Oil Drilling Operation Eliminates Sand from Salt Water Disposal Wells

Oil Drilling Operation Eliminates Sand from Salt Water Disposal Wells

No longer the victim of excessive and expensive high-pressure pump repair costs, Marshall Exploration of Logansport, Louisiana installed several Lakos In-Line Separators to eliminate sand from saltwater and now reports savings of more than $600 per month. The saltwater, remanent from their oil drilling and refining operations, is disposed of by means of high-pressure injection into the ground. Gravity-fed from huge holding tanks, this brackish water passes first through a Y-strainer and then directly through the Lakos Separators for removal of sand and abrasive grit before reaching the system’s high pressure pumps for deep well injection.

Says Philip Blue, Area Supervisor for Marshall Exploration, “Without the separators, we were spending at least $600 every month to repair or replace the pumps’ plungers, ceramic heads and seals. Valve damage was also a big problem. Now, we can keep operating efficiently for more than five months without such problems. That’s a big savings for us.”

Blue also points out that shutting down for pump & system maintenance is also costly. “When we have to shut down for repairs, it takes two men over 2-1/2 hours to get our system going again,” says Blue. “Now, we simply purge the separators each week…and that doesn’t force us to shut down.” By eliminating these troublesome solids, Marshall Exploration also enjoys maximum injection characteristics with less chance of plugging the underground formations. “We’re very pleased with the benefits and value of our Lakos Separators,” says Blue. “It saves us a lot of money.