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OCG Oxford Cat.

160.00
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Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Oxford Cat. LSE:OCG London Ordinary Share GB00B11SZ269 ORD 1P
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  0.00 0.00% 160.00 0.00 00:00:00
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Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
- O 0 160.00 GBX

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Posted at 18/9/2013 15:38 by wes1
This was in The Times this morning –
Deal of the Day: Graphene NanoChem jumped 10.7% to 72¼p after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved both its biofuel product, made from waste oils and fatty acids derived from the palm oil industry, and its Malaysian chemicals facility. PlatClear can now be sold in a market that is forecast to be the world's largest for biofuels by 2017.

There are plenty of other companies in various stages of coming to market that some may perceive to be competitors to OCG

When parliaments (and philanthropic private companies like Google or Gates Foundation), foresee problems on the horizon they incentivise research companies with grants and awards in order to seek solutions.

In this instance we are looking at greenhouse gas emissions and reducing our carbon footprint. All those companies, such as CompactGTL are looking for solutions to different problems, be it clean fuel, reducing flaring or producing electric power.

The EU got involved a couple of years ago. The target is to produce a couple of million tons of sustainable biofuel by 2020. Then the target will be to ramp up production until they attain that figure annually with nine plants.

The immediate target is to get the first facility up and running by 2015 – it will take 2-3 years to build so time is running out if they want to keep to schedule.

It is expected that by this time a lot of companies will be losing their subsidies, leaving the way clear for the efficient ones to clean up. (including OCG hopefully)
Posted at 08/9/2013 10:27 by gac141
Posted on another BB

Here is what I have come across....

Linc Energy have connected with D.TEK as legal counsel agreement late August..

Background on D.TEK

DTEK is an energy holding company headquartered in Donetsk, Ukraine. The company is owned by SCM Holdings, a holding company of a Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov. It was formed in 2002 and is an association of various companies from coal mining to power generation. The CEO of the company is Maksym Tymchenko.[1] The name of the company is an abbreviation from its original name Donbass Fuel-Energy Company in Russian.

DTEK ownes three large Ukrainian coal-mining companies: DTEK Pavlogradvuhillia (ten mines), DTEK Dobropilliavuhillia (five mines) and DTEK Mine Komosomolets Donbassa. It owns also five coal preparation plants.

It's owner is Rinat Akhmetov's - DTEK have expressed interest in coal extraction and processing, while expensive gas makes the business ever more profitable and opens new prospects for coal bed gas extraction. DTEK is not only concentrating its coal mining assets in Ukraine, but is also increasing coal extraction in Eastern (Russian) Donbas in the Rostov Oblast.

In December 2012, DTEK's subsidiary DTEK Oil and Gas signed a memorandum of understanding with Australian synthetic fuel company Linc Energy to evaluate potential of the underground coal gasification on the DTEK's coal resources.

Note- Chukotka is in the Ukraine.

