Extraction Technology

MCW has access through its joint venture partner Amerisands to a patented, break-through technology that, due to oil prices less than $50 per barrel prior to 2005, as well as financial market uncertainties over more recent years, is not presently commercialized.

The process has been documented by DOE and has been featured in congressional hearings to encourage oil sand production. Oil sands are loaded into the system’s extraction chamber where they are mixed with solvents at temperatures up to 100 degrees. As the solvent rises, it captures the oil from the sand, and the sand drops to the bottom of the rinse chamber. The solvent, now containing a high concentration of oil, moves to a separation column. Once there it’s further heated…and the solvent turns into a gas vapor, where it rises and moves to a condenser chamber where it is cooled, and re-liquefied back to its original form. The oil-depleted solvent is then reused to extract more oil.

What’s left in the separation column is crude oil, which is now free of sand and solvents and is pumped out of the system for storage. The sand at the bottom of the extraction chamber goes through a drying process and exits the system as clean, dry sand which is environmentally safe. This patented system is able to extract over 99 percent of the oil from the sand oil, leaving the sand pure and able to be returned to the earth in a pure form. In addition, it’s important to note that over 99% of the solvent is recycled and most of the heat used is also recyclable. Since the process does not use water to recover the oil, much less energy is required. The solvent acts more quickly and efficiently than water to remove the oil. And the footprint left does not create an environmental mess to clean up after the process.

Typically, heavy crude oil is full of salts, minerals and water, which make processing difficult. The oil sands of Utah are mostly free of such impurities. The separation process produces high API gravity crude which is low in sulphur and metals. It also has a lower viscosity than raw crude which makes it easier to transport than raw crude. This lighter crude is especially attractive to refiners who cannot process heavier crude.

TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN PROVEN DURING A FULL SCALE OPERATION THAT PRODUCED 2000 BBLS/DAY FOR OVER ONE YEAR.

In it’s August 2008 Report: Secure Fuels from Domestic Resources, the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Petroleum Reserves recognized the technology as one of the very few developments focusing on oil sands rather that oil shale. As indication of its significance, the developers were invited to participate in Senator Orrin Hatch’s Energy Conference which was held in Salt Lake City in July 2008.