Ivanhoe Energy Inc. has successfully produced a "High Quality" product at its heavy oil upgrading (HTL) Commercial Demonstration Facility (CDF) in California. This High Quality upgraded oil was produced using an innovative operating method based on a simple, once-through configuration. This innovative operating mode represents an additional processing option for Ivanhoe Energy, and is appropriate for a number of key identified market opportunities, including bitumen production in the Athabasca Oil Sands of Western Canada.
This new approach significantly extends the flexibility of Ivanhoe Energy's HTL technology and can improve the economics in certain field applications where a significant amount of by-product energy is required. Operated on its own, the new configuration, compared with other High Quality processing configurations, will allow for the production of a higher quality product together with higher amounts of by-product energy. Operated in conjunction with other configurations, this new process allows Ivanhoe Energy to better tailor its HTL plant design configurations to market opportunities. In addition to Ivanhoe Energy's current patent protection and new patent claims that have been applied for, a patent application has been filed for this new process design.
The upgraded oil produced in this configuration has a viscosity reduction of over 99%, and had other characteristics superior to upgraded product produced in previous test runs. In addition, this configuration allows for the production of higher amounts of by-product energy than in previously demonstrated configurations, offset by slightly lower liquid volume yields. Third-party analysis of product samples from the 26-hour run announced in February confirmed the product characteristics of this configuration. Since then, a 31-hour run at the CDF has validated the mechanical stability of this processing method.
"This design, which has been the result of substantial effort, represents an attractive processing alternative for specific, identified opportunities in Western Canada and elsewhere," said Joe Gasca, Ivanhoe Energy's President and CEO. "Together with processing configurations already demonstrated, this approach provides Ivanhoe Energy with enhanced flexibility in designing our facilities to match specific market requirements."
Dr. Robert Graham, Ivanhoe Energy's Chief Technology Officer said, "This new configuration enhances the potential of our HTL process by adapting and integrating readily available, proven equipment with our simplest operating mode. This addition to our portfolio of processing techniques is further evidence of the broad flexibility and powerful scope of our core HTL technology."
Ivanhoe Energy's proprietary, patented heavy oil upgrading technology (HTL) upgrades the quality of heavy oil and bitumen by producing lighter, more valuable crude oil at lower costs and in smaller-sized plants than conventional technologies. The process also produces by-product energy that can be used to generate steam or electricity.