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Replies to post #38262 on QS Energy Inc (QSEP)
During the third quarter 2016, the Company developed a new onsite testing program designed to accelerate the AOT sales cycle. This program utilizes a fully functional laboratory-scale AOT device designed and developed by the Company in 2015, and tested at the Southern Research Institute. Under this new program, Company engineers will set up a temporary lab at the customer’s site to test a full range of crude oils. Fees charged for providing this service will be dependent on scope of services, crude oil sample to be tested, and onsite time requirements. This program has received a positive response from potential customers. We plan to initiate this onsite testing program in the fourth quarter 2016, with first tests performed in December 2016 or early 2017.
In 2014, the Company entered into a lease agreement with Kinder Morgan Crude & Condensate, LLC for the manufacture and delivery of our AOT Prototype Equipment. The AOT Prototype Equipment is currently undergoing testing at a Kinder Morgan facility.
In February 2016, the modified AOT equipment was installed at Kinder Morgan’s facility. Pre-acceptance testing was performed in April 2016, culminating in more than 24 hours of continuous operations. In-field viscosity measurements and pipeline data collected during this test indicate the AOT equipment is operating as expected, resulting in viscosity reductions equivalent to those measured under laboratory conditions. Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (“SCADA”) pipeline operating data collected by Kinder Morgan during this test indicated a pipeline pressure drop reduction consistent with expectations. Kinder Morgan has provided the Company with a number of additional crude oil samples to be tested in the laboratory for future test correlation and operational planning purposes. Subject to final review, Kinder Morgan and QS Energy will determine next steps which may include integration of Kinder Morgan’s SCADA system with the AOT control system, 30 days of continued operation during batched pipeline flow, and final installation and acceptance of the equipment under the lease.
Southern Research Institute (SRI) was engaged by QS Energy in 2015 to investigate the root cause of the crude oil condensate impedance issue by replicating conditions experienced in the field utilizing a laboratory-scaled version of the AOT and crude oil condensate samples provided by Kinder Morgan. In addition, QS Energy retained an industry expert petroleum pipeline engineer to review the AOT design and suggest design modifications to resolve the crude oil condensate impedance issue. This engineer has studied design details, staff reports and forensic photographs of each relevant AOT installation and test. Based on these investigations, specific modifications were proposed to resolve the impedance issue, and improve the overall efficiency of the AOT device, resulting in a new value-engineered design of certain AOT internal components.
Subsequent analysis and testing led to changes in electrical insulation, inlet flow improvements and other component modifications. These design changes were implemented and tested by Industrial Screen and Maintenance (ISM), one of QS Energy's supply chain partners in Casper, Wyoming. Test performed by ISM at its Wyoming facility indicated significant improvements to system impedance and efficiency of electric field generation.
The Company is actively seeking new deployments of its AOT technology. In August, 2015, QS Energy was invited to an offshore oil transfer platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This offshore platform was assessed by QS Energy personnel for a potential deployment of the AOT viscosity reduction technology as a solution for super-heavy crude oil flow assurance issues. Following the site visit, subject to non-disclosure agreements executed by all parties, laboratory testing was performed on crude oil samples provided by the operator, which demonstrated significant AOT viscosity reductions. Detailed hydraulic analysis based on laboratory results and pipeline operating parameters was presented to the operator demonstrating potential benefits of AOT technology within the operator’s specified infrastructure. Based on this analysis, the Company was directed by the operator to prepare a preliminary configuration for AOT units optimized for the operator’s high-volume, space-constrained operations. Company engineers and supply chain partners have prepared an optimized configuration and production budget. Based on this optimized configuration, the operator is considering an onsite pilot test with full scale AOT equipment for deployment in late 2017.
In June 2015, the Company formed a strategic alliance with Norrønt, AS (“Norrønt”), located in Oslo, Norway. Through its affiliation with Norrønt, the Company is currently in the process of negotiating a collaboration agreement with three Norwegian based oil companies as well as a potential research grant with the Norwegian Research Council. Under a strategic alliance formed in 2013, Energy Tech Premier Group is actively marketing AOT technology in Africa and the Middle East. During the first and second quarters of 2015, oil samples from a Middle Eastern oil company were provided to Temple University for testing. These tests demonstrated AOT viscosity reductions of 20% to 35% in a laboratory setting. Discussions with this Middle East oil company are ongoing. Effective May 2016, the Company executed a non-disclosure agreement with a second large Middle East oil company in consideration and evaluation of potential transactions and joint development activities. Effective July 26, 2016, the Company executed a non-disclosure agreement with a significant crude oil pipeline manufacturing and installation company located in Beijing, China, for the purpose of developing a potential sales and distribution relationship targeting the China market.
