“I want to work
for a company that contributes to and is part of the community. I want
something not just to invest in. I want
something to believe in.” -- Anita Roddick (English businesswoman (The
Body Shop), b.1942)
TIP: Pay attention to the startups that the oil majors invest in.
For example, recent articles alert us to the fact that Saudi Aramco has made a
significant investment in a startup called Siluria (www.siluria.com).
Siluria offers a natural-gas-tro-gasoline technology that interests Saudi
Aramco. According to one source …
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Siluria’s
technology uses catalysts to synthesize methane into more complex—and
valuable—molecules, a fundamentally different approach to making the chemicals
and fuels used in the petrochemical industry
source: http://climateerinvest.blogspot.com/2014/08/saudi-aramco-invests-in-natural-gas-to.html
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A Houston Chronicle article provides more details …
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Historically
ethylene has been produced in a process called cracking, which uses steam to
separate it from a crude oil derivative called naphtha or, more recently, a
natural gas liquid called ethane. The ethane technique has become more popular
in the U.S. in recent years because of the abundance of inexpensive natural
gas.
Siluria is trying to make the process more efficient, saying it can produce
ethylene more cheaply from methane than from ethane.
Siluria's method, on a commercial scale, could be economically competitive with
naphtha cracking and even ethane cracking, depending on the price of those
feedstocks, said R.J. Chang, global managing director at IHS' Process Economic
Program. His firm called Siluria's technique "disruptive technology"
that appears to be both technologically and commercially feasible.
source: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Start-up-hopes-to-show-fuel-breakthrough-at-5701784.php#/0
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According to Reuters …
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Siluria currently
operates three pilot projects on the U.S. West Coast, which have been producing
small quantities of gasoline since March of 2013. It plans to open a
larger-scale $16 million demonstration unit in Texas by the end of the year.
Dineen said that the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, or
Saudi Aramco, was interested in investing in Siluria because it has been
unhappy with the value it has received from their abundant supplies of natural
gas.
source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/20/natgas-siluria-idUSL2N0QQ03S20140820
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A Google Patent Search on Siluria (original assignee field) results in 58 hits.
A Google Patent Search on Angela Belcher (inventor field) results in 115 hits.
Dr. Belcher, an MIT professor, is co-founder of Siluria.
TIP: Pay attention to the startups that the oil majors like ExxonMobil,
Chevron, BP, Shell and Saudi Aramco invest in.
When you see one with interesting technology, use the search tips offered by
this blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com)
to explore the company.
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