From Bounty hunter..Another knowledgeable poster...There is no 'official' link between Linc Energy and OCG but Linc's CEO and major shareholder Peter Bond let it slip a while ago at the company's AGM that they were trialling a Velocys reactor. He was raving about it being 6 times more efficient than the technology they were using at the time and even put up a picture of the very recognisable 50bpd reactor (which looks ancient compared to the pictures of the finished product released in the last couple of months) A few days after the presentation was put on-line the section I have described above disappeared without a trace, then a few months later it was announced that a unit had been purchased by an unnamed company operating in the Asia Pacific region!If Linc are successful in getting their UCG projects commercialised, the implications for the use of coal as an energy source could be massive and their primary aim will be to turn as much of it as possible into diesel and jet fuel via Fischer Tropsch, an almost forgotten technology that Velocys are aiming to make possible on a very small scale with compelling economics!When Roy Lipski talks about Velocys being one of tomorrows 'great companies' do There is no 'official' link between Linc Energy and OCG but Linc's CEO and major shareholder Peter Bond let it slip a while ago at the company's AGM that they were trialling a Velocys reactor. He was raving about it being 6 times more efficient than the technology they were using at the time and even put up a picture of the very recognisable 50bpd reactor (which looks ancient compared to the pictures of the finished product released in the last couple of months) A few days after the presentation was put on-line the section I have described above disappeared without a trace, then a few months later it was announced that a unit had been purchased by an unnamed company operating in the Asia Pacific region!If Linc are successful in getting their UCG projects commercialised, the implications for the use of coal as an energy source could be massive and their primary aim will be to turn as much of it as possible into diesel and jet fuel via Fischer Tropsch, an almost forgotten technology that Velocys are aiming to make possible on a very small scale with compelling economics!When Roy Lipski talks about Velocys being one of tomorrows 'great companies' do There is no 'official' link between Linc Energy and OCG but Linc's CEO and major shareholder Peter Bond let it slip a while ago at the company's AGM that they were trialling a Velocys reactor. He was raving about it being 6 times more efficient than the technology they were using at the time and even put up a picture of the very recognisable 50bpd reactor (which looks ancient compared to the pictures of the finished product released in the last couple of months) A few days after the presentation was put on-line the section I have described above disappeared without a trace, then a few months later it was announced that a unit had been purchased by an unnamed company operating in the Asia Pacific region!If Linc are successful in getting their UCG projects commercialised, the implications for the use of coal as an energy source could be massive and their primary aim will be to turn as much of it as possible into diesel and jet fuel via Fischer Tropsch, an almost forgotten technology that Velocys are aiming to make possible on a very small scale with compelling economics!When Roy Lipski talks about Velocys being one of tomorrows 'great companies' do There is no 'official' link between Linc Energy and OCG but Linc's CEO and major shareholder Peter Bond let it slip a while ago at the company's AGM that they were trialling a Velocys reactor. He was raving about it being 6 times more efficient than the technology they were using at the time and even put up a picture of the very recognisable 50bpd reactor (which looks ancient compared to the pictures of the finished product released in the last couple of months) A few days after the presentation was put on-line the section I have described above disappeared without a trace, then a few months later it was announced that a unit had been purchased by an unnamed company operating in the Asia Pacific region!If Linc are successful in getting their UCG projects commercialised, the implications for the use of coal as an energy source could be massive and their primary aim will be to turn as much of it as possible into diesel and jet fuel via Fischer Tropsch, an almost forgotten technology that Velocys are aiming to make possible on a very small scale with compelling economics!When Roy Lipski talks about Velocys being one of tomorrows 'great companies' do you think he was thinking of FTSE100.

Linc Energy Quarter Report PAGE 6

Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov (Ukrainian: born on 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian businessman and oligarch. He is the founder and President of System Capital Management (SCM), and is ranked among the wealthiest men in the nation. As of March 2013, he was listed as the 47th richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of US 15.4 billion. There have been claims Akhmetov has been involved in organized crime.[5][6] Akhmetov is also the owner and President of the Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk. In 2006–2007 and 2007–2012 Akhmetov was a member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) for the Party of Regions.

The Chukotka Autonomous Region could soon become Russia's first province to launch an underground coal gasification project.

UCG is an innovative technology that converts coal into synthetic gas fuel with the help of oxygen, without mining that coal first.

The technology makes it possible to exploit coal reserves that would be uneconomical to produce by traditional methods. The gas output of UCG facilities can be used to generate electricity or synthesize liquid fuel.

Specialists of Australia's Linc Energy are now looking for coal fields in Chukotka that would be suitable for UCG. The company has partnered with Russia's Yakut Minerals which is part of the Ervington Investment group controlled by the Russian billionaire Mr Roman Abramovich.

Yakut Minerals and Linc Energy signed an agreement to study the possibility of launching a joint UCG project in Chukotka last June. The project will go ahead if a suitable coal field block can be found.

Mr Adam Bond, head of Clean Energy, a division of Linc Energy, has said that the information gathered so far about the Chukotka coal fields makes him optimistic about the outlook for UCG technology in the region.

Yakut Minerals chief Mr Georgy Aleksandrov has said that the existing geological reports from several coal blocks including areas near the Ugolnaya and Nagornaya mines, suggest that they are suitable for the deployment of the UCG technology.

Rinat Akhmetov and Roman Abramovich

Rinat :-As far as I know, Roman is expected to arrive tomorrow. What are we going to talk about? About life, and in general about anything other than football, because I think that he and I will be agitated. He will mark his birthday the day after tomorrow, and we will try to do our best for his team not to congratulate him. We have good and warm friendships.....

