Camcon Reveals Application to Boost Oil Reserve Exploitation

19 April, 2006 - Camcon Technology has unveiled a new technology application that will increase the volume of oil that can be recovered from the world’s reservoirs as well as reduce operating costs. Developed specifically for the oil and gas industry, Camcon’s Intelligent Gas Lift configuration is part of Camcon’s Binary Actuator Technology (BAT) . The application enhances the recovery of oil from reservoirs by introducing gas injection management capabilities to improve extraction flow.

Oil fields start their lives with sufficient geo-pressure , allowing for efficient extraction of oil. However, as extraction proceeds and geo-pressure drops, artificial lift has to be employed. It is estimated that up to half the world’s oil wells currently require artificial lift.

The volume of oil lifted by gas injection is determined by the size and frequency of the gas bubbles injected. Traditionally, the valve settings are fixed and based on best estimates, frequently causing bubbles sizes and the amount of gas injected to be too little or too great, creating an inefficient method of extraction.

Camcon’s Intelligent Gas Lift configuration can monitor oil flow rates, consider external conditions such as pressure and temperature. It can also adjust both bubble size and bubble frequency to respond to the flow characteristics encountered and so achieve maximum lifted flow volumes at all times.

“As the demand for energy resources increase, oil operators are under pressure to recover even more from today’s oil fields. Our Intelligent Gas Lift technology is ideally suited to help oil operators meet such a demand, ” said Ian Anderson, COO, Camcon Technology. “Major oil operators have already expressed considerable interest and tested this application.”

Camcon’s technology can be implemented in other industries where fluid application processes demand accurate, repetitive dosing that can be modified to suit prevailing conditions, such as crop spraying in agriculture, ‘pulse sorting’ in food processing, and medical and pharmaceutical dosing.

Intelligent Gas Lift configuration will be demonstrated at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, 1-4 May 2006, stand number 2650.

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About Camcon
Based in Cambridge, UK, Camcon Technology is a small fast growing company focused on the research and development of the Camcon® binary actuator. The high-speed, low energy consumption, low heat dissipation and long life characteristics of the Camcon® binary actuator mean that it has applications in a whole new range of areas, as well as being a replacement for existing actuator and valve technologies.

Camcon is funded by ACUS Managing Partners, an active management venture capitalist that specialises in funding early stage technology companies. For further information check: www.acus.co.uk.

Camcon Technology licenses its technology to customers, typically on a field-of-use basis. The company develops pre-production prototypes for customers on a consultancy basis and then hands over designs either to its customers to manufacture in volume, or to a manufacturing partner.