Sep 1, 1989

Oil Flow

Houston company tests a new method for cleaning clogged oil wells.

 

Without maintenance, oil wells get clogged by paraffin buildup. Some are treated by pumping hot oil through, others by lining the well with heatable electric cables. Houston's Production Technologies International has found a cleaner, safer way to do it -- by sending electricity along the well walls without cable. Major oil companies are testing the VC-backed product. -- Leslie Brokaw