PATENTED TECHNOLOGY
UPDATED JANUARY 2, 2004
WaterBank® has become a focal point for many aspects of the water and oil and gas business including the sale of patented technologies or technologies for which patents are pending. This page lists these technologies as they become available. If we think the technology is new and different with significant market potential and if the technology has little or no competition in the marketplace, we will list it here.
EDM FAST TOOL
The EDM FAST tool is a revolutionary new device that:
1. Permits the collection of formation fluid samples on the fly; and,
2. The conduct of pressure build-up tests of the producing rock strata while drilling;
3. Reduces overall time and cost by up to half.
It is no longer necessary to:
1. Set and cement casing; and,
2. Shoot the casing, set packers, and install DST tools to test a well and produce fluids.
The FAST tool is ideally suited to exploration programs.
Casing decisions can be made at total depth based on actual production characteristics rather than on down-the-hole geophysical logs.
The FAST the tool sits directly above the drill bit or above the drill motor in very deep boreholes. It is capable of pulling environmental samples for ground-water contamination projects or water supply wells. It is capable of pulling samples of oil, gas, and/or water as well as allowing drill stem tests or aquifer performance tests.
The FAST tool is constructed of stainless steel and contains a multiplicity of ports through which formation fluid enters the drill string and is extracted at the surface. The tool exists in two versions: one for shallow use and one for deep oil and gas exploration and production evaluation up to depths of 20,000 feet. EDM has been told by major oil and gas production companies that the use of the tool for formation testing in the North Sea could save up to $700,000 per test. The shallow tool has widespread use in ground water quality investigations in connection with ground water exploration and ground water contamination studies.
EDM has filed patents on both versions of the tool. The U.S. Patent Office has allowed the 19 claims filed for for the shallow FAST tool. The deep FAST tool is still under review. EDM has filed for PCT protection worldwide.
On December 16, 2003, the U.S. Patent Office granted EDM Patent No. 6,662,644 B1 on the shallow FAST tool.
In August, 2002, EDM conducted a demonstration project for the Los Alamos National Laboratories near Los Alamos, New Mexico. Long activity in the design and production of nuclear weapons has led to some ground-water contamination. An extensive ground-water-quality investigation is underway at Los Alamos. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate that ground-water samples could be collected more easily as drilling progressed. This demonstration project is more fully explained by clicking here.
EDM seeks to license the technology for cash consideration, royalties, and a consulting contract for technology transfer and training., EDM is looking for environmental, water supply, and oil and gas exploration firms that have national and worldwide activities.
For further information, contact:
Dr. William M. Turner
WaterBank
610 Gold Avenue, SW - Suite 111
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Tel: 505-843-7643
Fax: 505-246-2232
Email: wturner@waterbank.com
UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2004
On February 11, 2004, EDM announced that it is working on the development of a correlative technology of emplacing sensors above the drill bit and transmitting specific information to the surface while drilling. This will enable deployment of the FAST tool immediately to verify information obtained from the sensors.
