Tervita Acquires Abandonment Technology Patent to Solve Well Integrity Problems and Better Protect Groundwater

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - May 28, 2012) - Tervita Corporation, a leading North American environmental and energy services company, has acquired an exclusive patent for Direxit, from Renelco Energy. Direxit is a chemical that more effectively seals wells with surface casing vent flow (SCVF) or gas migration (GM) problems.

More than 10,000 wells in Alberta alone are impacted by SCVF or GM challenges, two conditions that require expertise and technical knowledge to reduce liability and abandonment costs while mitigating groundwater contamination.

Direxit was developed by a major oil & gas producer to improve sweep efficiency in enhanced oil recovery projects. It has also found success in water shut-off, SCVF and GM applications.

"This patent complements and enhances Tervita's current environmental service offerings," said John Gibson, Tervita president and CEO. "Direxit has been used for a number of years for a variety of practices. We strategically acquired this product because we see a definite need among our clients to seal wells with integrity problems."

GM, SCVFs and casing leaks are problems that have been solved by Direxit when no other material succeeded. The low viscosity water-like solution allows it to penetrate the pore space and block pressure losses up to 170 MPa/meter of core (7,500 psi/ft).

Tervita's engineering services division is specialized in providing innovative regulatory compliance solutions for managing the final stages of the oilfield life cycle. Specifically, Tervita's services focus on inactive well management, well abandonments, pipeline integrity and compliance, and surface casing vent flow testing and repair.

"This unique technology allows us to handle problem wells. Now that we have Direxit, we can offer a unique solution to properly shut-off the GM or SCVF source. This means significant time and cost savings for our customers," said Lars Hinrichs, Tervita's general manager for Engineering Services.

ABOUT TERVITA

Tervita is a leading North American environmental and energy services company. Our 4,600 dedicated employees partner with natural resource and industrial companies who share our values, and work with them to create a sustainable future. Safety is our highest priority: it influences our actions, guides our decisions and shapes our culture. We maintain a strategically located network of more than 95 state-of-the-art waste management facilities and a fleet of specialized equipment and assets to help customers address production and operational waste challenges. Our highly effective, convenient and environmentally sound solutions help minimize environmental impact and maximize returns.

A privately-held company, we have been known for the past 25 years by the brands of our founding companies: CCS, Hazco, Beck, Concord and others. By joining together our individual expertise, experience, assets and services, we will be uniquely positioned to develop integrated project management solutions and provide customers easier access to our broad range of comprehensive services. www.tervita.com