Cabot honoured with UNIDO chemical leasing award

Cabot Specialty Fluids (CSF) is recognised for its sustainable business model at the 2010 UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) chemical leasing awards.

Traditionally, oilfield chemical companies sell their products to oil companies and hope that the user’s inefficient management of the chemicals creates high consumption and increased sales opportunities for the chemical provider. This out-dated business model encourages inefficiency and waste.

Brine reclamation is at the heart of Cabot Specialty Fluids’s sustainable business model

Starting in 1997, CSF broke with tradition by leasing cesium formate brines to oil companies as HPHT well drilling and completion fluids.

With this model, CSF retains ownership and stewardship of the chemicals at all times and charges the client for the number of days they are used in the field. At the end of the project, the fluids are returned to CSF for reclamation and leased out to the next client. By careful management, CSF normally recovers and re-uses around 80 to 85% of the brine. The virtual decoupling of payment from consumption encourages better chemical management, with the end user and the chemical provider both having a common interest in:

Conserving chemicals, which reduces overall raw material, water and energy use
Minimising waste, as the cost of disposal is moved from the user to the chemical provider

The chemical leasing business model allows the user to concentrate fully on the project knowing that the chemical provider carries the responsibility for managing the enabling technology from cradle to grave.

UNIDO is devoted to reducing unnecessary consumption of finite chemical resources. Encouraging innovative concepts, such as CSF’s sustainable chemical leasing model, is an integral element of UNIDO’s green industry initiative, hence the creation of the global Chemical Leasing Awards with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. Ms. Petra Schwager, Project Director for the UNIDO global Chemical Leasing programme, says: “Chemical Leasing has proven to bring economic and environmental improvements to participating companies as it allows them to be more competitive. The award system recognises companies and consultants who have made outstanding contributions towards the development and advancement of chemical leasing programmes.”

CSF has leased cesium formate brine to over 250 well construction operations around the world. Clients and leasing partners are the major oil companies, including Statoil, Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, ENI and Total. Jim Turner, General Manager of CSF, says: “As long-time champions of the chemical leasing model in the oil segment, we are delighted to receive the UNIDO Chemical Leasing Award in recognition of our sustainable approach to business”.

UNIDO is hopeful that its Chemical Leasing awards will further enhance the global visibility of chemical leasing and encourage more widespread application of the concept by the oil industry.

For more information go to www.chemicalleasing.com.