In October 2014, QS Energy entered into a Joint Development Agreement with Newfield Exploration Company (“Newfield”) to test a prototype of QS Energy Joule Heat equipment, and combined Joule Heat and AOT technology, on a crude oil pipeline serving the Greater Monument Butte oilfield located in the Uintah Basin of Utah. This test of the Joule Heat technology provides ideal conditions to demonstrate efficiency and efficacy. The Uintah Basin is 5,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level with average low winter temperatures of 16ºF. Crude oil pumped from the region is highly paraffinic with the consistency of shoe polish at room temperature. Uintah's black wax crude must remain at a minimum of 95ºF and yellow wax above 115ºF and therefore requires a substantial amount of heat to keep it above its high pour point. Operators in the upstream market often run at temperatures of 140ºF to 160ºF. Newfield, like many other companies in the region, incurs significant operating expense in the form of fuel and power used to heat the waxy crude and counter the cold climate conditions characteristic of Utah. The Company’s first Joule Heat prototype was installed for testing purposes at the Newfield facility in June 2015 and the system is operational; however, changes to the prototype configuration will be required to determine commercial effectiveness of this unit. During the third and fourth quarters of 2015, we worked with Newfield and Dr. Carl Meinhart to modify the prototype configuration based on observed pipeline and Joule Heat operating factors. In addition, QS Energy provided a scaled-down version of the Joule Heat unit for static and flow-through testing at SRI. Testing performed by SRI in September 2015 on a laboratory-scale Joule Heat unit demonstrated the ability of the Joule Heat technology to deliver temperature increases in the laboratory setting.
In 2015, the Company worked in collaboration with Newfield, SRI, Dr. Carl Meinhart, and our manufacturing partner to design and build an AOT prototype unit, for operations in the upstream crude oil pipeline market (“AOT Upstream”), specifically configured for pipeline operating factors observed at Newfield’s Utah site. Our original plan was to retrofit an earlier prototype device previously tested at RMOTC; however, after multiple site visits and discussions with Newfield, it was determined a new, smaller unit, specifically optimized for Newfield operations would be more appropriate for this field test opportunity. We plan to jointly test the AOT Upstream prototype unit under typical upstream commercial pipeline conditions on Newfield’s pipeline in conjunction with the previously installed Joule Heat unit.
QS Energy's primary technology is called Applied Oil Technology™ (AOT), a commercial-grade crude oil pipeline transportation flow-assurance product. Engineered specifically to reduce pipeline pressure loss, increase pipeline flow rate and capacity, and reduce shippers’ reliance on diluents and drag reducing agents to meet pipeline maximum viscosity requirements, AOT is a 100% solid-state system that reduces crude oil viscosity by applying a high intensity electrical field to crude oil feedstock while in transit. The AOT product has transitioned from the research and development stage to initial production for continued testing in advance of our goal of seeking acceptance and adoption by the midstream pipeline marketplace.
QS Energy develops and commercializes energy efficiency technologies that assist in meeting increasing global energy demands, improving the economics of oil extraction and transport, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Company's intellectual properties include a portfolio of domestic and international patents and patents pending, a substantial portion of which have been developed in conjunction with and exclusively licensed from Temple University of Philadelphia, PA (“Temple”). QS Energy's primary technology is called Applied Oil Technology™ (AOT), a commercial-grade crude oil pipeline transportation flow-assurance product. Engineered specifically to reduce pipeline pressure loss, increase pipeline flow rate and capacity, and reduce shippers’ reliance on diluents and drag reducing agents to meet pipeline maximum viscosity requirements, AOT is a 100% solid-state system that reduces crude oil viscosity by applying a high intensity electrical field to crude oil feedstock while in transit. AOT technology delivers reductions in crude oil viscosity and pipeline pressure loss as demonstrated in independent third-party tests performed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the PetroChina Pipeline R&D Center, and ATS RheoSystems, a division of CANNON™, at full-scale test facilities in the U.S. and China, and under commercial operating conditions on one of North America’s largest high-volume crude oil pipelines. The AOT product has transitioned from laboratory testing and ongoing research and development to initial production and continued testing in advance of our goal of seeking acceptance and adoption by the midstream pipeline marketplace.
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