concern for climate change and the impact this has and will have around the world is starting to sway governments into action and is starting to make an impact on how people are going about their life. Covid-19 might have switched the focus short term, but this is an issue that won’t go away.

There is growing concern around the world on environmental issues. This may be plastics and how they remain in the environment, leaking of methane from oil and gas wells, oil sludge storage and oil spills and drilling waste being left for future generations to handle.

A Focus on Innovation

As an industry the oil industry has a long way still to go. The lock down of much of the industrialised world in the end only reduced oil demand by 10-15%.  The idea that in a short space of time the world won’t need oil and gas is unrealistic. The opportunity for the industry lies no longer in reducing day rates or laying off some more people. The world is changing and the future in the oil industry will belong to those who can bring genuine new technology, proven in the field to market quickly.

The industry has long had a reputation of being slow to take up innovation. That won’t be good enough going forward. There is competition now and a much greater focus from governments, consumers and NGOs. None of that need be an issue. The oil industry is home to amazing technology and capabilities. Becoming more efficient means lower impact on the environment as well. That is a good thing.

Taking Action…

Governments too, have a role to play. There need to be clear signals through regulation, that the environment is not an add on, not a “nice to have”. The oil industry has fuelled an enormous economic growth and most people today are better off because of it. There is however a lot of cleaning up to do. Leaving the remediation of oil industry waste to future generations or governments or the UN is no longer acceptable. The industry needs to step up if it wishes to keep its social license to operate.

Are you interested in discussing the topic forward? Connect with Mark via LinkedIn:

Delivering a tailor-made solution to your waste

All the best plans come to nothing unless you can deliver on the work and meet the expectations and requirements.

As a team we have worked for 20 years to consistently deliver the results when it matters. Genuine delivery of results means you have to always learn, keep an open mind, listen to others with experience and follow a methodical path towards problem solving.

Delivery of results means setting aside egos and working together to implement the hard work carried out in preparation and planning.

We have a deep understanding of the processes involved in oil waste creation, transport and treatment and once on-site we know how to get things set up and continuously improve the process. For example the dose rate of our chemistry virtually always reduces over the first 2 months of operation as we train and guide our clients in use of the chemistry and running the process. Making a waste treatment process as efficient as we can means building long term relationships. It is why we worked with the Ineos refinery in Scotland for over 10 years to treat the stored oil sludge on site.

Our technology has provided us with a unique capability to handle virtually all oil waste. The versatility of our process and chemistry means that with one chemical we can almost always solve any oil waste issue in the treatment process.

We have hugely enjoyed our work over the past 20 years and the amazing experience of seeing people’s daily work life change because what was a problem for them is now just the daily routine of applying our microemulsion chemistry. We have delivered our solutions from the UK to Canada and from Ecuador to Malaysia and Australia. Together we can get this process delivered to your site as well.

The Problem with Flowback Waste

In this blog, there will be a quick introduction to flowback waste, one possible way to help address this challenge will be discussed and the results from a recent test on a flowback waste sample from the US will be shared.

What is Flowback Waste?

Flowback is the waste generated through the fracturing process. The composition of flowback waste can differ greatly, containing anywhere from 3 – 60% solids with highly variable amounts of oil and water. This unpredictability results in a waste stream that is difficult to treat in terms of separating the solids, water and valuable oil.

Some areas are fortunate enough to have the right geology and regulatory environment to dispose of flowback from fracking operations into injection wells. However, most areas don’t have the luxury of injection, making treatment and disposal a serious issue.

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Cost Transportation Dilemma

One of the major issues related to dealing with flowback waste is the transportation costs. In most cases the water required to frack a well is trucked in, and then the flowback waste is trucked out. Trucking the water in for an average well can easily require 200 truckloads, and shipping the flowback waste out requires even more.   

Reducing the volume of drilling waste, re-using recovered water and in the process reducing the number of truckloads, represents a huge cost saving opportunity for the industry.

So, how is this possible?

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Solution

I’ll use a recent lab test to help demonstrate the possibilities.

The picture below is from a flowback waste sample recently sent to us by one of our US customers. This flowback waste had a relatively low solids content but a significant amount of oil. Separating the waste using heat and other chemistries had been unsuccessful.

We tested the SAS-ES chemical on this waste and within 10 minutes of adding the SAS SludgeTreat product, the waste separated into clear oil and water phases, with a small rag layer of oil/solids in the middle.

If a decanter centrifuge were used to treat the waste, one would be able to achieve an almost complete solids removal and a very good oil and water split.

In the field this would allow for the user to recover virtually all of the water and oil. The much smaller volume of dry solids would then be trucked away to a landfill.

The ability to re-use high quality fracking water has the potential to cut water transport to well sites by up to 80% (or approx.160 trucks). As the solids are such a small part of this waste stream, waste disposal and waste transport costs can be greatly reduced, in some cases by as much as over 90%.

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Final thoughts

There is no doubt that fracking waste, be it flowback or other drilling waste, is a major issue.  The good news is that there are methods that could cut waste volumes and associated disposal costs by an order of magnitude.  

If you’re dealing with flowback waste or other drilling waste, and you’re interested in reducing waste volumes and disposal costs, feel free to get in touch! 

Business Models in the time of Coronavirus

A general consensus is that the Oil & Gas industry is very much a traditional industry. One, where contracts are won and executed over extensive periods of time. One where even winning said contracts may take even more time than executing them. It seems quite paradoxically when we are in the business of ‘making energy’. Energy that puts the world in motion and drives innovation at every other level of our society. So why wouldn’t the Oil & Gas Industry embody exactly that. Innovation that drives innovation.

First of all, what do we mean by a traditional business model. It’s quite simple and a basic economic law – supply and demand. On the supply side we have countries with massive resources, such as Saudi Arabia, the US and the UAE. Each country has private or government-owned companies that either cover the drilling and processing aspect of the industry or the whole supply chain spectrum. The overall objective is to balance the production of oil & gas to avoid market saturation and maintain a profitable price per barrel of oil. It’s on this price that all other industries are basing their own financial structure, knowingly or not.

On the demand side we have customers. We know who they are: governments, businesses, us, everyone in the world. But the ‘us’ of now are different from the ‘us’ from 20 years ago. McKinsey Consulting nailed this in their ‘The Oil & Gas Organization of the Future Report’. Demographically, the bulk of the active labor force is shifting to the millennials. On the operational side with nearly 100% but some also moving up on the executive ladder. And the core drive of a millennial is data. If they require data in their work, they require it in their consumption as well. Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, 5G, all are example of technology driven by data, aggregated in a platform that enables digital control over physical products. And that platform will need extensive amounts of energy. So how rentable it is to just think of Oil & Gas as two boxes that exert opposite forces on a resource. A resource that is not as scarce as we believe. A resource that has several ‘greener’ alternatives, creating a market that is ever increasingly aggressive.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and look at the elephant in the room. COVID-19 managed to reveal both our digital dependency and our social individuality in the same time. The internet allows us to work from home, stay informed, connect with our friends, buy our products and so on. And with each action that we do we reveal a little bit more of our profile. But it does not substitute the human interaction. The best way to express our individuality is face-to-face. And why is that relevant? Because companies in the Oil & Gas industry will be facing clients more digitally adept, persuaded by the power of Big Data but won by Customized Service. After coronavirus, clients and companies alike will know what works on the computer and what just does not. And if it is the latter, the reason is as simple as not being service-centric.

The future business models in the Oil & Gas industry will not start at the resource, it will start at the end-user. It is a manner of reverse engineering and instead of focusing on the technical aspect, we are focusing on the human one. Data can create order from chaos on the technical aspect. But only people can truly create a customized experience. And that is the crux of our believes here at SAS Environmental Services.

3 Reasons Why It's Important to be On-Site for Treatment Trials

Update: We are living strange times where our way of doing business is challenged. It was not always clear why on-site treatment trials were the best approach to designing a customized solution for your waste. However, now, with the current travel restrictions in place and left with no choice it becomes even more obvious that this practice was how the industry was moving forward when dealing with waste.

When working with our clients to find solutions for oil slops and oil sludge treatment challenges, we often spend significant time on-site to fully understand the treatment process and to support field treatment trials.   

Our customers typically work through a 5-step process with us in order to find and implement the best possible solution.

Step 1: Test waste samples in the lab

Step 2: Site visit to fully understand the situation and processing setup

Step 3: Work together to design and run the appropriate field trial

Step 4: Review results and learnings

Step 5: Implement on a larger scale as appropriate

Being on-site for steps 2 & 3 is very important and contributes greatly to a successful outcome.  There are three key reasons why we believe being on-site for these steps is so important:  

“Minor” details can have a major impact – No matter how many telephone calls, web conferences or even face-to-face meetings held prior the trial, it’s impossible to cover every detail. Some seemingly insignificant details can have a significant impact on the outcome.  Many of these details can only become apparent by being on-site and seeing, hearing and feeling the situation.   

Not everything goes to plan – Despite planning every trial thoroughly, in a live waste treatment environment, very rarely does everything go to plan. The waste stream may change, a piece of equipment may break, a key person may get ill and not be on-site… to name just a few. In most cases there’s a solution, but it requires being on-site in order to find a workable solution that still delivers a successful field trial.

If at first you don’t succeed – Every oil sludge treatment situation is unique – the objectives, the equipment, the setup, the waste stream and the operators. Additionally, the SAS-ES microemulsions behave differently from other chemistries. With all of these variables, it is often the case that the first test during a field trial will not provide be the best result. However, because we are able to pull on thousands of past experiences and a detailed knowledge of how the products work, we can very quickly begin to make hypothesis as to what is going on and why. We can then modify and optimize the approach accordingly. Without being on-site this type of rapid testing and learning is more difficult. 

If you think we could help you, we would love to hear from you, get in contact and request a proposal for a SAS-ES on-site evaluation. Easy as that!

SAS is US: John

Behind the story of every successful venture there is always a duo, working together, complementing each other’s strengths to create something meaningful. SAS Environmental Services’ story is by no means different. If you know Mark, you know John as well. And vice versa. John Harrison is our lovely, hard working COO, based in Houston, Texas. And here is his story.

So, as always, let us start with a simple question. What is your background?

Born and raised in the Yorkshire dales, in my opinion one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. I've always been a countryman at heart with a huge appreciation for nature, for wildlife and the natural world. I'm a huge fan of wild, remote places and in both protecting and actively conserving fragile environments and ecosystems. I did consider a career in conservation having carried out a considerable amount of volunteer work after I graduated for the likes of The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the John Muir Trust. I still actively support many of these charities and aim to continue this commitment.

My first degree was a BSc(Hons) in Environmental Sciences from University of Aberdeen with a Post Grad Certificate in Business Development from Glasgow Caledonian University, thus bridging the gap between science and commerce. I always knew I would need both skill sets if I were to make any level of positive impact on the planet during the course of my life. One of my big breaks came in 1999 with the winning of the Royal Society of Edinburgh & Scottish Enterprise Research Fellowship Award - one of 5 that year. Since this moment I have never really looked back.

I first decided that I wanted to go into pollution control and environmental cleanup when studying for A-levels at school. One of the courses covered industrial pollution and I was so horrified by the blatant stupidity of what I saw happening in the real world when carrying out much of my coursework that I decided there and then to spend my life trying to improve things. In many cases what I saw simply didn't make sense to me - it wasn't even about the money and expense to clean up waste. The efficiencies of doing so would have potentially made businesses more profitable. It was simply that people didn't seem to care or couldn't be bothered and this was a red flag in my face. The same passion drives me to this day when I see lakes or mountains of many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of tonnes of oily waste, slops and sludge lying in areas that have remained untreated, sometimes for decades.       

How did you come up with the idea of SAS Environment?

My first job after graduating Aberdeen University was working with Scottish Water & Napier University Pollution Control Unit to try and revolutionise the way in which industrial wastewater treatment discharge limits were set, based around toxicity rather than using arbitrary numerical values, and to address the challenge of how to monitor and regulate this new approach. I was part of a European project and worked on both the industrial and academic side of the argument. The general concept was orientated around regulating and charging customers using a more focused methodology relevant to the toxicity of wastes and volumes being discharged thus reflecting the severity of the impact on Waste Water Treatment Works. Thus customers would be paying directly relative to the amount of pollution they were causing. I also carried out some independent consulting work around the type of potential test kits that could effectively be employed.

This led to a role as a Research Associate at Napier University in Edinburgh and an introduction to an emerging industrial cleaning technology (microemulsions) that could be targeted towards environmental cleanup and, perhaps even more importantly, waste prevention, particularly so in the global Oil & Gas sector. I could see the potentials were both enormous and with wide ranging impacts. Based on this I founded SAS with Mark, who shares a similar mindset and aspiration, back in 2000. We've spent the last 20 years developing, certifying and commercialising the technology to become a mainstream of the O&G industry. Having our technology being copied by other, sometimes much larger corporations, has been one of the biggest compliments and has now allowed SAS to establish much more efficient product lines with some of the worlds largest and most influential operators. In this sense I believe we have achieved our goal of changing the way in which this industry works, for the better, saving companies many millions of dollars, whilst also cleaning up and preventing the production of many millions of tonnes of oily waste.  

How do you think the Oil & Gas Industry will look in the next 10 years?

