Yesterday SLB (NYSE: SLB) introduced the EcoShield™ cementless geopolymer system that minimizes the carbon footprint of well construction. This innovative technology reduces embodied CO2 emissions by up to 85% compared to conventional cementing systems, including portland cement.
The EcoShield system has the potential to avoid up to 5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent of removing 1.1 million cars from the road each year.
“Decarbonizing the well construction process while ensuring safety and performance standards is critical to our industry’s pathway to net zero,” said Jesus Lamas, SLB’s president of Well Construction. “The cement-free EcoShield system is a breakthrough that delivers industry-standard zonal isolation capabilities while significantly minimizing impact from upstream oil and gas production.”
In addition to specific CO2 emissions, portland cement also generates significant transport-related emissions, from manufacturing to deployment. The EcoShield system uses local natural materials and industrial waste streams in its components, making it a more sustainable approach to well integrity.
The cementless system can be deployed at all stages of the well life cycle, including abandonment. It can also be deployed in a range of field applications, including corrosive environments.
In the Permian Basin, Pioneer Natural Resources successfully deployed SLB’s new cementless technology in an 18-well field test campaign and continues to use it.
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This successful pilot project demonstrated the performance of this unique cementless solution while significantly reducing the CO2 footprint of the well construction process. Field trials validated the technology’s ability to adapt to standard oilfield cementing workflows without major changes to the design process, field execution or post-job evaluation.
The EcoShield system is part of SLB Transition Technologies™ portfolio which develops technologies that are aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of energy companies by reducing flaring, addressing methane emissions and electrification of infrastructure.
Read more: SLB and Linde Partner On Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration
