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Genoil Hoping Upgrader Technology Will Yield Revenue
The notable exception is a jet pump the company recently sold to a Canadian steel mill and Genoil President Thomas Bugg hopes that sale is the first of many.
Addressing shareholders in Calgary, he outlined some of the technologies the company currently has under development, including its upgrader and a hydrogen synthesis process.
Near the end of the meeting, an audience member asked if, in developing its upgrader, Genoil had considered the potential effect of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases.
"I think most oil and gas companies will overreact to it. I think with the $15 per tonne guaranteed cap on emission levels, I don't think that will be a major hindrance to any oil and gas company. I think if you've read the papers lately, Suncor (Energy Inc.) has come out and said it's not going to affect their operations in any significant way."
Nevertheless, he said, "our upgrader helps reduce emissions and does a lot of positive things to help companies come into compliance. The big thing we have to do is not so much Kyoto as the gasoline specs that (will take effect). We can help refineries get to the required specifications (for) 2004 and 2005 at a very low capital cost."
Bugg said one of the company's more significant moves last year was moving its test upgrader from Kerrobert, Saskatchewan to Two Hills, near Edmonton (DOB, Jan. 10, 2003). The unit upgrades oilsands bitumen without generating petroleum coke.
"We'll be testing a number of different processes in the next two months," said Bugg. "Some of these we will have exclusive licences for.... We had a delegation of Chinese from PetroChina that visited our upgrader and were very pleased with what they saw. It looks like a very good fit, like our process could add a lot of value to what they're trying to do over there."
Genoil will also continue work this year on its oil-water separator. "We're finishing building it next month, and we're going to move it out to our site near Two Hills. We think this separator is the best in world, both from a capital and from an operating point of view. I think once people see it in operation, that'll make a big difference."
As for generating revenue, the company's jet pump, recently tested in a steel mill, was the main contributor. "It worked out very well. It took us six to nine months to get these people to sign. They've been testing it in the last three or four months, and they really like the results, and (later) they bought the jet pump."
Bugg said several other steel mills might have an application for the same pump, and Genoil plans to send out a sales person. "We should have a number of these sales take place in the next six to 12 months."
The company continues to pursue North American leads in an effort to market its upgrader technology, and would like to seal licensing agreements with several companies.
"I met with one company here in Calgary that wants to ... test the technology with a number of different (producers). They have a location in Alberta where they want to set the process up, and we're entering into final negotiations for that." Bugg called the dialogue "promising."
"We're still pursuing options in the States for the upgrader technology there. We haven't closed anything yet, but hopefully we'll do that quickly."
Genoil will soon apply for a NASDAQ listing in the United States. The company is also renegotiating a $2.3 million loan with ConocoPhillips. Bugg said initial meetings in the latter regard looked promising. "I feel pretty comfortable that that loan will be extended for at least a couple of years, and we'll be able to advise the shareholders when it's completed."
The company has also been developing a "revolutionary" hydrogen technology, which Bugg said has had some testing, but needs more. "If it works, it works at a capital cost and at an operating cost that makes it effective." He said the technology, which makes hydrogen using electrolysis, worked well on a micro-scale, but management wanted to see whether it works on a more economic scale. In discussing the path toward that goal with engineering firms and the Alberta Research Council -- which expressed interest in the process -- Bugg said difficulties were identified.
"But from a calculation and theoretical point of view, there's nothing there that should not have allowed the hydrogen process to work on an economic scale. We did test it, but we didn't get the results we wanted on an economic scale, so we have to figure out what we did wrong." Later, he said, "It's a long shot, but if it happens, the cost of hydrogen would be a tenth of what you're paying for natural gas today."
"We haven't got it to the stage yet where we can demonstrate (that the hydrogen process) is revolutionary. We're working on that," he added.
Otherwise, he said the company's main objective this year is to get its test upgrader up and operating, to increase its jet pump sales, and to sign agreements with overseas refineries to use its technology. The company would also like to enter as many joint ventures as possible.
Genoil said it would pursue joint ventures with smaller, rather than larger companies. Bugg said Gulf Canada Resources Limited was initially interested in Genoil's upgrader. However, Gulf's interest was not sustained after its takeover by Conoco, and later by Philips Petroleum Corporation. As a result, Genoil has shifted its approach to joint ventures.
"We're going after smaller refineries and smaller joint ventures, where people can move a lot quicker than these huge organizations."