I believe the industry will be much more efficient, which is good news for everyone. In particular I believe that successive downturns have driven this need for efficiency and continues to do so. In this respect waste minimization and waste prevention will become much more important considerations for operators as well stimulation and remediation enabling more production with less drilling, less fracking, therefore much less waste production and significantly less logistics. Indeed these aspects are now becoming KPIs for many corporations which now drive their onward trajectories. The same can be said for mid and downstream operations in the sector and we now see similar trends in refinery operations for example. Simply producing and discharging continued large volumes of oily waste is no longer a cheap or ethical option. In addition, diversifying into cleaner and more renewable energy technologies is a continuing trend that I believe will see the whole industry transform in the coming decades.     

What is your commitment to the environment?

In a nutshell I have always wanted to leave the planet in a better state as a result of my work and my life. I believe that everyone should share at least a part of this same ambition, one way or another, and to act upon this ambition in a meaningful way. This is what drives me every day and I have no problems getting up in the mornings...! 

If you enjoyed reading John’s backstory, don’t hesitate to connect with him via LinkedIn by clicking here.

4 Ways That SAS-ES Minimizes Risk for Oil-Contaminated Waste

Update: In the last weeks we looked at what the SAS ES Process is and why it is unique. The answer is simple. It is unique because your waste is unique and we tailor-make the solution for you. This article was published last year and looks our chemicals more in-depth. It is a great addition to give you a comprehensive overview of how we design our solutions.

We are frequently contacted by consultants and waste treatment professionals looking for solutions for treating oil-contaminated waste such as slops, muds, tank bottom sludge and refinery waste. They explain they’re looking at both chemical and thermal solutions, and are weighing up the pros and cons. The number one reason for seriously considering SAS-ES as part of the solution is risk reduction.

Here are 4 reasons why SAS-ES offers you the lowest risk option, and why you should take a serious look at SAS-ES chemical based system before committing to any significant investment.

1. CapEx: The SAS-ES chemical based system often requires low capex because it is sometimes possible to use existing equipment or even simply gravity separation. If no equipment is available, the capex will be less than $1m per MIST System. Thermal units cost in the region of $5m - $7m per unit. 

1. Throughput: The SAS-ES chemical based system has a throughput of 6-20T/hour. Thermal units typically have a throughput of 2-6T/hour. This enhanced throughput will significantly increase the revenue generating potential from the operations.  

1. Flexibility: The SAS-ES chemical based solution is effective on a wide range of waste types, ranging from very “wet” to “drier” wastes. Thermal units are only effective on relatively dry waste. If the waste has too much liquid, the thermal unit is ineffective. The increased flexibility will allow you to treat a wider range of wastes, reducing the risk of receiving waste you simply can’t treat.

1. Low Risk Test: If you have a centrifuge and oil contaminated waste, for only a few thousand dollars it’s possible to get very accurate cost/performance data on your specific waste stream, allowing you to develop a solid business case. With the SAS-ES approach, it is possible to spend only a few thousand dollars to potentially save $5m-$7m! 

The reality is that in many cases it is a combination of using SAS-ES chemical first. The key is understanding when to use what. For high volume, low capex, high flexibility, and risk minimization, the SAS-ES chemical solution is tough to beat.  

Find out more about our chemicals for oil waste treatment by visiting our website today! 

The Importance of Getting to Know Your Oil Contaminated Waste

Update: At SAS ES we have a process. And it has proven to be a success for all our clients. But this is a process of co-creation and cooperation. You enable us to design the perfect solution to your challenge by understanding your waste and understanding your situation. Check out one of our older articles where we explain how we are partners in treating waste.

When it comes to oil contaminated waste, knowing is half the battle. 

We talk to 100s of companies every year who are seeking solutions to their oil contaminated waste challenges. For about 80% of the cases we’re able to offer an effective solution. We’re able to deliver this level of success because we’re obsessed with truly understanding the waste and the overall solution.

Without understanding the waste and the broader context of the situation, it’s virtually impossible to offer a workable solution. In this post I share the types of questions we ask in order to get to the root of the problem and offer a viable solution. If you’re dealing with oil contaminated waste, you may find these questions useful as you explore possible solutions.

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Understanding the waste: Over the last 18 years we’ve come across just about every type of oil contaminated waste… sludges, slops, drill cuttings, drilling waste, drilling muds, slurries, tank bottom sludges, refinery waste, thick emulsions, crude sludges, and many many more. In some cases, the terminology can be misleading. Some will call a “slop” a “sludge” or “drill cuttings” a “drilling waste”, and sometimes we just get, “it’s ugly black stuff”. This is why we are less concerned about the terminology and more concerned about the actual waste. For us, it’s not critical what it’s called. More important issues are what’s in it, what’s the objective, and what are the economic drivers? 

