RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – RTI International has struck an exclusive licensing agreement for a chemical time-release technology with EnKaps, Inc, which maintains two dual headquarters in Research Triangle Park and in Texas.
EnKaps develops and delivers reliable chemical release products to reduce oil and gas operating costs and increase production per well, according to their website.
The licensing deal gives EnKaps exclusive rights to develop, market, and sell RTI International’s chemical time-release delivery technology, FloShell.
“We seek to commercialize our most promising technologies as an important aspect of our mission to improve the human condition by turning knowledge into practice,” said E. Wayne Holden, president and CEO of RTI, in a statement.
Increase production and reduce environmental impact
Preliminary results indicate that the technology has the potential to reduce operating costs, increase oil and gas production, and provide additional or new information about oil well and oil reservoir performance, said the organization.
The FloShell technology is a tunable, micro- and nanoparticle encapsulation technology platform. The technology allows the controlled, time-released delivery of oilfield chemicals in reservoirs, and according to RTI, is similar in concept to the controlled release technology used in many long-acting medicines manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry.
“Continued pressure on operating costs, renewed drilling activity and higher oil prices have expanded the industry’s appetite for new technologies,” said Kevin Bowles, CEO of EnKaps.
According to the company’s market research, oil and gas companies leave behind 50–75 percent of oil and gas reserves in reservoirs due to ineffective chemical applications or cost prohibitive extraction technologies.
The FloShell technology, deployed properly, could increase production and result in better environmental outcomes compared to traditional methods, said Bowles, as fewer chemicals will be needed to extract oil from wells and reservoirs.
As part of the transaction, EnKaps will manage existing and develop new energy industry relationships, and lead market adoption through commercial pilots. EnKaps and RTI International will work together in an ongoing collaboration, said a spokesperson for RTI.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
