Business
Extraction Technology Update
Extraction Technology Update.
About this update from Xtract Resources Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Xtract Energy plc\n06 September 2006\n\n6 September 2006\n\n XTRACT ENERGY PLC\n ('Xtract' or the 'Company')\n\nXtract announces that initial validation tests have shown that the recovery of\nlight crude oil products from the Company's Julia Creek, Australia, shale oil\ndeposits may be much higher than could be achieved using conventional retort\nrecovery techniques.\n\nThe tests are being conducted by the Australian national research organisation,\nthe CSIRO, and by the Monash University under research agreements entered into\nwith Xtract. They are aimed at testing the Julia Creek oil shales in a solvent\nextraction process.\n\nThe initial validation tests, comprising small scale batch extractions of oil\nfrom the shale, have demonstrated that recovery from Julia Creek shales would be\nin order of 150 litres of light crude oil per tonne of shale. Earlier\nconventional retorting experiments indicated that the conversion of kerogen to\noil yielded about 74 litres of oil per ton of shale.\n\nApplying this rate of yield increase to the yields of 50 - 65 litres per tonne\nused earlier this year in the Company's admission document in relation to\ncertain of the Company's Julia Creek leases results in estimated in-situ shale\noil resources of over 1.6 billion barrels of oil.\n\nJulia Creek oil shale contains about 19% by weight of the hydrocarbon precursor,\nkerogen.\n\nThese small scale bench tests are believed by the Company to be very encouraging\nand to justify larger scale validation testing. Research is continuing in order\nto optimise operational temperatures, pressures and feed size. In addition,\nlarger scale batch tests are scheduled to prepare for developmental, continuous\noil extraction tests.\n\nInternational consulting engineers, Worley Parsons, have been appointed by\nXtract to prepare a feasibility study for the application of the solvent\nextraction process for the production of oil from the Company's Julia Creek oil\nshales.\n\nEnquiries:\n\nXtract\nSue Wickerson 020 8466 0406\nDirector\n\nThe information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by\nDr. John Shirley, (Managing Director of Xtract Oil Limited) who has a BSc and\nPhD in Geophysics from the University of Tasmania and is a member of the\nAustralian Society of Petroleum Engineers.\n\n\n\n\n\n This information is provided by RNS\n T...