RE: RNS - large mining site identified18 Feb 2021 07:43
'In December 2019, the Company signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding ("MoU") with Valkor Technology LLC ("Valkor") to explore the potential of oil sands situated on the Group's oil shale leases in the Uintah Basin, Utah, USA (the "Leases"). Valkor is an international engineering company that handles procurement, construction and installation, and oil field operations, operating in the USA, South America and Africa, both onshore and offshore. It also owns and operates gas and oil fields in Trinidad, the USA, Turkey and Ukraine. Valkor has been assisting with design improvements to Petroteq Energy Inc's ("Petroteq") closed loop system for use in the recovery of oil from oil sands (the "Oil Sands Technology") and the Company's joint venture with Valkor, Greenfield (as defined below), now holds a multi-site licence from Petroteq to utilise the Oil Sands Technology in the USA.
Based on the results of the preliminary work undertaken in March 2020, and in accordance with the terms of the MoU, TomCo and Valkor agreed, inter alia, to fund a Pre-FEED (Front-End Engineering and Design) study. The initial draft of the study provided sufficient evidence to TomCo's Board to justify establishing, in June 2020, a 50/50 joint venture with Valkor, being Greenfield Energy LLC ("Greenfield"). Greenfield has been established with the principal aim of developing a FEED for a potential 10,000 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") plant consisting of two 5,000 bopd trains utilising the Oil Sands Technology. The final results of the Pre-FEED study were released in September 2020, concluding that the likely cost of production from a 10,000 bopd plant would be approximately US$30 per barrel. Steps along the agreed path have included Greenfield temporarily taking over the operations and management of Petroteq's oil sands plant (the "POSP") in order to complete certain upgrades and improvements so as to enhance its reliability and increase its capacity to approximately 500 bopd. In early December 2020, the re-configured Petroteq plant works were completed, and, on 4 January 2021, mining work was started in preparation for the re-start of the POSP. Ore-processing began on 10t January 2021 and the POSP operations will be optimised with the target of producing 250 bopd per single shift during February 2021.
We expect the FEED to be completed in Q1 2021 following third-party verification works. A potential site on which to build Greenfield's first 10,000 bopd plant has been identified and is being assessed which includes a pre-existing Large Mining Permit and suitable site infrastructure to enable construction to commence swiftly once funding has been secured. Although there will be challenges ahead, our firm objective is to maintain momentum and make significant progress with this project in the near future. '
NICE THAT IT HAS A MINING PERMIT IN PLACE......
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