ZL Chemicals to commercialise Chevron's surfactant technology

Chevron’s chemical surfactant technology is set to be deployed more widely thanks to a technology licensing agreement between Chevron Technical Center, a division of Chevron U.S.A. and ZL Chemicals Ltd, a global leader in enhanced oil recovery chemistry

The agreement will allow ZL Chemicals to commercialise Chevron’s advanced surfactant technology which improves resource recovery in unconventional reservoirs, providing an opportunity for broader commercial deployment of this technology. ZL will commercialise and market products and services under the Vantis brand utilising the licensed technology. The Vantis product offering is expected to support applications in shale and tight reservoirs, including base well enhanced oil recovery programmes and new well-optimisation efforts.”

”Technology creates more value when it can be applied broadly,” said Ryder Booth, chief technology and engineering officer of Chevron Corporation. “Advanced chemicals are one of Chevron’s areas of differentiation and have supported innovation in our own operations. Through this licensing agreement, we’re creating a pathway for ZL to bring this technology to a broader market, and at scale.”

“We are pleased to work with Chevron to expand access to this technology across a broader customer base,”said Echo Liu, president of ZL Chemicals. “At ZL Chemicals, we are focused on delivering enhanced oil recovery chemistry and field services designed to support operators’ production and reservoir management objectives. Vantis represents the type of technology our customers are seeking, and we are positioned to deliver it as a scalable, turnkey service - from lab evaluation and QA/QC through application design, on-site deployment, and field execution. We look forward to supporting operators in their efforts to enhance recovery and extend the productive life of their assets across shale and tight reservoirs.”

The agreement combines Chevron’s technology development expertise with ZL’s commercial capabilities and customer relationships. Chevron will continue developing next-gen advanced surfactant technology for its business, while ZL will commercialise products and services using the technology licensed under this agreement.

The Middle East would seem to be a good potential market for Chevron’s surfactant technology given the focus on gas and the development of unconventional resources in the region, an example being Saudi Arabia’s Jafurah unconventional gas project. The largest liquid-rich shale gas play in the Middle East, Jafurah contains an estimated 200 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas.