Wavefront Technology Solutions: Difference between revisions

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{{More citations needed|date=March 2024}}{{Infobox company

{{Advert|date=November 2019}}

| name = Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc.

{{Infobox company

| logo = NewlogoWavefront.jpg

| name = Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc.

| logo = NewlogoWavefront.jpg

| logo_size = 270px

| type = [[Public company|Public]]

| traded_as = {{Tsxv|WEE}}<br />{{OTC Expert|WFTSF}}

| company_slogan =

| foundation = {{Start date|1997}} by Brett Davidson

| ___location = [[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]

| num_employees = 3127 (''20082010'')

| area_served = Worldwide

| industry = [[Petroleum industry]]

| num_employees = 31 (''2008'')

| products = Powerwave <br /> Primawave

| industry = [[Petroleum industry]]

| revenue = {{profit}} US$1.61 million (''2021'')

| products = Powerwave <br /> Primawave

| operating_income = {{loss}} $1.57 million (''2021'')

| revenue = {{profit}} US$1.53 million (''2007'') [http://onthewavefront.com/Files/IR/Financials/2007/Annual%20Management%20Discussion%20&%20Analysis.pdf]

| net_income = {{loss}} $1.37 million (''2021'')

| operating_income = {{profit}} $7.252 million (''2007'') [http://onthewavefront.com/Files/IR/Financials/2007/Annual%20Management%20Discussion%20&%20Analysis.pdf]

| assets =

| net_income = {{loss}} $4.34 million (''2007'') [http://onthewavefront.com/Files/IR/Financials/2007/Annual%20Management%20Discussion%20&%20Analysis.pdf]

| assets equity =

| homepage = [http://www.onthewavefront.com/ www.onthewavefront.com]

| equity =

| footnotes = [https://onthewavefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-Audited-Consolidated-Financial-Statements.pdf], [https://www.sedarplus.ca/csa-party/records/document.html?id=b967389aed461c4fd943e9fd8bb84b4e8bc9cbdc8a8b343f7dea767d6137aa1e]

| homepage = [http://www.onthewavefront.com/ www.onthewavefront.com]

}}<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Wavefront Heartbeat Moving Gif.gif|right|thumb|280px|Powerwave's fluid pulse expands and contracts porous rock]] -->

'''Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc.''' is a provider of secondary oil recovery and environmental technologies. The company was founded in 1997 as PE-TECH by [[CEO]] Brett Davidson and [[University of Alberta]] professor Tim Spanos.<ref>{{Cite namenews |date=Financials>[httpSeptember 27, 2011 |title=Cantech Letter interviews Brett Davidson, CEO of Wavefront Technology |url=https://onthewavefrontwww.cantechletter.com/Files2011/IR09/Financialscantech-letter-interviews-brett-davidson-ceo-of-wavefront-technology/2007#}}</Audited%20Financial%20Statements.pdfref>{{Better 2007source Annualneeded|reason=The Auditedcurrent Financialsource Statementsis insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]</ref>]).|date=March 2024}} The company was later renamed to Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} The company provides technology to aid in the recovery of stranded oil, which uses pulse technology to simulate the effects of the [[aftershock]] of an [[earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cantechletter.com/2010/10/jim-letourneau-on-wavefront-wavefront-technology-solutionstsxvwee/|title = Jim Letourneau on Wavefront Technology Solutions (TSXV:WEE)|date = 23 October 2010}}</ref> This technology is used for fluid flow optimization having applications in both the environmental and energy sectors. In the environmental sector, the process is marketed as Primawave, while in the energy sector it is marketed as Powerwave.<ref name=Financials/>

The company's [[Powerwave Technologies|'''Powerwave''' technology]] has been put to use in more than 175 well applications throughout North America, including applications in California, Oklahoma, and Alberta.<ref>[http://onthewavefront.com/press_room-quick-facts.html{{Citation Wavefront Press Room Quickneeded|date=March Facts]</ref>2024}}

The company is headquartered in [[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]] , and has offices in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], and [[Cambridge, Ontario]]. The company also has offices in [[Houston|Houston, Texas]] and [[Raleigh, North Carolina]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

== History ==

Brett Davidson and University of Alberta professor Tim Spanos teamed up in 1997 to fulfill a need that they believed to exist in the [[Onshore (hydrocarbons)|onshore]] oil drilling industry. While working on an oil well [[stimulation]] site in [[Alberta]], [[Canada]], Davidson heard from a friend in the industry that there was a need for fast, effective, and inexpensive stimulation treatment for oil wells.<ref name="Nickles">Nickles New Technology Magazine - July 1999. "Good Vibrations"</ref>

Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. was founded in 1997 under the name PE-TECH Inc. (Pulse Enhancement Technology Inc.).<ref name=Financials/> PE-TECH, a [[privately held company]] holding [[intellectual property]], operated three [[subsidiaries]]; Prism Production Technologies Inc., Wavefront Environmental Technologies Inc., and E2 Solutions Inc. (US [[subsidiary]] standing for "Energy and Environmental").<ref name=Financials/> In 2000 the [[shareholders]] of the [[privately held]] PE-TECH Inc. entered an agreement with a [[publicly listed company]] (or in this case a shell of a company) on the [[TSX Venture Exchange]].

WavefrontIn Technology1997 SolutionsDavidson Inc.and was founded in 1997 under theSpanos nameestablished PE-TECH Inc. (Pulse Enhancement Technology Inc.).<ref name=Financials/> PE-TECH, a [[privately held company]] holding [[intellectual property]], operated three [[subsidiaries]]; Prism Production Technologies Inc., Wavefront Environmental Technologies Inc., and E2 Solutions Inc. (US [[subsidiary]] standing for "Energy and Environmental").<ref{{Citation nameneeded|date=Financials/>March 2024}} In 2000 the [[shareholders]] of the [[privately held]] PE-TECH Inc. entered an agreement with a [[publicly listed company]] (or in this case a shell of a company) on the [[TSX Venture Exchange]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

A [[reverse takeover]] of that entity transformed PE-TECH Inc., from a [[privately held company]] to a [[publicly traded company]] under the name Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services Inc. For consistency in name branding, Prism Production Technologies was renamed Wavefront Reservoir Technologies Inc., Wavefront Environmental Technologies was rolled into Wavefront Reservoir Technologies Inc., and E2 Solutions Inc. was renamed Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services USA Inc.<ref name=Financials/> Effective March 27, 2009, the company's name was changed to "Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc."

A [[reverse takeover]] of that entity transformed PE-TECH Inc., from a [[privately held company]] to a [[publicly traded company]] under the name Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services Inc. For consistency in name branding, Prism Production Technologies was renamed Wavefront Reservoir Technologies Inc., Wavefront Environmental Technologies was rolled into Wavefront Reservoir Technologies Inc., and E2 Solutions Inc. was renamed Wavefront Energy and Environmental Services USA Inc.<ref{{Citation nameneeded|date=Financials/>March 2024}} Effective March 27, 2009, the company's name was changed to "Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc."{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

== Rationale ==

[[Image:Trapped Oil in soil.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Diagram of trapped oil in soil and rock]]

== Products and Technologies ==

Brett Davidson and University of Alberta professor Tim Spanos teamed up in 1997 to fulfill a need that they believed to exist in the [[Onshore (hydrocarbons)|onshore]] oil drilling industry. While working on an oil well [[stimulation]] site in [[Alberta]], [[Canada]], Davidson heard from a friend in the industry that there was a need for fast, effective, and inexpensive stimulation treatment for oil wells.<ref name=Nickles>Nickles New Technology Magazine - July 1999. "Good Vibrations"</ref>

Wavefront offers two primary products, Powerwave targeting the Energy sector and Primawave targeting the Environmental sector. The two technologies operate on the same basic scientific principal, utilizing a [[Pulse (physics)|pulse]] that momentarily expands the pore structure of rock and soil to improve liquid flow in the ground.

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Power Pulse Good Vibrations.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Early prototype of the Premier Pulse Tool.]] -->=== Powerwave ===

After using the most sophisticated oil recovery techniques, oil companies only retrieve a fraction of the [[crude oil]] at their sites. The oil well will become too uneconomical to continue pumping because most of the remaining oil is stuck in the nooks and crannies between the rock and sand.<ref name=Enhanced>[http://fossil.energy.gov/programs/oilgas/eor/ Enhance Oil Recovery]</ref>

EvenIn afterthe allenergy sector, Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. has trademarked the workPower isPulse Technology as done'''Powerwave''',<ref>{{Cite aroundweb 60%|title=United ofStates thePatent oiland Trademark Office case 77076902 |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77076902}}</ref> which is leftprimarily infocused theon ground[[Enhanced oil recovery|secondary oil recovery]]. WithPowerwave moreutilizes thanthis 200,000technology fieldsto inimprove the flow of water through [[North Americageological]] alonematerials, extractingincluding even[[sedimentary]] assoils littleand asfractured 10%rock. moreThese oilmaterials wouldare translatecomposed toof billionsa moresolid barrels[[Matrix of(geology)|matrix]] oiland recoveredpore structure, which contain fluids such as gas and oil.<ref name="Shudder">[http://www.albertaventure.com/?p=2828&year=2008 A Shudder in the Oilpatch]</ref>

=== Primary Oil Recovery Stage ===

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Oil Well.png|right|thumb|300px|Diagram of oil well with perforations]] -->

During primary recovery, the reservoir's natural pressure or gravity drives oil into the wellbore, combined with artificial lift techniques (such as pumps) which bring the oil to the surface. But only about 10 percent of a reservoir's original oil in place is typically produced during primary recovery.<ref name=Enhanced/>

But [[petroleum]] isn't the only thing trapped in the earth. Water hides there too. Sooner or later, the reservoir begins producing water, along with oil, and it becomes uneconomical to continue. The oil companies will then re-inject the water back into the reservoir. This stage of production is called [[secondary recovery]].<ref name=Enhanced/>

=== Secondary Oil Recovery Stage ===

Water injection helps maintain down hole pressure so that oil can continue to flow. Water from the injection well is also used to sweep or push them towards the producing wells. But rock in the [[reservoir]] has varying [[Permeability (earth sciences)|permeability]]; the more permeable the rock is, the more easily the fluid can flow through.<ref name=Enhanced/>

[[Image:Paths of least resistance.jpg|left|thumb|275px|Water takes the path of least resistance when pumped into the ground]]

Unfortunately, water flows more readily than oil, and it always takes the [[path of least resistance]]. Once water creates a channel through the permeable rock to the producing well bore, there is little benefit in injecting additional water. It only bypasses the oil instead of sweeping it ahead. The result is poor recovery from the reservoir.<ref name=Stimulation>[http://www.epmag.com/archives/features/2485.htm Oil Well stimulation improved ]</ref>

== Products and Technologies ==

Wavefront Technology Solutions's patented technology was created to combat the "[[path of least resistance]]". In this way, the Powerwave and the Primawave share the same scientific principles. This technology, originally penned as "Power Pulse Technology", uses pulses to improve the liquid flow in the ground for improved oil recovery (IOR) in the energy sector and [[groundwater remediation]] in the environmental sector. These identical processes generate a fluid [[pulse]] that momentarily expands the pore structure of rock and soil. The liquid is then able to flow freely and more uniformly.<ref name=Injection>[http://onthewavefront.com/injection-oil-recovery.html Injection Oil Recovery ]</ref>

Early iterations of Wavefront Technology Solutions's Power Pulse Technology have penned the "Premier Pulse Tool". Premier Pulse Tool, or PPT for short, was a {{convert|2|m|ft|adj=mid|-long|spell=in|sp=us}} steel [[mandrel]] with a valve system on top and inverted swab cups on the bottom.<ref name=Nickles/>

[[Image:Water after powerwave.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Diagram of how Powerwave and Primawave's fluid pulses generate a more uniform flow of liquid.]]

