Oxford Catalysts Share Discussion Threads

[yachtie8078] 18/4/2013 14:50

Cheers. That's always the problem with AIM stock - you never quite know.........

[gac141] 18/4/2013 11:46

From the company perspective no bad news just down to Battelle Selling their stake.

[yachtie8078] 18/4/2013 11:21

Is this retrace just 'noise' or do you guys know something I don't?

[gac141] 18/4/2013 07:43

Thanks Wes...

[gac141] 16/4/2013 17:59

So Battelle Selling and Invesco Buying big time!

[jdb2005] 16/4/2013 15:35

Thanks gac - seems as though OCG have forged good working relationship/partnership with velocys and will be announcing new orders soon. Hence as we noted they want to appoint additional staff in US.

[gac141] 16/4/2013 11:35

I had missed this.. Nice read

[gac141] 16/4/2013 11:17

Thank you Wes1

[wes1] 16/4/2013 09:00

FT Report "Gas Industry"

[gac141] 16/4/2013 07:02

FT Comment

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April 16, 2013 1:24 am
Gas to liquids: Launch pads proffered for small-scale GTL plants

By Ajay Makan

A process famed for keeping German tanks running during the second world war is set to revolutionise the fortunes of US natural gas producers, or so the evangelists of small-scale gas-to-liquids plants believe.

The Fischer-Tropsch process, which uses chemical reactions to alter the composition of gas molecules and yield a high-quality, oil-like liquid, has long been associated with isolated regimes desperate for access to oil.






The modern-day adopters of the technology hope to bring it to the US, one of the most oil-rich countries in the world and where production is rising faster than at any time in history. The US is also in the throes of a shale boom and has an even bigger surfeit of natural gas, which has weighed on prices.

"In the US, a lot of gas is coming out of the ground at a declining price, so if you can convert it into oil you can get a step up in value," says Nicholas Gay, chief executive of CompactGTL, an Oxfordshire-based company that is developing small-scale gas-to-liquid plants.

The pitch of CompactGTL, its local rival Oxford Catalysts Group and others is that small-scale GTL plants can give US gas producers such as Chesapeake Energy exposure to higher oil prices.

A plant capable of producing 2,000 barrels of synthetic crude oil a day from 20m standard cubic feet of gas would cost about $200m to build, with an operating cost of about $15 to $25 per barrel, according to Oxford Catalysts.

At a Henry Hub price (the US benchmark price of gas) of $4 per million British thermal units (MBtu), that equates to about $68-$78 per barrel of finished diesel.

Such plants could be dotted across the US, producing oil from gas that would otherwise be shut in because of the low Henry Hub price or because of transport difficulties, according to the company.

Oxford Catalysts and CompactGTL say they are in talks with US gas producers. Lesa Adair, chief executive of Muse Stancil, a Houston-based energy consultancy, says the companies' technology may appeal to producers whose shares have fallen in tandem with US gas prices.

"GTL can transform smaller producers, with production portfolios heavily weighted to gas, from gas to [more valuable] liquid stocks," says Ms Adair.

But, as yet, there have been no firm orders from US oil and gas producers and some in the industry are sceptical of installing GTL plants in individual gasfields, operated by a single company.

Projects commissioned to take advantage of cheap US shale gas, such as Sundrop's gas to liquids plant in Louisiana – part-owned by Chesapeake – and an Oxford Catalysts plant for wax and solvent maker Calumet in Pennsylvania, are instead expected to tap into gas from a number of suppliers.

Another challenge to small-scale GTL may be rising gas prices in the future.

The Henry Hub price has doubled from a low of $2 per MBtu a year ago and the futures curve suggests prices could reach $6 within a decade. A $1 rise in Henry Hub prices adds approximately $9.50 to the cost of producing a barrel of finished diesel.

Low prices are an incentive for gas to be used as a transport fuel, which could erode the oil price premium in the long term.

Seth Kleinman, head of energy strategy at Citi, forecasts that gas will substitute for 3.5m barrels of oil a day by 2020, although he remains optimistic about GTL.

"We think the oil-gas spread has passed its peak, but even if US gas moves up to $6 that still leaves a healthy spread to make GTL work," says Mr Kleinman.