The links (Lincs pardon the pun) all seem to be there for a very significant step change to Linc Energy and our technology...I think it is only a matter of time before we hear something.
Posted at 06/9/2013 14:07 by gac141
View from the top: Oxford Catalysts Group
By Julie Fisher | Fri, 6th September 2013 - 12:29

As Oxford Catalysts Group (OCG) prepares to rebrand as Velocys, Julie Fisher speaks to chief executive Roy Lipski about the fuel-processing technology company's plan to make money from the gas surplus spreading across the globe.

What is your business proposition?

Roy Lipski: We have a technology solution that allows people to manufacture synthetic transportation fuels, primarily diesel or jet fuel. Nowadays liquid hydrocarbons don't need to come from petroleum, they can be produced from anything that contains carbon. From an economic point of view this usually means natural gas or coal or increasingly agricultural or municipal waste.

Waste is probably the most interesting source, especially from an environmental point of view, because it's a truly renewable fuel.

What is that technology solution?

RL: We have developed a new design for one of the key components of the gas-to-liquids (GTL) chemical process, which allows it to be done cost-effectively for small plants. In the past it's only really been cost-effective at very large-scale plants, typically plants producing more than 35,000-40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) which tend to cost many billions of dollars.

So in its current form it remains a very niche play. By being able to do it cost-effectively at smaller scales, it basically opens the market up to the alternative renewable routes and to many more companies and locations, which brings it into the mainstream of the industry.

How did you develop the process?

RL: Two companies which had separately developed the two key components came together.

The first company, from Oxford University, designed the catalyst, and the reactor technology came out of one of the Pacific Northwest national laboratories in the US. These two technologies came together in 2008 and we have essentially reinvented the catalyst and the reactor for the heart of the plant, which is called the Fischer-Tropsch.

Now that it's open to the larger market, are you getting a lot of interest?

RL: Absolutely. There's a revolution taking place here in North America driven by fracking and shale gas which has caused gas and oil prices to disconnect. Gas prices are at close to historic lows and oil prices are very high, making the ability to turn gas into oil a significant economic opportunity.

We're moving into an age defined by gas surplus, so the ability to turn that gas into the fuels that we need could not be more relevant and topical.

The US is also looking at ways of exporting and liquefying gas. Does that concern you from a business perspective?

RL: No, it doesn't concern me at all, for a number of reasons. For a start liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects are huge - like large-scale GTL, they take five to eight years to put together and cost billions and billions of dollars so they will remain a niche.

Secondly, you can only export a certain amount of gas without it driving prices down. I think the gas developed and discovered in North America is going to start impacting world gas prices and world gas prices will come down.

Furthermore, there is a huge amount of gas being developed in other parts of the world, including Australia and Qatar, combined with the worldwide phenomenon of shale gas. It has been forecast that the gas market will become more interconnected globally, and that gas prices will be driven down. No amount of LNG project can be done practically that's going to turn the surplus in gas here in the US into anything other than surplus.

Additionally, both Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) and Statoil (STO) are considering large-scale GTL projects in the US, with about 100,000 boepd of capacity. Clearly they are not concerned about the availability of gas in North America.

Where, other than the US, do you see a market for your technology?

RL: Shale development will spread across the world, changing the dynamics of gas prices and supply and creating a great opportunity for GTL.

In addition to shale gas, there are other gas-related applications including flare gas and stranded gas. Flare gas provides a great opportunity for GTL because the gas is essentially free, creating a market in Russia because it is the world's largest flarer. There are also opportunities in parts of the former Soviet Union such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, where there are huge amounts of gas but simply no opportunity to get it to market, and likewise in parts of South America.

Our technology can also be used to create fuel from coal, making China significant, and from biomass and biowaste. I think Europe is probably leading the way in the latter because of its focus on renewable fuels.

Do you have any commercial projects in the pipeline?

RL: Two have already been announced; one with British Airways in the UK, and another in the US with a specialist refiner called Calumet. We also have more than 10 opportunities which are currently in various stages of engineering.

Why are you changing your name from Oxford Catalysts to Velocys [on 25 September 2013]?

RL: It's been on the cards ever since we merged with the US business [which is called Velocys - Oxford Catalysts trades as Velocys in the US]. It makes sense because it's cumbersome for a small company to have two different brands.

