Laboratories & Technical | North America

TECHNICAL & ANALYTICAL SERVICES

Creedence Energy laboratory and technical services

Creedence Energy Services offers analytical and technical services with our primary labs in the Williston and Permian Basins. With the investment of a state-of-the-art analytical laboratory in both Williston ND and Odessa, TX, Creedence can provide quick turnaround of the analyses necessary to optimize chemical programs and be responsive in times of need. Our experienced team understands the challenges of analyzing fluids in all majors basins in the United States and can overcome the complexities and matrix effects to accurately and reliably provide results. Combined with Creedence’s outstanding service, the addition of Analytical and Technical Services can diagnose challenges, develop precise chemical programs, and advance understanding of production systems.

Meet the Team

Vice President of Technology

Eric Nelson

Eric graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of North Dakota with a B.S. in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Prior to Creedence, Eric was a Technical Specialist for Baker Hughes Upstream Chemicals designing and assisting in chemical applications and diagnostics. Before that role, Eric managed the Baker Hughes analytical laboratory in North Dakota, from its inception, and assisted in the onboarding and quality assurance of laboratories across the North American Geomarket. During college, Eric worked in UND's Chemistry Department's Analytical Research Laboratory and is an included author in the Journal of Chromatography B. Prior to Baker Hughes, Eric was a research assistant at the Energy and Environmental Research Center in the Applied Geology Laboratory, focusing on research related to Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Eric's current role in Creedence extends from research and development of new chemistries and application methods to technical diagnosis and recommendations and continuing education of the Creedence Production Chemicals team.

Technical Trainer

Dan Bestgan

Dan has over 15 years of experience in production chemicals with a strong focus on technical support and application optimization. Dan holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. During his time with Baker Hughes, Dan held roles of Technical Support Specialist and Technical Support Manager prior to joining Creedence spring 2023. Dan has been published for his collaboration on papers focusing on CO2 corrosion and ESP runtime increases. Dan’s historic experience has made him knowledgeable in system optimization and troubleshooting challenges such as SWDs, H2S, corrosion, scale, emulsions, and paraffin. Dan currently utilizes his experience to help train Creedence personnel on technical skills and knowledge along with mentoring members of the Production Chemicals division.

Senior Technical Advisor

Stan Rogers

Stan has over 15 years of oil field production chemistry experience and has a M.Sc. in Geochemistry from Montana Tech. Stan has held roles of Sales, Account Manager, and 13 years as a Technical Representative for ChampionX supporting operations in the Rockies Region and the Williston Basin. In addition, Stan provided support to ChampionX phase separation Research & Development Team and technical expertise across the U.S. in other basins. Stan is a very knowledgeable technical professional which brings additional experience and expertise to the Creedence Team. Stan also helps to support the growth of additional technical resources through mentoring and training field and service personnel to provide solutions to customer issues in the field.

Senior Technical Advisor

Dewey Berger

Dewey has over 41 years of oil field production chemistry experience and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Dickinson State University. Dewey is a seasoned chemist, with skills in sales, technical sales, business development, product development, applications engineering, and technical management. Dewey balances broad professional and technical expertise with an ability to listen and meet the needs of customers, resulting in account retention and growth through a consultative approach. His unique ability to creatively apply technical knowledge, quickly grasp new technology, and successfully apply skills to help with carious production issues oil and gas companies may face, makes him an asset to the Creedence Team. Dewey is also a long-standing member of both the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) and Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)

Analytical Director

Melyssa Ostler

Melyssa Ostler joined Creedence in 2017. Prior to her joining the team, Melyssa was the Lead Analyst for the Baker Hughes Upstream Chemicals Laboratory for four years. Since starting at Creedence, Melyssa designed and implemented the Creedence Laboratory, which has expanded and evolved to what it is today. Since the lab's inception, maintaining a less than five-day turnaround and continuing the highest level of quality assurance is the cultural norm in the Creedence Laboratory. Melyssa's area of expertise is method development, along with the analysis of complex Bakken Brine and the detection of phosphorus. When not analyzing water samples, Melyssa's time at Creedence consists of training laboratory personnel in safety and proper methods and procedures, continuing education programs and classes, and various IT projects. Melyssa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arizona State University and a degree in Business Administration from Montana State University - Billings.

Technical Advisor

Matt Harris

Matt Harris graduated from UND with a degree in Petroleum Engineering with time spent conducting research focused on mineralogical characterization, including XRF and XRD. After 3 years spent serving as an Engineer for the Production Chemicals Division Matt now provides technical assistance in failure analysis across all Williston Basin assets. Utilizing his historic knowledge of field challenges, Matt now works to formulate new chemistries to meet the changing needs of customers throughout the Bakken while assisting in training the Production Chemicals Division on the challenges of oil production.

Technical Specialist

Nicole Monk

Nicole graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of North Dakota with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Prior to joining Creedence, Nicole was a Technical Sales Representative for Emerson in the Permian Basin where she assisted upstream and midstream customers in product selection and education. Since joining Creedence in 2019, Nicole has helped to lead the expansion of Creedence’s technical capabilities through equipment acquisition and the development of multiple SOPs specialty to the Bakken and its challenges. With an emphasis in performance testing Nicole works locally with the Williston team to create new best fit chemistries for the Bakken.

