London-based FluidOil Limited has wrapped up its acquisition of the intellectual property of bankrupt Ivanhoe Energy and its Texas-based Ivanhoe Energy Holdings Inc.
The dollar value of the deal was undisclosed. FluidOil said it plans to integrate Ivanhoe’s HTL technology, which transforms heavy oil into synthetic crude oil using rapid thermal conversion, with its own Viscositor technology.
“By installing Viscositor HTL technology at the production site or midstream in the supply chain, countries and companies being squeezed by declining rates of benchmark crudes will realize significant improvements in the feasibility and economics of producing and refining heavier crude oils,” FluidOil CEO Charles Parker said in an April 4 news release.
Ivanhoe Energy, which was backed by billionaire Robert Friedland, announced it was officially bankrupt on June 3, 2015. At that time, the Vancouver miner owed $1 billion to creditors.
In February 2015, Business in Vancouver announced Ivanhoe had filed for creditor protection. Even prior to the drop in oil prices, the company had been having difficulties; it ran into regulatory issues as it was trying to develop a $1.37 billion oil project in Alberta.
- With files from Nelson Bennett
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