To effectively understand a waste, it’s important to ask some very specific questions:

1. Specifically, what is the source of the waste?

2. Is it all one type of waste or is it a collection of different wastes?

3. If it’s a collection, specifically, what are the sources?

4. Does the waste come from one site or multiple sites?

5. Specifically, what has been done to the waste over what time frame?

6. What is in the waste? – be as specific as possible. 

After answering these questions, everyone should have a pretty good idea of what we’re actually dealing with. This will give us a reasonable starting point for finding a solution.

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Understanding the situation: The next step is to understand the full context of the situation. This can vary greatly depending on the waste, the location and the nature of the project.

There are some key questions we always ask:

1. Specifically, what are you trying to achieve? Why? Why? Why? – Sometimes the first answer doesn’t provide the true motivation.

2. Do you require the “perfect” solution or just a “better” solution? – While the starting point may be to find the perfect solutions, in many cases a “significantly better” solution is an excellent result. Where perfect may be cost prohibitive, “significantly better” may be feasible.

3. What are the implications if you don’t find a solution?

4. What are the drivers? – Oil recovery? Disposal costs? Access to water? Processing capacity? Waste volumes? Storage space? 

The answers to these questions will significantly influence the design and implementation of the best solution. Understanding the entire situation enables the development of the best solution.

If you have an oil contaminated waste treatment challenge, truly understanding the problem is the only way to find the right solution. These questions help us and hopefully they will help you in finding the right solution for your situation.

If you think we could help you find the right solution for your oil waste treatment please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you! 

Why Innovative Suppliers are the Key to Winning Big Contracts

Update: This article was posted last year , and due to the current situation, this topic is more relevant than ever. COVID-19 will demand a more innovative approach to business modelling and chain supply selection . Despite being a more traditional industry, the energy sector will be just as influenced by this major economic disruption.

In the oil and gas industry major oil service providers are frequently bidding for large contracts (9-10 figure deals). It goes without saying that these contracts are highly competitive, with each service company looking for any edge they can get.

It is in these types of situations, that companies, who have developed and nurtured strong relationships with innovative suppliers, are able to reap the benefits. 

Here are three main reasons why working closely with innovative suppliers is key to winning big contracts:

1. Attention grabbers: Innovative suppliers always have something new to bring to the table. When you’re looking for something to set you apart, innovative suppliers can give you something that will grab the attention of the key decision makers. This “attention grabber” may also help you reduce your costs or allow you to offer a much stronger value proposition.

1. You don’t know what you don’t know: Your suppliers will know the true capabilities of their products and services. They will know what’s possible and what’s not. You may think you know, but in many cases you only know a small part of the whole story. Working closely with suppliers will allow you to maximize the full potential of their products/services in ways you never imagined. 

1. A win/win relationship: Great suppliers understand that when you win, they win. They are truly vested in your success. They will work with you to help you be successful. A strong supplier/vendor relationship should result in an extremely well-aligned set of interests and objectives.

Some may say that this is unrealistic in the cut-throat oil and gas industry. We say this mentality is essential to success in the cut-throat oil and gas industry. Working closely with great suppliers creates a true competitive advantage. We’ve seen this first hand, as both a supplier to major service companies who have won significant projects incorporating our technologies, and as a vendor who has won significant work as a result of our strong relationships with our network of suppliers.

So, why not give your suppliers a call today and see how they can help you win your next big contract.

SAS is US: Mark

Last time we looked at one of the newest members of the SAS team. Today, we are going to get to know better one of the founders of SAS Environmental Services. If you have heard of SAS, and probably you have, because you are reading our blog, then you have heard of Mark, our fearless leader and CEO. In this interview we get to know a little bit more about his background and motivation. Without further ado:

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Hi Mark.

Hi Laura.

Let’s start with the basics. What is your background?

Well, it seems long time ago when I lived in Holland and studied environmental engineering in Groningen. The European Erasmus program brought me to Edinburgh for a year of study. I ended up working on the production of biogas from whisky industry waste. Fun work and our labs were based in the gardens of a beautiful old villa. Wonderful team of people to work with as well.

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How did you come up with the idea of SAS Environment?

