Vancouver-based SONIC Technology Solutions Inc. has entered into a joint venture in Albania to build and operate a 1,000 bopd PetroSonic heavy oil upgrading facility.
The joint venture is with a private company which will provide an existing lease and facility which has been utilized in the past for crude blending operations. The PrivateCo will contribute an initial $1 million in capital required into the joint venture.
Sonic, through its wholly-owned subsidiary PetroSonic will provide the license for operating Sonic generators and the process for upgrading of heavy crude oil along with the initial one or two sonic generators to process 1,000 barrels per day of heavy crude oil.
The joint venture will be owned 60% by PetroSonic and 40% by PrivateCo. Since much of the infrastructure is already in place at PrivateCo's facility, it is expected that the capital required to commence operations will be approximately $1 million. The joint venture anticipates start-up of the facility this June 2010.
Albania provides an excellent region for the application of the PetroSonic process. Albania has the largest onshore heavy oilfield in Europe, with low recoveries to date, and several companies are re-developing the oilfields with production growth expectations. The oil is typically heavy, high in sulphur, and incurs significant pricing discounts relative to conventional oil along with transportation challenges. These factors make Albania an attractive location for PetroSonic's first facility.
Richard Wadsworth, Sonic President and CEO, stated 'I am pleased to be entering into a joint venture with an Albanian partner, bringing a clean upgrading technology to Albania where I believe we can improve the quality and economics of the heavy oil. With our clean de-asphalting and upgrading technology we can improve on the challenges Albania faces with its environmental, transportation, refining and energy needs'.
The PetroSonic process consists of a first phase of rapid de-asphalting of oil that is expected to increase the API of typical Albanian heavy oil by approximately 6-10 degrees, reduce sulphur and metals by 40% and lower viscosity by 99%. The second phase of the process utilizes a chemical oxidation process which can upgrade oil by an additional 6-10 API. The Joint venture will initially focus on the first phase de-asphalting process. Once de-asphalting operations are successfully established and cash flow is being generated, the joint venture plans to integrate the second phase.
Tests in Alberta's oil sands have proven that the PetroSonic scalable upgrader technology can be designed to maximize oil product revenues or integrated to optimize overall oil and energy revenues; - Asphaltene by-product quality can be adjusted depending on the end- use; - Sonic reactor technology reduces processing costs in a low temperature and pressure process; and - PetroSonic field upgrading reduces or eliminates the need for diluents for pipeline transport.
Source:environmental-expert.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment