By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 27 -- Ivanhoe Energy Inc. completed an Athabasca bitumen test run at its commercial demonstration plant in Bakersfield, Calif., using HTL, the company's proprietary heavy oil upgrading technology.
The test run was carried out as outlined in a 2000 technology agreement with ConocoPhillips Canada, which provided Ivanhoe with the Athabasca bitumen.
ConocoPhillips Canada has certain nonexclusive capacity rights to use the HTL technology in Canada. The test run was witnessed by a third-party engineer in preparation for Ivanhoe's key investment banking arrangements.
Ivanhoe will use information derived from the test for the design and development of full-scale commercial projects in Western Canada (OGJ, Mar. 27, 2006, Newsletter).
The continuous multiday bitumen trial run was successfully concluded when the feed tank was emptied. The trial demonstrated Athabasca bitumen processing in various HTL modes, including "high yield" and "high quality."
This operational flexibility allows Ivanhoe Energy to match a commercial HTL facility to specific heavy oil requirements, the company said.
