Thu 10 Nov 2016 08:54

Genoil signs $50bn letter of intent to produce 3.5m barrels of desulphurized fuels a day


Company to develop oil fields and construct clean technology upgraders, refineries and pipelines in Russia and Chechnya.



Clean technology engineering company Genoil Inc. announced on Wednesday the signing of a $50 billion letter of intent (LOI) to develop oil fields and construct clean technology upgraders, refineries and pipelines in Russia.

The project will incorporate Genoil's catalytic hydroconversion technology, the Genoil Hydroconversion Upgrader (GHU), and mark the first time that Genoil has provided a complete integrated project, from the development of oil fields to the production of cleaner fuels. The scope of the project is to produce 3.5 million barrels per day.

According to Genoil, its hydroconversion process improves upon the existing data-verified fixed bed reactor technology, which is widely used worldwide. Currently, around 85 percent of all desulphurisation is said to be taking place worldwide via hydroconversion.

Genoil says its investment into hydroconversion projects can significantly increase the desulphurisation, demetalisation and denitrogenisation conversion rates, and increase operating efficiencies by 75 percent.

Agreement

The LOI was signed by the President of the Board of Directors of Grozneft, a former official in the administrative department of the Russian Federation. According to Genoil, the Russian Government and the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of the Russian Federation, as well as other required ministries and departments, are set to give their full support to the project to ensure timely completion. The project is to also be listed in a trade agreement, pact or cooperation agreement between Russia and China, Genoil adds.

In addition to the development of the oilfields and construction of the technology, the parties involved will also explore linking this new project to existing pipeline networks in the region. The finance will be provided in full from Chinese banks to the Russian companies involved.

As agreed in the LOI, Genoil will be responsible for the design and construction of six million tonnes per year of new refinery capacity in Chechnya. To facilitate this, Genoil will organise a large consortium of Chinese engineering and services companies, with many years of operational experience, to provide all the necessary support and project guarantees. In addition to project guarantees, Genoil will arrange for a leading Chinese insurance company to insure the entire project.

Thomas F. Bugg, Vice President of Genoil Canada, commented: "The negotiation of this LOI marks an important milestone from Genoil, demonstrating that we can act as a service provider as well as a technology provider. Building on our previous Letter of Intent from a Chinese bank in April of this year, this latest agreement further supports our commitment to develop sustainable energy sources, helping to solve the supply challenges we face now and in the future."

As with the project in the Middle East defined in the LOI signed in April 2016, Genoil will be the master contractor in charge and in control of the project. Fuel produced from the projects will be exported to China through secured long-term contracts of up to 30 years.

Technology

The Genoil Hydroconversion Upgrader (GHU), is an advanced upgrading and desulphurization technology, which converts heavy or sour crude oil into much more valuable light low sulphur oil for a very low cost. The Genoil GHU was designed to be versatile and can be placed at many different locations, either upstream at oil fields, or downstream at refineries, in a standalone form at ports and other logistical locations.

The GHU is said to achieve 96 percent pitch conversion and 95 percent desulphurization with an operating cost of up to 75 percent less than the competition.

Citing one of its clients as an example, Genoil said: "For Conoco Canada Ltd, Genoil converted their bitumen of 6-8.5 API and converted it to 24.5 API. We also removed 92% of the sulfur reducing the amount from 5.14 % to below 0.24%. These results were taken by Conoco Canada Ltd, who had them analyzed by Core Laboratories, one of the largest service providers of core and fluid analysis in the petroleum industry."