Entire country Carrot
anyone familiar with a country that imports all of their fuel from outside but wants and needs to do it internally with a massive shale? Right next to China.....Mongolia
was researching a power plant play in Mongolia from Prophecy Coal when I ran across GNE....bought some recently and now this comes out ...............
Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 | Posted by admin
Oil shale: Solution to Mongolia’s imported fuel dependency
By B.Khash-Erdene
It is estimated that Mongolia has and 800 billion tons of oil shale reserves. But this number was deduced by Mongolian geologists by studying only 19 percent of the outlined reserves in 1990.
Oil shale is said to be an alternative fuel source which provides a vast potential for profit to businessmen and entrepreneurs. Although Mongolia hasn’t even fully established its reserves of this possible miraculous mineral, foreign businesses have already begun eyeing Mongolia’s shale deposits.
MAK of Mongolia, USA’s Genie Oil & Gas, and France’s Total have introduced to the Ministry of Mining’s Petroleum Authority their pre-feasibility studies and even plans to extract petroleum from oil-bearing shale, shale deposits which contain petroleum, according to local newspapers.
Their pre-feasibility studies state that it would cost around 350 MNT to produce one liter of high quality (Euro-4 Standard of European emission standards for light commercial vehicles) diesel. When transportation costs, taxes, turnover, and other factors are added to the production, the fuel could be sold at a maximum price of 1,000 MNT per liter.
The relevant companies said that all they need from the government to produce cheaper high quality fuel is a business-friendly environment that supports the use of high tech equipment, and meets health and safety regulations.
According to the Deputy Minister of Mining, O.Erdenebulag, the American method of extraction will be used to produce fuel from oil shale. He added that the Ministry is planning to create a production contract in the near future which will make it possible for Mongolia to use domestically-produced fuel within the next two years.
If all goes well, the production cycle can start which will make it possible to produce 6,700 tons of fuel, petroleum products, natural gas, and other synthetic materials by 2018, mentioned O.Erdenebulag.
The trial factory is most likely to be built in Tuv (Central) Province or Dornogobi Province which is already a hotspot for foreign investors due to the giant OyuTolgoi mine. The full mine and extraction factory facility is estimated to require around four billion USD. The companies even estimated how much they would contribute to the state through taxes, which is around 850 million USD per annum.
The project is estimated to create 5,000 job positions directly and indirectly, according to Genie Oil & Gas. The company has oil shale factories in Colorado, USA and Israel through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Genie Energy.
The oil shale processing factory will allow Mongolia to meet its own fuel demand as well as provide an opportunity to export value-added goods which will affect Mongolia’s economy very favourably.
“Producing fuel from oil shale is much cheaper than extracting fuel from coals,” said the Minister of Mining, D.Gankhuyag.
Experts in this matter have said that if Mongolia builds its own petroleum processing as well as an oil shale factory, it would be as if you had a Khos Mori (pair of horses). Mongolia doesn’t have much practical knowledge and experience when it comes to oil shale production besides theoretical. Therefore, plans to send trainees to study shale in the USA and France are being made. If the contract for oil shale production is made, the companies will take care of training specialists.
furthermore....it spoke of Total in the article.... if I am not mistaken...Total and Genie are going to partner up on this Mongolian venture....nice to be involved with them
Minister of Mining has agreed to build trial oil processing plant with “Genie oil & Gas” company so that the oil product can be used by 2014-2015. If the trial plant becomes successful, it could possibly produce 6,700 tonnes of oil product, and some natural gas, oil, gas, synthetic gas. The plant needs USD 4 billion in financing. Genie Oil & Gas (U.S.) have researched in some regions (Dundgobi, Gobi-Altai, Dornod aimag etc.,) and considering to build the plant either in Tuv aimag or Dornogobi aimag.
again the reason I even found GNE was because I was researching an energy play in Mongolia that they will possibly need to purchase power for the plant from....Mongolia is not a country to invest in for the weak stomach....there are political issues, as they are a young democracy, with young politician and corruption happens in this country...they have the world's next largest mine to Norlisk....the mine in Mongolia is called OT run by Rio Tinto...of which has had a few problems and negotiations with the government recently as they are trying to open... however cooler heads should prevail as the country of 3 million people will all be millionaires by the end of the decade...if they just plan it properly...this country is resource mega rich...Genie knows it.
AI
