The Sahara family: Unparalleled sand management solutions for any challenge

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

EnerCorp has led the industry in sand management services, developing the ground-breaking Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone with a sand capture rate of over 97%. Beating all other cyclonic sand separators on the market, the Sahara has made a place for itself in the oil and gas industry and is known by operators for its exceptional performance and results. 

However, we are never satisfied when it comes to innovation. At EnerCorp, our application engineers are always thinking outside the box, looking for ways to improve sand management results for our clients. This is why we’ve expanded the Sahara family even further to include additional desanding solutions that enhance production. 

Each member of the Sahara family is built on the same foundational technology — which means they deliver the same caliber of results. In addition, each piece of equipment can be fully customized just like the original Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone, leading to higher sand capture rates than any other solutions available on the market today. Let’s take a look at the entire Sahara family and see the many ways this hydrocyclone can transform sand management.

Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone

The Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone was the first of its kind, developed through years of research and development. Our application engineers understand that no two wells are alike, so why should each well use the same kind of cyclonic separator to filter sand from the production stream?

Not pleased with the options on the market, we developed a solution that could be fully customized to the well, based on a number of factors, including:

• Range of flow rates for oil, water, and gas
• Varying wellhead pressures
• Various solids and sand particle sizes
• Expected sand volumes

With the release of the Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone, we raised expectations for flowback services in the industry and exemplified to clients just how important it is to choose the right sand management equipment during the flowback process.

High-Capacity Sahara Sand Cyclone

In many geographies and applications, one Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone can replace multiple non-engineered sand management solutions. However, there are certain cases, such as high-producing wells with longer laterals of over 15,000 feet, where operators need to use two Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclones.

When operators want to reduce equipment footprint, labor costs, HSE exposure, and maintenance touchpoints, the answer is the High-Capacity Sahara Sand Cyclone. This sand cyclone was developed using the same industry-leading technology as the Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone. However, it has double the power and double the capacity, offering even more exceptional results.

Operators can still rely on a sand capture rate of 97% or higher, but they no longer need to maintain two separate vessels. Maintaining one sand management unit is easier than maintaining two, especially when it’s important to reduce health, safety, and environmental exposure in the process. 

Sahara Facility Cyclone

While the Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone and High-Capacity Sahara Sand Cyclone primarily provide flowback services, the Sahara Facility Cyclone is designed for the steady state phase. Using the same leading technology as the Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone, this plant desander provides sand management at centralized facilities that are connected to multiple wells.

While sand production does slow down after the initial flowback phase, it doesn’t stop during steady state. However, it’s not viable to have separate sand management vessels at a wellsite during this time because sand production is low — at the same time, you cannot flow directly into a production facility because the small amounts of sand can still accumulate and cause damage.

This is where the Sahara Facility Cyclone shines. It provides sand management services at production facilities that are connected to 20, 30, 40, or more wells at a time, ensuring virtually no sand particles make it through to the production facility. Plus, the Sahara Facility Cyclone is operator owned, so it can be moved to another production facility when it is no longer needed at the first one.

eFlowback

When it comes to flowback services, nothing compares to the innovation in eFlowback. This completely autonomous job site is not one of the future, but of today. Using industry-leading sand separation technology, automation, measurement systems, and cloud-based software, we enable operators to continuously monitor and control their job site remotely.

The linchpin of eFlowback is the Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone. This reliable sand management system is then connected to additional industry-leading technology to create the eFlowback system. It includes:

• Sahara Advanced Sand Cyclone
• Automated choke manifold
• Automated blowdown unit
• Sand quantification unit
• Tank level monitoring system
• Automated control unit
• Cloud-based software

Together, all of these separate units provide real value generation that results in lower operating costs and enhanced safety and efficiency.