The name Oxford Catalysts no longer spoke to what we are as a company as it has very specific connotations and the Velocys name was much better known in our industry. We felt that now was the time to do it as we are beginning to embark upon commercial roll-out and the commercial phase of the company.

What are the risks facing the company?

RL: For a loss-making business, there's always the risk that you will run out of money. I don't ever want to be complacent about that, but to date we've got a great track record of raising capital, with some very large, able and committed shareholders including Lansdowne Partners, Neil Woodford from Invesco, other big funds like Henderson and Ruffer and Roman Abramovic.

Fundamental changes in the marketplace are also a risk, but I believe there will always be opportunities where small-scale GTL makes economic sense.

Then there's competitor risk. Again, you never want to be complacent, but the nature of this industry is such that it takes a very long time and a very large amount of money to develop new process technology. It is unlikely that there is a competitor out there that we don't know about who's going to come from left field. Based on that, we are comfortable that we can build a great business within our competitive space.

Probably the biggest risk in our market is how long it could take to become established. The way we're managing this is by trying to play a number of opportunities at the same time so that at least one of them happens in a timely manner.

While we're on the subject of competitor risk, who is your major competition?

RL: There are some competitors, including BP (BP.), Air Liquide and Axens ENI, with conventional technology which they are trying to scale down. But we only really run up against them towards the larger end of our scale [in plants producing 10,000 boepd].

In terms of small-scale GTL our main competitor is the UK company CompactGTL, and we actually believe they are infringing a number of our patents and as a consequence are currently litigating against them. We have the world's largest patent portfolio in this space with over 800 patents worldwide and so we have a very strong competitive advantage.

What are the strengths of Oxford Catalysts?

RL: Firstly, by virtue of the unique technology that we've developed and protected through our huge patent portfolio, we are the leading technology provider for small-scale GTL, with the best and probably the best-known offering in this space. We are market leaders in small-scale GTL which is a market that is set to take off due to very large significant world trends that are taking place.

In a nutshell, we are in the right place at the right time in an industry that has large barriers to entry and so it'll be very difficult for others to come in and displace us.

The world's biggest companies are born out of dislocations in the marketplace and with one happening right now between gas and oil we have an opportunity to be lifted up by this market wave of destiny and become one of tomorrow's great companies.

How much cash do you have on your balance sheet at the moment?

RL: We will release interim results at the end of September so I can only refer you back to what it was at the beginning of the year [according to the annual report, Oxford Catalysts had £33.7 million of total equity on 31 December 2012]. But I can say that we have plenty of money for the foreseeable future and are not about to do a fundraising.

Can you explain why your share price has fallen from the beginning of this year?

RL: I don't know if I'm really the right person to speak to about that. The stockmarket is very volatile and if you look from around February 2012 we are up hundreds and hundreds of percent. That big rise was basically a realisation by the marketplace that we have moved from being an interesting concept with potential to an actually viable company; a big de-risking.

In technology stocks like ours that are moving from concept to reality you are defined by these big re-rating events. There is another on the horizon, when our first customer commits to construction of a plant. That will be a big inflection point for us and it is coming although I can't predict when.

How do you view private investors?

RL: I think they are a very important part of the investor base, and tend to dictate and move the share price much more than the institutional investors. Our private investors are very active and we do communicate with them, and also work closely with private client brokers.

Do you have any message for potential investors in your company?

RL: We are clearly a high-risk stock, so this is not for everyone. People have to be prepared and understand that the proposition that we have is higher-risk but with potentially much higher returns. I think that we will be defined by these big jumps.

If investors are happy with the risk-return profile, the question for them is when to come in. I cannot predict whether the share price will drop before the next re-rating event so investors will have to make their own decisions.

Some see Oxford Catalysts as a takeover target. How would you react to this?

RL: Our approach to this is quite simple: we are running this business with the intention of building a great business, we have an opportunity to build one of tomorrow's truly great companies and that's what we're aiming for. If we are successful in our quest there will be many opportunities along the way where we will be the subject of attention from potential acquirers and at that point it will really be a decision for our shareholders.

We're not running the business in order to sell it, but I think that if we run it in order to build a real company, there will be many selling opportunities along the way.
Posted at 14/8/2013 12:31 by gac141
This could be the month we hear about the existing agreements..any confirmation of our technology should see a big rise in share price..The volume has picked up with the price of the shares.. Maybe just maybe we are on the threshold of something big?
Posted at 02/8/2013 01:19 by wes1
Rupe1958
Solena has a cutting edge technology, "plasma gasification"

They think of themselves as "solution providers" - they do this by bringing on board technology partners who are "best of breed"

They selected OCG for the "British Airways Greensky London Project" to provide FT technology which will be integrated with plasma gasification.

