Calgary-based Melius Energy is testing a new way to ship oil-sands bitumen that just might work. The bitumen is first melted, then poured into shipping containers after removing diluting agents. After a period of time to allow cooling, the shipping containers can be stacked on a cargo ship.
About 130 barrels of bitumen left Prince Rupert, B.C., on Saturday bound for a refinery in China, according to Cal Broder, founder of both companies and chairman of BFH Corp. He declined to name the cargo’s buyer, reports BNN Bloomberg.
“What this demonstration was for was to show we can meet all regulatory requirements” for shipping out of Prince Rupert, Broder said by phone Wednesday.
“This is the first shipment — but Melius is prepared to commercialize today. Currently, they are working towards finalizing partnerships with several producers in Canada,” according to an emailed statement on behalf of the company.
Melius believes its BitCrude method od shipping the semi-solid bitumen in the custom-built 20-foot containers exceeds safety regulations because “it’s designated as a non-dangerous and non-flammable good that’s non-toxic to marine life as the poisonous diluting agents are removed,” reports the Calgary Herald.
The company also points out that its containers of what it calls “True Crude” will float in fresh or saltwater, making the containers easy to recover in case of an accident. Melius addressed any concerns over the new transport method with an online video by Melius.
The video says “True Crude is the world’s safest oil. It’s not only safe but also economical and efficient,”
The idea of sending bitumen in solid form is not new. In November 2018, Canadian National Railway (CN) announced it holds a patent for a technology dubbed CanaPux, in an apparent reference to the hockey puck-like product. According to CN, their technology uses solidified crude encased in plastic.
In February 2018, Professor Ian Gates and his team at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering found a way to turn bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil into “self-sealing pellets” that have a liquid core and super-viscous skin.
Gates and his team have developed the technology to produce varying sizes of the pellets right at the wellhead, using almost the same amount of energy it would take to dilute the bitumen to liquefy it for shipping via pipelines.