Together with John we worked on the unique microemulsion technology and we discovered that there was a lot of oil waste being produced in the North Sea and elsewhere. Especially the liquid slops waste and oil sludge was often not treated or simply by heating it all up. Our microemulsions were perfect to separate this waste. Both John and I have an environmental sciences background and so we wanted to do something every day that makes the environment better, removes hazardous waste and helps people everywhere live in a healthier circumstance. It has been and remains fun, stressful, challenging, frustrating and hugely rewarding. I feel very lucky I travelled the world and made friends everywhere and worked with so many different, supremely qualified people.

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How do you think the Oil & Gas Industry will look in the next 10 years?

I see the easy questions are coming out! The Million-dollar question. There is no doubt the energy industry is going through major changes and the growth in renewable energy supply will increasingly have an impact on fossil fuel demand. However, the world still needs enormous amounts of oil and gas to function. Virtually everything is still touched in some way by oil and gas. Materials are made of it, transported using it, etc. Having said that I think the oil industry will increasingly need to show responsibility for the environment. There are many good companies and people in the industry, and I hope they will get the opportunities to show the world that this key industry is going to do the right things.

One key element I strongly believe is that international funding organizations, commercial banks and governments are going to increasingly push for and fund the cleanup of historical waste from exploration and production activities. Much of this waste is in open to the air ponds, pits, lakes and lagoons. We need to go and sort this stuff out. It would also employ tens of thousands of skilled employees around the world.

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What is your commitment to the environment?

Personally, I like living in a healthy environment. Being in a forest is a wonderful experience and taking my kids for a wander around Scotland or elsewhere is always brilliant. I want to leave the world in a better state than it was when I first entered the world! Things are improving everywhere, and the human race is incredibly resourceful. We will sort the problems we have to sort. I am an optimist but firmly realistic about the work that has to be done.

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Thank you, Mark.

If you wish to know more, connect with Mark via LinkedIn.

Until next time!

Designing a Solution that delivers

I was at a trial once in Aberdeen where our chemistry was used to treat some particularly difficult oil drilling waste. The results were not good to put it mildly. We knew the chemistry worked as we had done the initial assessment. We also knew the equipment was fine.

The problem of course was that the process was not well designed. The wrong equipment was being used with our chemistry. Equipment used for solids control was being pushed into a waste treatment role with a totally new type of chemistry and so the engineers onsite went with what they knew. Not a good day at the office!

However, the fastest and best learning comes from getting things wrong and within a few days we turned things around. An important lesson to take on board. It is crucial to design the right process including waste handling on-site, equipment included, skills required and managing and disposing of output materials and all this while taking into account the location (remote site in Africa, next to a refinery, offshore Canada?).

Many of our clients are companies that have invested in waste processes and equipment unsuitable for the waste being treated or not capable of meeting the expected and required outputs. Our job is to help and try to augment or adapt the process in place so performance can be improved using our unique chemistry. In many cases this can be done with fairly limited changes. In some situations, the process in place is wholly unsuitable and a new process needs to be put in place.

Design is not just the decision on whether a decanter centrifuge is needed. Design includes the establishment of a treatment plan, a site plan and that key understanding of what needs to be achieved by the client.

As a company we have found our unique place in the oil waste treatment industry by specialising in designing and delivering the right solutions all based around that amazing chemical technology that separates out oil slops and oil sludge.

Energy world today: Where are we heading?

Last time we discussed the state of the energy industry, its environmental impact and its effects on traditional business models during one of the most challenging times in the 21st century. Today we are going to look closely at how the industry is shifting. The global socio-economic mutations are rapidly adjusting to the COVID-19 context, but not fast enough to get ahead of the curve. In this situation, most energy companies are trying to mitigate the damages. Others are getting ahead of the competition. And some are repositioning in an effort to help now and be relevant in the future.

With the recent apparent breakdown of the OPEC+ agreement Saudi Arabia and Russia have started a mute war on oil price. The first bold move comes with the increase in oil barrel production planned for April. Saudi Aramco will see a 1 million increase to 13 million barrels per day (Mmbpd). This trend is picked up by the neighboring countries with ADNOC increasing its supply to 4 Mmbpd with plans to reach a 5 Mmbpd target.

But this action won’t affect only Russia. The United States were the biggest producers in 2019 with 17.94 Mmbpd and an 18% market share. The US is seeing dissension in its approach of the current pandemic but still responded to the current energy climate. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state made a direct appeal to Saudi Arabia to ‘rise up to the occasion’ and cease its current war with Russia. It goes without saying that with the current oil price drop – of 20% globally - the US cannot hold indefinitely against the Middle East. Chevron will reduce its capital expenditure by one-fifth, a staggering sum of $4bn. Philips 66 will cut spending by $700m to $3.1bn across the year. They are joined by international giants like Shell and Total who are also planning to cut spending by $5bn to $15bn and $20bn respectively. This financial restructuring, together with other major trends such as China’s (5% of world oil production market share) faster deceleration in energy demand Iran’s (4% of world oil production market share) socio-economic structure completely overwhelmed by COVID-19 will definitely shake the Top 10 largest rankings of oil producers of 2020.