"The issue for GTL so far has been the massive [investment] and lead time that have been a function of the scale of the projects. The future for smaller scale GTL projects is very bright."

Proponents of small-scale GTL highlight environmental applications. The surge in shale oil production in the US has led to a huge jump in flaring – the burning of unwanted gas that comes to the surface with oil but cannot be transported to market.

Brazil, where the government has actively encouraged state oil company Petrobras to limit flaring, has provided the best incubator for small-scale GTL. Petrobras has staged trials for the applications of both CompactGTL and Oxford Catalysts technology.

The industry is hoping political pressure will provide a similar launch pad for small-scale GTL in the US.

"If you look at what is going on with flaring in the US right now, it is like the Wild West," says Roy Lipski, chief executive of Oxford Catalysts. "Things will take off much more quickly for us once you start seeing pressure from regulators and the government to stop flaring."

[gac141] 15/4/2013 15:42

Not just the US... Russia at least too and maybe the Far East... Plenty to come for our team.

[jdb2005] 15/4/2013 14:15

Thanks gac - 2 good articles which show that OCG has several potential customers wanting their GTL technology in US - hence the adverts by OCG to recruit more staff.

[gac141] 15/4/2013 07:40

Oxford Cats and Velocys hiring key positions for the next phase of significant growth?

The role of Catalysis Manager is to lead the catalyst development effort for all of Velocys' technologies including Fischer-Tropsch, Steam Methane Reforming, and hydroprocessing catalysts. The Catalysis Manager will manage the Catalyst Development Team in Milton Park near Oxford, England, and the Catalyst Testing Team in Plain City near Columbus, Ohio. These two groups currently have about 30 people. The ultimate goal is to grow and develop the Group's catalysis R&D into a world class organization. The Catalysis Manager will work with the Engineering and Business Development groups to provide technical support at customer/client sites during startup, commissioning, and initial operation of technology demonstrations to ensure safe and successful deployment of the Group's technology.

[someuwin] 11/4/2013 18:28

RHPS has just issued an update on OCG.

Target price raised to 300p.

[gac141] 11/4/2013 08:06

From another board

SOURCE: Zeus Development Corporation

March 13, 2013 10:26 ET

Survey Finds 24 Natural Gas-Conversion Projects Under Evaluation, Zeus Conference to Examine Trend

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - Mar 13, 2013) - From its 2013 natural gas conversion survey, Houston-based Zeus Development Corporation has identified 24 projects in North America where developers have announced plans to convert gas chemically into one of six slates of products: methanol and gasoline (8 projects), nitrogenous fertilizers (6 projects), Fischer-Tropsch premium fuels (6 projects), direct-reduced iron (2 projects), syncrude (1 project), and ethanol (1 project).

The combined capital cost of the projects is estimated to approach US$60 billion. A summary inventory can be downloaded from

"These are just the projects that have been announced publicly," said Chris Cothran, energy analyst at Zeus Development Corporation. "Many more are under evaluation, but remain confidential."

An abundance of shale gas in North America, estimated to exceed four quadrillion cubic feet of reserves, is attracting gas-conversion industries back to the U.S. and Canada. Developers such as Agrium Inc., Nucor and Royal Dutch Shell intend to bring processes that they have perfected overseas to gas-rich, industrial locations like Alberta, Louisiana and Texas. Some, like Methanex, the world's largest methanol manufacturer, even intend to relocate established plants to North America. See


"The most investment capital we believe will be spent to build plants to convert natural gas into premium liquid fuels," Cothran said. "Two processes: one known as Fischer-Tropsch and the other from ExxonMobil, which converts natural gas to gasoline via methanol, represent 75% of the total US$60 billion investment."

To examine this trend, Zeus will host the GTL North America conference at the Houston Magnolia Hotel, June 5-6. Speakers will profile key projects, technologies and processes. Among the organizations scheduled to present are Air Liquide, Apache, CompactGTL, Emberclear, ExxonMobil, Gas-2 Ltd., Hatch, Johnson Matthey, KiOR Inc., LanzaTech, Midrex, Potash Corp, the State of Louisiana, Velocys, and XTL & DME Institute.

A one-day seminar on June 4 will discuss investment opportunities for North American gas conversion opportunities. Presentations from a number of public and private enterprises will be included: American Power Group, Inc., Dougherty & Company, GTL Solutions, Hoopes Transport, McKinsey & Company, and Prometheus Energy, among others.

[hawkwind4] 10/4/2013 22:42

gac141 - 1583 Fancy burning of all that potential profit, goons are alive and kicking the can spilling the beans of profit, oh lordy lordy, well slap my thighs, anyone enlighten them yet? excuse the pun

[gac141] 10/4/2013 18:49

Oil-shale gas should be captured, not flared

The Bakken oil shale drilling provides immense opportunities as well as challenges for North Dakota. It's a huge domestic energy resource and creates new jobs, wealth, tax revenues and growth.

At the same time, there are enormous community costs and social disruptions, not to mention air and water pollution potentially harming human health, ecological safety, farming and the tourism and outdoor recreation economies in the North Dakota.

There is no "magic bullet" solution for all problems. But there are focused and strategic actions that could serve North Dakota and our nation well.

Capturing the massive amounts of natural gas being flared from the Bakken wells is a common-sense strategy that would be good for growth, creating jobs, avoiding waste and protecting the environment.

In addition, this solution can generate wealth and bring people and businesses together for shared success.

Too many Bakken oil drilling companies still are flaring off natural gas while they extract oil. That lights up the western North Dakota sky and produces one of the nation's largest cumulative sources of carbon pollution and other harmful air contaminants.

Furthermore, this wasteful practice can be avoided. The gas being flared has real value in the energy markets, and there are technologies and equipment that can capture the gas and send it through pipelines to power fertilizer factories, heat homes and businesses and run power plants to generate electricity.

Statoil, for example, is also starting to use captured natural gas from flares to help power local drilling rigs and generators, thus reducing its diesel fuel costs.

Why waste this very valuable energy resource? Why not both avoid pollution and create economic value, jobs and business growth for North Dakotans?

Why should landowners miss out on royalty payments, and North Dakota lose gross production tax revenues?

The North Dakota Industrial Commission has standards requiring oil drilling businesses to capture flared natural gas within a year of beginning operations unless it's not economically feasible. But over the course of 2011 and 2012, the commission has waived this requirement more than 200 times.

This failure to consistently implement the state's own standards costs us money and opportunities.

Some Bakken oil drilling companies are capturing their flared natural gas. They understand the economic value. They want a level playing field for all drilling companies.

They are looking for more natural gas plants and a better gas pipeline infrastructure system to transport the natural gas from the oil fields to factories, power plants and homes.

The human and ecological health harms from pollution, the costs to farmers and ranchers and the impacts of air and water pollution on Theodore Roosevelt National Park and elsewhere are too big to miss. They won't just disappear.

Now, here are some constructive solutions:

• Let's stop wasting natural gas resources. Let's require all Bakken oil drilling companies to follow North Dakota law by applying modern technologies to capture the flare gases, avoid pollution and deliver the gas into pipelines or use it for electricity generation and other purposes.

If there's a strong showing that this isn't economically feasible, so be it. But waivers should be the exception rather than the rule.

• Let's ask the UND, North Dakota State University or another expert agency to quantify the benefits of capturing natural gas, benefits such as job creation, business growth, tax payments and cleaner air.

These benefits are real, not theoretical. The state's entrepreneurial centers should focus on the new business opportunities that can use this natural gas and its byproducts.

• Let's bring together the key stakeholders such as drilling and pipeline companies, electricity co-ops, farm groups, tourism bureaus and economic development agencies to develop shared solutions and implement them quickly.

It's time to seize the opportunities to create jobs, economic growth, ecological benefits and more wealth by capturing wasted flared natural gases from the Bakken oil fields.

[gac141] 10/4/2013 18:07

In the BRR Media interview with Roy - The North Dakota problem is alluded to.

about into recording 7.00 mins...

[arf dysg] 10/4/2013 17:07

OK, I'll trot over to the IOF board...

[mwryder] 10/4/2013 15:57

Arf

Look at IOF bb. I promise you will not be disappointed. Lots to read and digest!

[phsycho] 10/4/2013 15:56

Iofina Arf, very interesting and profitable model, take a look.