Two companies will study the feasibility of building a facility in Guatemala to upgrade heavy crude oil.
Ivanhoe Energy Inc., Calgary, and Coban Oil and Gas of Guatemala will conduct a study to determine the conditions under which they could upgrade Guatemala’s native crude oil for domestic use and export. They said the study will contain all elements needed to reach an investment decision for a 10,000 b/d facility.
Guatemala has 120 million bbl of proved reserves and much more than that in contingent and prospective resources, the companies said. The country exports 11,300 b/d of oil and imports 75,000 b/d of refined products. Native crudes are heavy and sour and require complex upgrading to improve their value on international markets.
The principals of Coban have experience in upstream operations in Latin America through their involvement in Vatpetrol, oil field services, drilling and workover operations, drilling and completion fluids, and terminal and oil storage operations services. They are also involved in a multidisciplinary geosciences consulting group OTS Latinamerica LLC that has worked for the last 8 years in Guatemala and other Central American countries studying and evaluating oil and gas reserves and resources.