This glimmer of the current status-quo may provide clean energy companies to provide innovative solutions to the current crisis that could offer the same input without the long-lasting effects of fossil fuels. However, clean energy companies, like everyone else are facing the same economic slowdown. Unlike their counterparts, the clean energy sector does not benefit of a safety net. The draft of the 3rd phase of the US stimulus package contains no energy related funding beyond $3 billion aimed at the strategic petroleum reserve. If we look at the economics of the renewable energy, the oil and gas lower prices will put under pressure the renewable energy sources. This in turn will dramatically affect the supply chain itself. Without a proper policy support. The clean energy sector will be forced to wait for credit markets to recover, allowing cheap hydrocarbons and fossil fuels to negate any developments seen in 2019.

With the worst oil crisis in 100 years, the fact that the oil industry is struggling to cope with the effects of COVID-19 crisis leaves us in an urgent need of innovation. The energy industry will not be the same after this crisis. The Oil and Gas industry was already under pressure before the current crisis and once the world emerges from the Corona virus pandemic the energy industry will need to genuinely innovate and collaborate. Simply cutting oil industry costs & day rates, as after the previous downturn is not going to be sufficient. From here on only companies with a genuinely novel and unique proposition and technology will be able to deliver improved value to the end customer.

There is substantial work to do in the environmental remediation of the legacy created by the oil industry. There is also substantial improvement to be made in environmental practices in the day-to-day work carried out to bring essential oil & gas to the global market.

This is a situation where those who dare will lead the industry.

SAS is Us : Laura

March 2020 is definitely the month of ‘change’. We are all experiencing challenging times. The way we learn, work and socialize is shifting. It will mean that inadvertently our values will become clearer and motivate us to try new experiences. This applies to SAS ES as well. In the beginning of March we launched our new website. We wanted to personalize your experience on our digital ‘headquarters’. But most importantly, we wanted to become more transparent in our process and to clarify what we stand for, how we work and how important the relationships we have with our clients are.

You may have noticed the information we now made available on our history and our team pages. If you were expecting to see the ‘handsome’ faces of Mark and John, then you won’t be disappointed. But you may have noticed a new person. The person who designed the new website, and who is still learning the ‘trade’. As it happens, that person is me.

With this new series of weekly articles, we aim to introduce each member of our team. Those whom you may know and the more mysterious ones. This week, we are starting with the newest SAS member A.K.A. me. I must warn you, it will be an interview like article, which I suppose would work when you have two different people. For me it will be more of a monologue aimed at my screen. Without further ado:

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“What do you do for SAS Environmental Services?”

Laura:  Most of my tasks are related to the creative side of the business. I started by building the new SAS website. I’m looking at creating a ‘rebirth’ strategy for the social media part. I am creating content for the digital space. But I’m still learning, so I’m always grateful for guidance from the team. Before working for SAS ES, I worked in the tourism and hospitality industry. I have a good experience in services and how to deal with people, but less of the technical know-how required in the Oil & Gas industry. However, I am learning every day!

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 “You’ve worked in a service industry, previously. What do you think about the Oil & Gas Industry?”

Laura: Energy is something that we all need in this day and age. It solves so many other existential issues. It powers innovative technologies that save lives. That being said, assuming responsibilities and finding ways to perform your business where you contribute positively to the community and minimize your negative impact is an ethos to live by. We are headed in that direction. But the 20th century energy legacy remains with all the oil waste being stored and we have to solve that.

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“What do you find the most compelling in your work at SAS?”

Laura: The passion that everyone has for saving the environment. Seeing how worse it can get either makes you give up or try to find a solution. We are just one tiny planet. We cannot travel anywhere else, we cannot survive anywhere else. So, if we don’t take care of home, how are we going to live? It’s not something that starts now and blends into the future. We have to look at our past as well. Mark and John’s idea for SAS ES 20 years ago was exactly that. Well if you ask them, they won’t explain it like I did, but the gist is they wanted to help somehow. They wanted to provide a solution to a problem that exponentially increased, and it wasn’t trendy or ‘sexy’ to look at. Now, everyone looks at it. So, I guess, you can call them some sort of pioneers.

