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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - DECEMBER 2011
C
anChem obtained its technology from Turbo Resources in 1989.
Tobey Petersen, president of Canadian Chemical Technology,
says: “The goal was to develop chemicals and processes to solve
problems in the oil and gas industry. Since the mid-80s we have
experienced enormous success with our products.”
The flagship CanChem product is Turflo/
HF (a specialized phosphoric / hydrofluoric
acid system), which was developed in 1981 to
solve completing problems in Lake
Maracaibo in Venezuela. Wells were drilled
into a deep, 6,000-metre and over 200 o C
production horizon. The conventional
methods for stimulation were unsuccessful.
With the help of Dr. Nick Mungan (a
leading reservoir engineer), the firm
developed an acid system with unique
properties, including low corrosivity and
high temperature stability. The research also
established that a number of problems
associated with conventional hydrofluoric
acids were not an issue with the Turflo/HF
product.
SUCCESS IN WELL STIMULATION
In the mid-1980s, Turflo/HF was very
effective in stimulating injection wells in
sedimentary formations in Western Canada.
Since then, the company has experienced
enormous success stimulating wells in most
of the sandstone formations and fields across
the West. It has also been used
internationally, in countries as diverse as
Algeria, Romania, Trinidad and the USA
(Alaska, California, Gulf of Mexico, and
Texas).
“We manufacturer these chemicals
primarily for well stimulation,” says Peters-
en. “We have unique chemical systems:
solvents,
descaling
acids,
and
non-
conventional HF acids. We have conventional
acid systems as well including non-sludging
hydrochloric acids. We have also gotten into
developing some unique scale inhibitors for
inhibiting silica based scales in ASP (alkaline
surfactant polymer) floods, which are not
easy to find in this industry. We are doing
field trials with them now, and they are
proving to be very successful. Not only are
we active in our chemical stimulation
business but we are also getting involved in
some production chemical areas.”
BUSINESS GROWTH
The privately-owned business, services
clients in the oil and gas industry throughout
Western Canada using a unique approach of
problem identification, problem remediation
using custom chemical solutions, job
organization, supervision and follow-up.
“The oil and gas industry is very cyclical
and the market rarely changes in this
respect,” says Petersen. We have learned to
adapt to the cyclical nature of the oil and gas
industry. Cliff White, Vice President of
Marketing understands the ups and downs
of the oil and gas industry. He is a key
element to the success of the business and
has been marketing CanChem’s products
and services since inception. So what does
CanChem do during slower times such as the
slow-down in 2008?
“We tighten our belts and focus on
marketing and our customers’ needs,” says
Petersen. “It is the time to do those
housekeeping things that we have not had
time for when things are crazy, focusing on
some interesting projects: research and
development, policies that need to be
changed, or health and safety issues.”
HEALTH AND SAFETY
All companies, whether in the oil or gas
industry or not, are required by law to have
a health and safety program in place.
“Because it is a requirement, and it is our
mandate to ensure that everyone who works
with us is safe, we have developed those
standard policies and incorporated other
policies that make sense for our business,”
says Petersen. “There is no point in having a
safety policy in place if it is not useable. Our
focus is to encourage our employees and
contractors to get comfortable with our
CANCHEM - INDUSTRY FEATURE
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