Sara Schneidmiller, Lead Chemist

Sara Schneidmiller is a Lead Chemist at ChampionX for based in Calgary and has dedicated her career to solving complex flow assurance challenges. Originally from Vancouver, BC, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Victoria, where she gained practical experience through placements in various labs. Sara went on to complete her PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Calgary in 2014, focusing on the photochemistry of dyes and nanoparticles.

In 2015, Sara joined ChampionX as a Senior Chemist in the Flow Assurance group, developing solutions to complex customer problems, particularly around paraffin management. Over her nine-year career with the business, she has progressed through the roles of Principal Chemist and became Lead Chemist in 2022. Her responsibilities include working closely with customers to address flow assurance challenges, making performance recommendations, and leading ongoing program improvements.

A key project in Sara’s current portfolio is the Global Paraffin Initiative, aimed at creating innovative, differentiated solutions for paraffin issues in oil and gas operations. This program has allowed her to collaborate with teams around the world, driving impactful changes for ChampionX and its customers. One notable outcome from this initiative is ParaClear, a recent offering that focuses on remediative work and is gaining traction in the market.

A part of Sara’s focus at ChampionX are the challenges posed by paraffin deposition in the Montney formation. Condensate produced from this formation is highly diverse, with variations in color and molecular composition, such as hydrocarbon chain distribution and wax content. This diversity results in significant challenges for controlling paraffin deposition, regardless of the method used, whether mechanical, chemical, or thermal.

A recent study specifically looks at the chemical make-up of condensate and the composition of paraffin deposits formed at various deposition temperatures. Using advanced techniques like Cold Finger, ParaWindow, Gas Chromatography, and Dynamic Scanning Calorimetry, Sara and her team evaluated how paraffin control chemicals perform across different deposition temperatures. Their findings revealed that a paraffin inhibitors effectiveness is correlated to the temperature at which the deposit is formed at and thus the composition of the deposit. Additionally, if was found that a chemical inhibits different carbon chain numbers at different deposition temperatures which appears to be unique to each condensate studied. This discovery sheds light on why treating Montney condensates is so challenging, emphasizing the importance of temperature testing for achieving accurate lab-to-field correlations.

By refining the testing process and better aligning lab conditions with real-world field environments, this study enables more reliable chemical selection for continuous paraffin control. The result is more consistent product performance in the field, reducing operating costs for producers, a critical advantage for ChampionX’s customers.

Sara’s passion for solving customer problems and continuously improving solutions ensures that her work stays closely aligned with the needs of the business, and she remains deeply committed to innovation in the flow assurance space.

Learn more about our paraffin solutions here.