As documented in recent QS Energy news releases, shareholder communications and SEC filings, we continue to pursue our bifurcated strategy of commercializing industrial solutions designed to optimize the global pipeline infrastructure, while simultaneously seeking to acquire undervalued assets that have the potential to generate bottom line revenue and significantly enhance shareholder value. With the downward pressure on energy commodity prices continuing unabated, we believe the ideal conditions are in place to support our acquisition strategy
During our business development efforts throughout the past year we have had encouraging, high level discussions with operators and transporters in Europe, the UK, the Middle East, Canada and here in the U.S. Based on our interactions with the executives and engineers with whom we have met, it is clear that the drive to reduce costs and optimize existing infrastructure remains a top priority within the industry, making the benefits of our technology solutions more compelling and potentially of greater value than at any time previously.
I'm pleased to report that we have recently negotiated an agreement to determine the efficacy of a customized AOT system for a top tier, North American pipeline operator. QS Energy will conduct tests on oil sourced from the operator's pipeline network at Temple University, in order to determine AOT's ability to reduce the viscosity of the feedstock during transport. It is our hope that this will lead to an AOT installation on the operator's midstream infrastructure in the Southeastern United States, paving the way for additional deployment opportunities with our current partners and new prospective customers.
Overseas, due to the efforts of our distributorships, we have made inroads with large oil producers and nationalized energy entities in several foreign markets. In Oslo, Norway, our partner Norront AS has engaged in discussions with Statoil ASA and is positioning AOT for possible development funding under a government research program. Following extensive crude oil testing and hydraulic analysis for a state-owned oil transporter in the Middle East, Energy Tech Africa (ETA) will in the near future meet with officials in Basra for a second round of negotiations for an AOT deployment on a primary line carrying crude oil to a marine offloading facility. These and several other opportunities in play may provide the high profile showcase necessary to engender widespread interest in the use of electrorheology for viscosity reduction, and thereby additional AOT deployments.
As a result of ongoing discussions with several investment banks, we are confident that we will secure financing for working capital funding requirements, both for acquisitions and to extend the Company's runway. Concurrently, with the assistance of our QS Energy Pool advisors and our Board Members, we have identified a number of acquisition targets that would lead to immediate revenue generation. The current commodity pricing down cycle has created a buyer's market for discounted oil and gas assets, reshaping the industry landscape and benefiting our acquisition strategy enormously. We intend to capitalize on these circumstances to the greatest degree possible.
Of course, the development and refinement of any nascent technological innovation is time consuming, and fraught with risks and detours. Perfecting and commercializing industrial equipment for use on multi-million dollar crude oil pipelines, which requires certification by several levels of government and approval through intensive industry review, adds incalculably to the challenge of bringing a "better mousetrap" to market. Yet, working together with our partners, customers and supply chain fabricators, we have proven the safety, efficacy and value of our technology in the laboratory and in the field. Under our new auspices of QS Energy and with the added leverage of QS Energy Pool as a financial instrument, it is our intent to prove the commercial viability of AOT and Joule Heat to the fullest extent possible, and thereby to execute strategic deployments and generate substantial revenue.
