Our R&D center in Atlanta provides research and product development in chemistries for application in our core application areas of stimulation, cEOR, water treating and soon production chemicals. Our applications lab in Houston focuses primarily on providing predictive performance data of commercial products under our customers’ conditions. Our team of chemistry and application experts in both labs can respond quickly to support you with tailored applications testing and problem solving.
Collaborative Partner Through The Full Project Cycle
cEOR Application Case History
- Early customer engagement in long projects provide a higher chance of success in reaching field implementation
- R&D focus on developing representative methods and tailoring products for specific customer conditions and targets
- Yard trials, injection trials and pilot trials are supported prior to full field implementation, identifying potential challenge
- Once field injection is achieved, application support is provided during initial injection and throughout field life
Sterling involved from Customer engagement to project completion
Capabilities
Drilling & Cementing
- Standard drilling fluid evaluations
- Drilling fluid rheology and filtration
- Drilling additive evaluation
- Cement defoaming and fluid loss
- Cement compressive strength
- Cement conditioning & simulation
Production
- Scale modelling
- SI Static & Dynamic testing
- Core flood testing
- Defoamer FEAT testing
- Advanced water treatment
cEOR/IOR
- Single Phase Injectivity
- Dual Phase (oil recovery) testing
- Gel strength testing
- Rheology, Viscoelasticity
- Stability Testing
- Surface tension & Wettability
- Polymer synthesis and manufacture
Stimulation
- FR Flow loop
- Viscoelasticity and viscosity
- Hydration time
- Handling characteristics
- Regain Permeability
- Polymer synthesis and manufacture
Sterling Developed Solutions
At Sterling Specialty Chemicals, our R&D team thrives on collaboration and innovation, driving solutions that meet the toughest industry challenges. From concept to commercialization, our experts partner with customers to develop advanced chemistry that works.
XFR
Pushing Performance in Challenging Waters
- Market Need: Achieving consistent friction reduction and proppant transport in high-brine environments with elevated divalent ions, at the most economical cost.
- Development Process: Through an iterative approach and close customer collaboration, we refined prototypes based on real-world feedback and rigorous testing in their conditions.
- End Result: A versatile product line designed for diverse water chemistries, including those with high calcium and magnesium content.
SterGuard
Precision in Scale and Deposit Control
- Market Need: Effective scale inhibition in oilfield applications, with the ability to monitor active concentrations at the producing well.
- Development Process: We engineered tailored scale control chemistries to target specific deposits like barium sulfate. Next, we incorporated fluorescent tags for tracking application performance and measuring active concentrations at injection wells.
- End Result: Our solution helps operators prevent reservoir damage while optimizing chemical usage and cost, ensuring long-term protection and efficiency.
Novel Liquid Polymer (NLP)
Ultra-High-Solids Emulsion for cEOR
- Market Need: Reducing transportation costs and enhancing safety for chemical emulsions in offshore cEOR applications
- Development Process: In close partnership with a North Sea operator, we developed the Novel Liquid Polymer (NLP)—an ultra-high-solids emulsion that’s twice as concentrated as traditional formulations. This breakthrough reduces volume while maintaining quality and performance
- End Result: Our NLP solution delivers a 50% reduction in transportation needs, significant cost savings, and improved safety by minimizing offshore transport risks. The continuous collaboration led to a 2nd generation NLP that further optimizes efficiency and performance.
