Announcements

PRIME delivers core treatment needs, and can deliver clear effluent for further processing such as water softening and desalination

Los Angeles, CA – March 3, 2015 – OriginOil Inc. (OTC/QB: OOIL), developer of Electro Water Separation™ (EWS), the high-speed, primarily chemical-free process to clean up large quantities of water, announced today the launch of CLEAN-FRAC™ PRIME, a standalone product designed to provide core water treatment for frac flowback and produced water applications in the oil and gas industry.

The launch followed successful trials in Bakersfield processing produced water from heavy oil in California’s Monterey Shale Formation. A company-produced video outlines the new system.

CLEAN-FRAC PRIME removes up to 99.9% of all free and emulsified oil, and 99.5% of suspended solids from oil & gas wastewater, while also removing certain dissolved contaminants that will co-precipitate, and continuously disinfecting bacteria.

Available in capacities of 250, 1000 and 5000 barrels per day and beyond, CLEAN-FRAC PRIME bundles OriginOil’s core EWS technology with ‘heavies’ removal on the front end, intelligent controls, and a final post-polishing system, all in a single product. (See exploded diagram.)

“CLEAN-FRAC is the product line that both licensees and customers can deploy right now, and PRIME is its basic building block,” said Bill Charneski, President of OriginOil’s Oil & Gas Division. “You can actually deploy CLEAN-FRAC PRIME standalone for a number of wastewater treatment applications in the oil & gas industry, such as waterflooding. Our downstream partners will now have a standardized input to do additional water quality processing for specific requirements, such as water softening.”

CLEAN-FRAC PRIME is a precursor to downstream processes that remove other contaminants, such as scaling or cross-linking chemicals that inhibit hydraulic fracking effectiveness. Downstream technologies are provided by “design partners” including Tri-Sep and Dow Chemical.

The company published a roadmap outlining these connections.

“CLEAN-FRAC PRIME is designed to remove virtually all suspended contaminants, and even some dissolved solids,” said Lee Portillo, VP of Engineering of the Oil & Gas Division. “All components are built on a single skid with a common SCADA control system which will enable automatic control of the process, and remote monitoring and alarms. It can be built as a mobile or fixed system with quick water and power connections.”

VP Portillo has been responsible for all of the testing to date, including wastewaters from the gas fields of western Colorado, the west Texas intermediate oil fields and the Monterey heavy oil fields of California.

Portillo continued, “Each of these waters has been unique, but EWS technology has proven flexible and robust enough to handle these widely varying challenges. We’ve tested in the Monterey Shale, and initial results demonstrate tremendous success in reductions of oil and grease, total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity and biological oxygen demand (BOD) to below the lower limits of the test – in other words, non-detectable.”

“At Bakersfield, we’ve had a unique opportunity to bring potential clients to see the equipment at work in the field,” said Jean-Louis Kindler, OriginOil’s Chief Commercial Officer. “If proposals for North America, the Middle East and Asia are a measure of future success, CLEAN-FRAC PRIME is a much–needed solution.”

For every barrel of oil, the petroleum industry handles on an average of eight barrels of water. Based on data from Shale Play Water Management magazine and Bluefield Research, up to $163,000 can be saved on a typical frack job, which could add up to seven figures over the life of a well undergoing hydraulic fracturing. And according to the same sources, treating produced water for reuse instead of disposing of it can reduce the cost of oil production by an average of $4.20 per barrel.

“With the drop in oil prices, operators are searching for ways to cut costs dramatically. Most are making the obvious choice of cutting manpower and other expenses. A growing number are realizing that they are spending a controllable fortune on the trucking and disposal of produced water,” Charneski added. “In addition to saving significantly on the cost of a barrel of oil, this water can benefit drought-parched areas like California, and help the industry develop its image as a good neighbor.”