Analytical Manager

Elizabeth Clark

For over 10 years, Elizabeth Clark has been working in an analytical laboratory for various oil and gas companies. Elizabeth joined the Creedence Energy team in March of 2022 as the Analytical Manager for the southern division. She quickly took on the leadership role to oversee analytics for multiple locations within the company. It is her belief that accurate and timely analytical results are crucial to proper treatment in oil and gas production. Since starting with Creedence she has continuously worked to develop the Permian laboratory to provide Creedence customers with date they can utilize and depend on.

Analyses Offered

Water Analysis

Elemental Water Analysis is performed in accordance with API Recommended Practice 45, Recommended Practice for Analysis of Oilfield Waters, EPA Method 200.7, and HACH Method 8221. All relevant species are detected and measured by atomic or ionic emission by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Additional Water Analysis testing includes chloride titration measured by Mohr’s Method, pH measurement, alkalinity titration, colorimetric dissolved sulfide test, and Turbidimetric Determination of Sulfate with Spectrophotometer.

Scale Inhibitor Residual

Measurement of residual scale inhibitor in water is performed in accordance with API Recommended Practice 45, Recommended Practice for Analysis of Oilfield Waters, and EPA Method 200.7. Relevant species are detected and measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and correlated to a response factor.

Corrosion Inhibitor Residual

Determination of residual corrosion inhibitor is performed by UV-Visible Spectrophotometry coupled with solvent extraction. Measurements are correlated to a response in accordance with NACE-96344.

Oil in Water Residual

Measurement of residual oil in water is performed by Infrared Determination in accordance with ASTM D7066-04. IR absorption at 2930 cm-1 is correlated to a calibration curve to provide part per million (ppm) measurements.

Total Suspended Solids Analysis

Determination and characterization of suspended solids in water is performed in accordance with NACE TM0173-2015.

Solid Deposit Characterization

Qualitative characterization of deposition solids is performed by industry standard solubility principles and well-known reaction observations.

Corrosion Coupon Analysis

Analysis of corrosion coupons and calculated corrosion rates are installed and analyzed in accordance with NACE Standard RP0775-87.

ANALYSES

Equipment Capabilities

ICP-OES by Perkin Elmer Avio 500

Capable of both axial and radial viewing, the Avio is capable of measuring elements at high (>500 nm) and low (< 200nm) wavelengths with no loss of light or sensitivity. The powerful charge-coupled device (CCD) detector measures the wavelength range around selected emission lines simultaneously for enhanced precision, performing concurrent background correction measurements to enhance accuracy and sensitivity. Short start-up time and additional sample preparation capabilities make the Avio one of the most efficient ICP-OES systems available.

Hach DR3900 Laboratory Spectrophotometer

This photometer is capable of measuring wavelengths ranging from 320 nm to 1100 nm. Coupled with RFID technology, the DR3900 is easy to use and can automatically recognize samples and method parameters. Pre-loaded with numerous tests for measurement of common species, the correct parameters for analysis are already set, allowing for ease of use reducing unnecessary human error.

Spectro Scientific IR InfraCal 2 Trans-SP

Coupled with appropriate solvent extraction, the InfraCal 2 can measure extracted hydrocarbons by comparing the amount of energy absorbed at 2930 cm-1 (3.4 microns) to a proportional response factor. While maintaining accuracy below 1 ppm, the InfraCal 2 is known for its resilience and dependability.

Mettler Toledo T7 Auto Titrator

With the investment of the Mettler Toledo T7 Auto Titrator, Creedence has improved accuracy and removed human error in water analysis. The T7 Auto Titrator measures the chloride concentration in water analyses by Mohr’s Titration. This ensures reliability and provides validation in the cation/anion balance through separately validated, multi-instrument analysis. By allowing for efficient mass-based titrations, the T7 removes errors present in volume-based titrations in instances in which the fluid’s specific gravity varies from 1.0 g/mL.

The T7 Auto Titrator also provides accurate measurement of pH and Bicarbonate, which are imperative to producing scale and corrosion models representative of production systems. The accuracy of the pH measurement is greatly improved by performing analyses in a controlled laboratory setting in which the care and conditioning of the pH probe is insured by properly trained and experienced laboratory technicians. The T7 Auto Titrator also takes a conductivity reading before performing the pH and Bicarbonate measurement.

Technical Services

Using Creedence Energy Service’s Total Systems Approach (TSA), Technical Services develops tailored solutions and programs to fit operational needs. Understanding the unique nature of each asset and its associated requirements, Technical Services has the capability to design appropriate evaluation methods and determine proper metrics for performance assessment. With an emphasis on communicating with operators, Technical Services strives to discover and execute best fit solutions to meet economic considerations. Technical Services is an ever-evolving aspect of Creedence Energy Services and is continually developing to meet the unique challenges of the Williston, Permian, MidCon, San Juan Basins.

EQUIPMENT

TECHNICAL