Perhaps Imperial Petroleum’s greatest long-term asset is the company’s diversity, together with its successful moves into developing technologies. Not only has Imperial been able to make major gains in renewable energy, managing to grow a recent bio-diesel production acquisition to an expected $60 million in sales for 2011, but it has also gained a significant foothold in the field of bitumen recovery from tar sands through its Arrakis Oil Recovery subsidiary.
Arrakis Oil was formed to own and operate a process technology license for the recovery of bitumen from oil sands, using patented and proprietary technology. The process involves a non-thermal process, both mechanical and chemical, resulting in complete separation of hydrocarbon residue from the sands. The chemical involved is non-toxic and biodegradable, and has a zero discharge other than clean sand and bitumen. In addition, the technology works equally well when applied to oil-wet or water wet tar-sand systems.
The goal is for initial operations to be installed at a pre-selected site containing several million tons of mined oil sands, with processing of 300 tons per day, expanding to 2,400 tons per day, to take place within the first few months. Roughly 8% of the material processed will be bitumen, to be sold for approximately $400 per ton. Direct operating costs of about $6.70 per barrel of bitumen are expected when processing rates reach 2,400 tons per day.
In addition to Imperial’s Arrakis and e-Biofuels subsidiaries, the company also has Ridgepoint Mining Company, involved in the development of commercial scale gold mining at its claims in Utah, and Hoosier Biodiesel, for the production of renewable boiler fuels. Imperial also has The Rig Company, which provides rig equipment and related services.
For additional information, visit the company’s website at www.ImperialPetroleumInc.com
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