Solena and OCG also have an understanding for supply to Solena's pipeline of future plants which include California, Rome, Stockholm and Berlin

the process is in two stages -
1/ waste/biomass to syngas (Solena)
2/ syngas to jetfuel, electricity etc (OCG)

............
just my take on it - I could be wrong!
Posted at 31/7/2013 06:16 by someuwin
31st July 2013

OXFORD CATALYSTS GROUP PLC
("Oxford Catalysts" or "the Group" or "the Company")

Notice of Change of Name and Web Address

Oxford Catalysts Group PLC (OCG.L), the technology innovator for smaller scale Gas-to-Liquids (GTL), is pleased to confirm that it is changing its name to Velocys plc from 25 September 2013.

As noted in March 2013 when the Company issued its results for the year ended 31 December 2013, since the Group's 2008 acquisition of its US subsidiary, Velocys, Inc., it has operated under two brand names: Oxford Catalysts primarily for the financial community, and Velocys primarily for industry. Recognising that this can cause some confusion in the market, the Group undertook a review and decided that as it has begun commercial roll out of its technology the time is right to consolidate under a single brand, that of Velocys.

Accordingly, the Company is pleased to announce that its name is expected to be changed by resolution of the Directors of the Company (pursuant to the Company's articles of association) on 24 September 2013; Oxford Catalysts Group PLC will become Velocys plc.

Dealings on the London Stock Exchange under the new name are expected to commence at 8am on 25 September 2013 when the Company's TIDM (ticker symbol) will change from "OCG" to "VLS". The Company's FTSE classification will continue to be included under Oil Equipment & Services.

No new share certificates are being issued in respect of existing Ordinary Shares held in certificated form. Shareholders should retain their existing share certificates which will continue to be valid.

In compliance with AIM Rule 26, details of the Company will be available on the new web site address www.velocys.com before 25 September 2013.

Roy Lipski, CEO of Oxford Catalysts Group, said:

"This name change and rebranding exercise represent the final stage of integration of Oxford Catalysts and Velocys that joined forces in 2008. We are one company, with one management team and one goal: making smaller scale Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) a reality. These changes will help us present a united face to industry and the investor community as commercial roll-out of our technology continues."

- Ends -
Posted at 24/6/2013 21:24 by count chris
Although I believe the OCG story I'm not in at the moment and for me it's the lack of a commercial deal. It's the "everybody wants to be third" problem and I think the share price is in trouble until some orders arrive. Long term though I think it's a winner.
Posted at 23/5/2013 15:07 by pablo666
Anyone came across this?


Apparently Solena has been planning plants all over the world to deliver BtL fuels for aviation, and London is just one of many. The link doesn't mention however, if OCG are involved in any of the other, but if not OCG then who else would? (given OCG are part of the solution Solena markets)

For the record, GreenSky London with solena has been mentioned first around 2010, yet only in 2012 the announced OCG are involved. Does that mean that OCG are most likely to be involved in all the other Solena plans? Thoughts?
Posted at 16/4/2013 06:02 by gac141
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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."
Posted at 30/1/2013 12:13 by gac141
This just out....
OCG SpeedRead
January 2013

OCG is the only smaller scale Fischer-Tropsch (FT) provider to be announcing selection for commercial projects, so it is little surprise that we ended 2012 with an oversubscribed fundraising, achieved under difficult market conditions. The £30.6 million share placement is a huge vote of confidence in our technology and potential. We are delighted by the very significant support received from existing shareholders, several new major institutional investors and our new strategic investor, Ervington Investments, owned by Roman Abramovich. These funds will allow us to accelerate forward, consolidating our market lead and driving the commercial roll out of our technology. The markets are beginning to appreciate our potential – OCG stock has been the best performing share in the AIM 100 over the past 6 months (up 161%). 2013 promises to be a landmark year for our business.

Roy Lipski, CEO
What's new?