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Power Pulse Good Vibrations.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Early prototype of the Premier Pulse Tool.]] -->

Using a standard well servicing rig, the PPT would be lowered to a ___location above the good perforations. The tool would then be rad up eight meters and dropped. This was done between 200 and 550 times over eight to 12 hours.<ref name=Nickles/>

This workover and field stimulation technique used steady, non-seismic pulse vibrations to knock out [[perforation]] blockage and create a tsunami-like wave effect that encouraged flow in the reservoir.<ref name=Nickles/>

This technology, utilized in both the Powerwave and Primawave, generates a fluid pressure pulse that causes a momentary elastic flexure of the pore structure. This pressure pulse moves the fluid in and out of a larger number of pore networks, obtaining a more uniform injection front.<ref name=Injection/>

=== Powerwave ===

In the energy sector, Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. has patented the Power Pulse Technology as "Powerwave." This process has been field-tested and proven to increase the amount of oil recovered from on shore oil wells, including low-producing or even abandoned fields.<ref name=Revenue>[http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.html?id=9732b369-39db-428b-ac25-01b8d5fc15cb&k=76064 Wavefront ready to flow revenue]</ref> Powerwave utilizes this technology to improve the flow of water through [[geological]] materials, including [[sedimentary]] soils and fractured rock. These materials are composed of a solid [[Matrix (geology)|matrix]] and pore structure, which contain fluids such as gas and oil.<ref name=Shudder/>

The Powerwave tool generates a fluid [[displacement (fluid)|displacement]] wave in the [[porous]] media akin to [[Capillary wave|ripples]] from a stone thrown in a pond. These ripples generate high liquid [[accelerations]] in the pores facing liquids out or treatment fluids in.<ref name=DeepWave>[http://www.halliburton.com/public/pe/contents/Data_Sheets/web/H/H04531.pdf H04531 DeepWave SDS]</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Powerwave Tool.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Powerwave tool today – only one meter high]] -->

In the ten-plus years that the technology behind Powerwave has been developed by Wavefront Technologies and Environmental Services, it has evolved from a product that cost nearly $1 to make and had to be transported using two tractor-trailers to one that can be shipped via [[courier]].<ref name=Shudder/> The Powerwave tool now is only one meter high and eight centimetres in diameter. Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. leases the product to oil companies and charges around $3,000 a month for a minimum 12-month period.<ref name=Shudder/>

Powerwave's ability to improve uniformity in oil wells has translated to higher production rates, extending the life of a field, and enhancing its value.<ref name=Revenue/> In Texas, one recent field trial raised production rates from eight wells by 26%. A similar project in Alberta, Canada initially raised output by 18%.<ref name=Revenue/>

=== Primawave ===

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Power Pulse Tool2.jpg|left|thumb|175px|Premier Pulse Tool in 1998]] -->

In the environmental sector, Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. has patentedtrademarked the Power Pulse Technology as "'''Primawave'''."<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States Patent and Trademark Office case 77076918 |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=77076918}}</ref> Primawave is used largely in the United States. It is licensed to service providers to use the process in conjunction with established methods to treat and eliminate hazardous chemicals from contaminated groundwater.<ref name=Primawave>[http://onthewavefront.com/environmental-groundwater-remediation.html Primawave Article ]</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=March 2024}}

[[NASA]] once used Primawave to clean up soil that had been contaminated with [[tetrachloroethylene]] (dry-cleaning fluid). In the 1960s NASA used hazardous chemicals to remove the soot generated by rockets from the launch site.<ref name=Shudder/>

Years after using the chemical, the area was saturated with [[carcinogens]]. NASA knew that a mixture including iron [[Fill dirt|fillings]] would [[decontaminate]] the soil. NASA then used the Primawave to get the fillings into the ground.<ref name=Shudder/>

==See also==

Line 94 ⟶ 53:

* [[Enhanced Oil Recovery]]

* [[Water injection (oil production)]]

* [[Flood]]

* [[Oil reserves]]

* [[Reservoir simulation]]

* [[Peak Oil]]

* [[United States oil politics]]

* [[Petroleum politics]]

* [[Energy security]]

* [[Oil sands]]

* [[Stripper well]]

* [[Workover]]

* [[Well intervention|WellInterventionn]]

==References, organisations, and major companies==