Zelandez, a provider of technology to the lithium brine industry, has released a new Borehole Formation Tester (BFT) for lithium developers.
“While formation testers are commonplace in the oil and gas industry, their size and cost have made them impractical for use in the brinefield,” said Gene Morgan, CEO of Zelandez. “The BFT has miniaturized this technology for lithium miners.”
The BFT is a slim pump-through formation tester designed to specifically address lithium miners’ needs by measuring aquifer pressure, analyzing fluids downhole in real time, and obtaining representative brine samples. According to the company, it significantly reduces the costs of lithium brine development when compared to the less accurate packer testing method.
The BFT enables pressure and permeability testing and fluid sampling in slim boreholes down to 122 mm. It provides testing and sampling in low-permeability, laminated, fractured, unconsolidated and heterogeneous formations.
“The world needs more lithium. The old way of sampling lithium was just too slow and too cumbersome,” said Gene Morgan, CEO of Zelandez. “It was making it hard to find new lithium brine resources and to bring more lithium to market. The Borehole Formation Tester changes the game for lithium developers. The BFT was built to address the specific challenges of aquifer testing and fluid sampling in lithium brine exploration and production. Instead of taking weeks, it delivers results within hours or days.”