Chile Looks to New Tech to Bolster Natural Gas Production

Chilean energy company Empresa Nacional del Petroleo, or ENAP, has signed a deal with California-based Upwing Energy—a gas tech innovation service company—to deploy a Subsurface Compressor System to enhance recoverability and production in the country.

The production gains expected to be reached could be as high as 200%., with natural gas reserves increasing by as much as 70%, a Tuesday press release revealed.

The technology centers around a subsurface compressor that is placed miles beneath the surface within the well. Compared to topside compressors, an SCS creates a lower abandonment pressure—the pressure level at which producers determine a well is no longer economically viable—and exerts a much higher drawdown on the gas, allowing for production at a greater flow rate.

Upwing Energy expects that the first unit will be operational on an ENAP well by the end of the third quarter this year, Upwing Energy President and CEO Herman Artinian told Oilprice.com on Tuesday.

The total number of ENAP wells that will employ this technology will be determined after the study of ENAP wells is complete toward the end of the year.

Chile has scant natural gas reserves, and as such, it secures most of its natural gas needs from Trinidad and Tobago through Shell in the form of LNG. Before its LNG terminals were built, Chile imported much of its natural gas via pipeline from Argentina.

The nation’s largest LNG terminal, GNL Quintero, began operations in 2009, and ENAP holds a 20% stake in the facility.

Chile’s energy mix is heavily weighted toward fossil fuels, with coal, oil, and natural gas accounting for 73% of the total in 2022, according to IEA data. Natural gas accounts for 14.1% of the country’s energy mix. While natural gas serves a substantial part of the country’s overall energy mix, it produces less than 20% of its total gas supply, and its domestic gas production has been declining for decades, dropping 37% between 2000 and 2022.

Artinian said that Upwing is currently deploying its SCS technology at various well sites across the United States. “As Upwing continues its international onshore expansion, the company is eyeing offshore deployments with the support of major E&Ps,” Artinian told Oilprice.com.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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