Ventech Collaboration
After working closely together for over a year on the design of a fully integrated, shop fabricated, modular Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant, in November OCG solidified its relationship with Ventech by entering into a series of agreements. As a result, OCG's US-based subsidiary Velocys has become Ventech's preferred supplier of FT technology in North America, and Ventech agreed to place an order by 29th March 2013 for a set of FT reactors for use in the first commercial modular GTL plant. Furthermore, through Ventech Project Investments LP, $200 million was made available to make equity investments in energy projects, including co-investment in GTL plants.
GreenSky London Progress Update
As a follow-up to our selection in July 2012 as the sole FT supplier for GreenSky London and future sustainable jet fuels plants developed by Solena Fuels, in November British Airways (BA), a partner in the GreenSky project, announced several significant milestones. BA confirmed its commitment to purchase the sustainable jet fuel produced by the plant for ten years, a contract worth $500 million (£315 million) at current prices. They also confirmed that consent work has begun on the site for the plant, Pre-Front-End Engineering and Design work has started, and a target production date of 2015 has been confirmed.
Mourik Agreement for Commercial Catalyst Handling
In November we announced the signing of a service agreement with Mourik LP to provide catalyst handling services for commercial FT reactors. The replacement of spent catalyst with fresh catalyst every two to five years is required for all FT technologies, and we are very pleased to be working with a worldwide leader for this vital activity as we ensure our readiness for commercial roll-out.
£30.6 million Share Placing
As already mentioned, in December, OCG was pleased to announce the successful placing of new shares to raise approximately £30.6 million. The oversubscribed placing had significant support from existing shareholders, several major new institutional investors and a new strategic investor. The naming of the new strategic investor, Roman Abramovich's Ervington Investments Ltd, at OCG's Shareholder's General Meeting on 3rd January 2013 attracted widespread media attention. See 'In the press', (below).
On the conference circuit

Steve LeViness, FT Product Manager, presented at Energy Frontiers International Gas-to-Market & Energy Conversion Forum on 22nd October in Houston, Texas. His talk was entitled "Opportunities for Modular GTL in North America".

On 12th December, Tad Dritz, Business Development Manager, presented at the Pemex - World Bank GGFR Gas Utilization and Flare Reduction Workshop held in Veracruz, Mexico.

In addition, Neville Hargreaves, Business Development Director, represented Oxford Catalysts Group in a panel discussion at the World GTL Congress in Doha, Qatar, 13-15 January 2013.

Coming soon:
We will be presenting at the Natural Gas Conversion Symposium (NGCS) in Doha, Qatar that runs 2-7 March 2013.
In the press

The Group received wide coverage from the UK national print and broadcast media in early January 2013 following the announcement that Roman Abramovich's company, Ervington Investments Ltd was OCG's new strategic investor.

Neville Hargreaves, Business Development Director, was interviewed by BBC South Today and BBC Radio Oxford. The news received coverage in The Times, The Financial Times and The Sun (UK's most widely read paper), amongst many other UK national papers.

On 5th January, The Financial Times ran the article "Abramovich invests in 'gas-to-liquids' in UK. Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, has invested £5m in a small UK technology company that specialises in..." (Full article for registered subscribers).

OCG's shares continue to be featured and recommended in the investor media; for example see Red Hot Penny Shares in December and Small Company Share Watch in January.

During the past quarter, OCG, Gas-to-Liquids and Biomass-to-Liquids continued to attract wide coverage in the technical and business press:
Roy Lipski is quoted in an article that appeared in Forbes entitled, "Gas-to-Liquids Plants: No Longer Exclusive to Larger Players", on 17th January.

A feature article discussing OCG's collaboration with Ventech entitled, "Modular design of smaller-scale GTL plants", appeared in the Q1 2013 edition of Petroleum Technology Quarterly.

Roy Lipski was interviewed by World Gas Intelligence in Vol. XXIII, No. 51 on December 19th headlined "Small GTL's Market Reach as Great as Opec's, UK Firm Says".

On 20th November, Biofuels Digest asked "Little Big Tech: Can Fischer-Tropsch technology work at smaller scale?"

Company news

OCG continues to expand as we ramp up activities related to the commercial roll-out of our technology. New employees include Brian Cody (Senior Business Development Director) and Matt Davis (VP of Manufacturing) in the USA and Louise Gould (Marketing Manager) in the UK.
Oxford Catalysts share price data is direct from the London Stock Exchange

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