Chevron licenses advanced surfactant technology for shale oil recovery

(WO) — Chevron Technical Center has signed a technology licensing agreement with ZL Chemicals Ltd. to commercialize Chevron-developed surfactant technology designed to improve resource recovery in shale and tight oil reservoirs.

Under the agreement, ZL Chemicals will market products and services utilizing the technology under the Vantis™ brand, expanding commercial access to a chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) solution that Chevron has developed and deployed in its own unconventional operations.

The technology is intended to improve recovery from existing shale wells while supporting optimization of new wells in tight reservoirs.

"Technology creates more value when it can be applied broadly," said Ryder Booth, Chevron's chief technology and engineering officer. "Advanced chemicals are one of Chevron's areas of differentiation and have supported innovation in our own operations."

ZL Chemicals will provide the Vantis offering as a turnkey service, including laboratory evaluation, quality assurance and quality control, application design, field deployment and operational support.

According to the companies, the agreement combines Chevron's technology development capabilities with ZL's commercialization expertise to broaden deployment of advanced surfactant technology across the unconventional oil and gas sector.

Chevron said it will continue developing next-generation surfactant technologies for its own operations while licensing selected technologies for broader industry use through commercial partners.