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“How will you contribute to the environmental problem SAS is trying to solve?”

Laura: I will do my best to have SAS’s voice heard through different mediums. I think we have a worthy cause to support. It’s not an easy one. It didn’t look so important or at least something that would impact the current generation. And all things said, up until recently, we weren’t built to have a generational thinking. But given the current crisis the world is facing with COVID-19, things will change. And the way we appreciate our planet will change as well. I’ll be SAS’s interface to the world.

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Thank you, Laura, for your interview. You’re welcome, Laura.

So, maybe you’ve found out a little bit about me. I wanted you to know that despite being a novice to this industry, with a lot more things to learn, I do stand by SAS’s vision of making the environment cleaner and helping the energy sector in achieving their social responsibility objectives. If you want to know more, check out my LinkedIn.

Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s interview. Who do you want to know more about? Mark or John? What kind of questions would you ask them? Check out our Facebook poll and leave a comment. Stay safe and healthy! Until next week!

Laura

Assessing the waste parameters

In my previous blog post on the process we use at SAS Environmental Services to deliver the right solution to each of our clients I covered the importance we place on understanding the issues surrounding the oil waste and the required outcomes to achieved.

In this blog I want to talk a little bit about the second step on the road to successful waste treatment. We call it the “Assess” step and it really contains a lot of our experience of gained in successfully managing oil waste projects and the effectiveness of our unique chemical technology in new and existing operations.

Because we have a unique chemical technology that enables a whole new way of treating and managing oil based waste the assumption is often that the chemistry needs to be tested on the waste itself. In most cases this is not needed as we already know from 20 years of operations where the chemistry will be effective and where it will not. The assessment here is about the exact parameters of the oil waste in questions and the nature of the treatment process. Oil waste such as slop or sludge is almost always variable in composition. This means any effective treatment process will need to have several steps. This can include a pre-screening step, blending in of solvents or oil or water and the use of heat. The assessment going on at this stage is the determination of the steps needed to take the waste from one state (the start) to another state (treated). This often takes the form of conversation with the client and at times some additional lab work to confirm and evaluate the impact of these waste manipulations.

“The assessment here is about the exact parameters of the oil waste in questions and the nature of the treatment process. ”

— Mark Zwinderman | CEO

Once we have an outline of the steps needed to treat the waste and we have a clear view of the operational circumstances (Remote site? Power availability? Space?) we can sit down with the client and discuss the economics of the process, what investments are required and to what extent the existing infrastructure can be augmented using our technology to improve results.

At this point we have a clear picture of the steps needed to treat the waste and the operational circumstances in which to treat the waste. There is also a good understanding of the expected economics. That means it is time to “Design” the process and solution! More on that step in the next blog.

Understanding the issue

The process we have at SAS Environmental Services to ensure we get the right solution to the right customer for the right waste is something we developed over the past 20 years.

You cannot deliver the right solution to the customer without first making sure you understand the project, the customer, the waste and the required outcomes. At the same we have to always work and improve on making sure what we do and what can do is clear to the customer. Understanding is harder than it seems and in life we all are often guilty of assuming we understand the other person’s point of view or problem. Follow-on questions and a genuine curiosity in solving the problem are critical for success.

We have a few (not so secret) weapons. First of all we have a unique chemical technology based on microemulsions that allows us to treat oil waste and achieve results not possible any other way. It’s amazing and we are very proud of our technology and products and especially the kind of results we enable our customers to achieve.

Secondly, we have a genuine curiosity and desire to understand the oil sludge problem, to understand the operational and logistical issues in treating waste in the desert, jungle, North Sea or Canada (in the winter. Seriously. I love Canada, the people and whoever invented the heated steering wheel).

One of the exciting parts of our work is speaking to you, to our new clients and learn more about the waste, the history of the waste and what we together have to do to call it a success at the end of the project.

A very small example of understanding and asking the right follow-on questions goes back to a small project in Canada. We were asked if we could treat drill cuttings. A waste that for us, in our experience, consisted of relatively large rock cuttings. Substantially sized solid particles you would wash with our chemistry and then dispose of. Once we got to the site the waste in question was liquid mud waste contaminated with fine solids. An interesting conversation followed on what “cuttings” are. We compromised and all we agreed these were very small drill cuttings indeed. Different chemistry and engineering required and a different outcome to aim for.

One person’s oil sludge is another person’s oil slop. Give us a ring or send us an email with your waste and your requirements and let’s see if we can start working together and get an understanding of the project.