SAN LEANDRO, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII), the leader in pressure energy technology for industrial fluid flows, today announced the release of MTeq, a pumping solution engineered to increase productivity and reduce operating costs in the mud pumping process in Oil & Gas drilling applications by rerouting abrasive fluids away from high-pressure pumps. In conjunction with the MTeq product launch, Energy Recovery announces a partnership with Sidewinder Drilling LLC as its first early-stage partner for the solution.

MTeq utilizes Energy Recovery's innovative PX^TM Pressure Exchanger^TM technology, currently used globally in desalination, and applies it to the upstream Oil & Gas drilling and mud pumping process. This is in keeping with the central imperative of the company's long-term strategy to develop derivatives of the Pressure Exchanger technology and subsequently identify channel partners with which to bring new technology to market.

MTeq creates value by protecting pumping equipment in a critical process related to drilling oil and gas wells called mud pumping. During mud pumping, a drilling fluid, also known as drilling mud, is circulated from a mud pit through the borehole to remove cuttings, control formation pressures, and lubricate the drill bit. Although the mud pumping process removes most of the solids from the drilling mud, some debris and sand remains and subjects the pumps circulating the fluid to extreme wear, resulting in burdensome repair and maintenance costs. MTeq is installed as a barrier between the mud pits and the pumps, thereby allowing the pumps to process clean, particulate-free fluid, and not the particulate-laden fluid that lends to component failure.

By requiring pumping equipment to process only clean fluid, MTeq will enable a fundamental shift in drilling rig system level design, allowing for the use of centrifugal pumps, which offer greater reliability and cost efficiency to drilling service providers. Upon this shift, operators will immediately unlock value by reducing pump repair and maintenance costs, reducing planned and unplanned rig downtime, increasing overall operational safety, and decreasing mobilization cost and rig up and down time.

Importantly, Energy Recovery's early-stage partnership with Sidewinder will allow for product field testing and development, validation of the technical envelope and operational parameters, and ultimately, the definition of the path to full commercialization. 

Energy Recovery's President and CEO Joel Gay stated, "We have severally described our technology value proposition as being ubiquitous; namely that we can create significant value for the industrial end user in any application that presents high flow rates, large pressure differentials and high-capital intensity in the form of pump expenditures. Oil & Gas is the most target-rich industry in this respect, and mud pumping within drilling applications presents a unique opportunity to leverage our fluid physics and material science capabilities to develop and deliver an entirely novel and potentially disruptive technology, the MTeq. Given what appears to be a sustainable market upswing and subsequent recapitalization, we are excited about the prospect of fundamentally changing the rig system-level design through the introduction of centrifugal pumps as substitutes to the incumbent plunger pumps, an option only possible through the integration of the MTeq. We are further enthused to work with a well-respected and technology-focused service provider such as Sidewinder to further validate the MTeq, integrate it into their rig configuration and advance the technology toward full commercialization." 

Mr. Gay continued, "We seek to institutionalize Gatling-like product innovation with the objective of developing one derivative of the Pressure Exchanger annually. The launching of the MTeq is the offspring of this program and is further progress toward the achievement of our long-term strategy. We look forward to collaborating with Sidewinder throughout the field trial process."

Jon Cole, CEO of Sidewinder Drilling, stated, "We are very pleased to have executed an early-stage agreement with Energy Recovery. We believe that the MTeq pump technology will lead to better drilling performance for our customers; while reducing mud pump downtime and expendable expense. Providing superior drilling performance is critical to our customer relationships. Working with Energy Recovery to validate the MTeq technology will provide benefits to Sidewinder and our customers."

Additional information on Energy Recovery's MTeq system, including a video animation, can be found on the Company's website at www.energyrecovery.com.

About Energy Recovery
Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) recycles and converts wasted pressure energy into a usable asset and preserves pumps that are subject to hostile processing environments.  With award winning technology, Energy Recovery simplifies complex industrial systems while improving productivity, profitability, and efficiency within the oil & gas, chemical processing, and water industries.  Energy Recovery products save clients more than $1.8 billion (USD) annually.  Headquartered in the Bay Area, Energy Recovery has offices in Houston, Ireland, Shanghai, and Dubai.  Learn more at www.energyrecovery.com.

About Sidewinder Drilling
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Sidewinder was founded in 2011 and formed to build, own and operate premium land drilling rigs and to provide contract drilling services for exploration and production ("E&P") companies targeting unconventional resource plays in North America. Through acquisitions and construction of rigs, Sidewinder has built a contract land drilling company with a large scale, modern asset base focused on delivering the high performance drilling services required by operators seeking to efficiently and safely develop unconventional oil and gas resources. Sidewinder's long-term strategy is to capitalize on the activity in unconventional resource plays by expanding the Company's existing customer base and by operating in all phases of field development, from exploration and delineation drilling to full-scale commercial development. Visit: www.sidewinderdrilling.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including our belief that MTeq will increase productivity and reduce operating costs in the mud pumping process; our belief that MTeq will enable a fundamental shift in drilling rig system level design including the use of centrifugal pumps; our belief that centrifugal pumps will immediately unlock value for operators by reducing pump repair and maintenance costs, reducing planned and unplanned rig downtime, increasing overall operational safety and decreasing mobilization cost and rig up and down time; and that we will be able to commercialize MTeq. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and on management's beliefs, assumptions, estimates, or projections and are not guarantees of future events or results. Potential risks and uncertainties include our ability to achieve the milestones under the licensing agreement with a subsidiary of Schlumberger Limited and the risks discussed under "Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 10, 2017 as well as other reports filed by us with the SEC from time to time. Because such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, our actual results may differ materially from the predictions in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and we assume no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact

Brian Uhlmer
buhlmer@energyrecovery.com
(713) 858-2284

 

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SOURCE Energy Recovery, Inc.