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2007-09-15 Home Front Economy

Mitsubishi, Shell, Exxon, Trilateral Commission to develop coal liquefying device

... little progress was made in putting these facilities to practical use because crude oil prices were stuck below USD 40 a barrel, but with crude surging above USD 70 a barrel, the technology has gained renewed momentum

Asia's biggest power equipment manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will jointly develop coal liquefication facilities, which are used to produce gasoline and other petroleum products, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., a leading financial paper here reported Thursday.

For years, little progress was made in putting these facilities to practical use because crude oil prices were stuck below USD 40 a barrel, but with crude surging above USD 70 a barrel, the technology has gained renewed momentum, especially considering that coal reserves quadruple that of crude oil, the Nikkei Shimbun said.

Consequently, some estimate that demand for coal liquefication plants may reach JPY 10 trillion (USD 88 billion) by 2020.

Against this backdrop, Shell and Exxon Mobil each aim to introduce such facilities beginning in 2010, and have embarked on projects to develop large-scale commercial plants capable of processing around 100,000 barrels of oil each day, the daily said. They both requested Mitsubishi Heavy's participation.

Mitsubishi Heavy will be responsible for developing a special compressor, which compresses the oxygen and hydrogen produced when coal is thermally broken down.

The Tokyo-based heavy machinery maker will develop the world's largest compressor for coal liquefication. Shell and Exxon Mobil are also expected to purchase steam turbines, which operate the compressors, the report said, adding that each facility is likely to cost around JPY 15 billion (USD 131 million).

Posted by Seafarious 2007-09-15 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ] Top

#1 So how come my cousin can't get more that $20/bbl for her light montana oil? They have 3 refineries in Billings. Is it an "trust" problem?

Posted by 3dc 2007-09-15 02:44|| 2007-09-15 02:44|| Front Page Top

#2 The $70 dollar a barrel price is on the crude spot market. Most contract offers for oil purchases are rarely over 30 dollars still. And for domestic production I remember it wasn't until 2-3 years ago that if your costs weren't under 10 bucks per barrel you were making a loss per barrel of oil if you tried to sell oil domestically.

Posted by Valentine 2007-09-15 21:30|| 2007-09-15 21:30|| Front Page Top

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