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Russian Billionaire Invests $15M In U.S. ‘Clean’ Fracking Technology
James Stafford: Are the Russians coming to Texas riding the tailwinds of fracking? That depends on who you ask, as some believe Russian forces were behind the anti-fracking vote in Denton, while a $15 million investment in new Texas fracking technology by Roman Abramovich perhaps tells another story.
When the anti-fracking campaign started to heat up late last year in Denton, Texas—the heart of the shale revolution—conspiracy theories were spread from within the pro-fracking community that the Russians were behind the whole thing. The logic was that the American shale revolution threatened Russia’s market share.
Yet just months after a successful vote to ban fracking in Denton, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has invested $15 million in Houston-based Propell Technologies Group, Inc. (OTC:PROP) and its new fracking technology from wholly owned subsidiary Novas Energy. Significantly, this new enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology enables ‘clean’ hydraulic micro/nano fracturing of oil reservoirs—that is, without water, without polluting chemicals and without earthquakes.
According to Propell, the Plasma Pulse patented downhole tool creates a controlled plasma arc within a vertical well, generating a tremendous amount of heat for a fraction of a second. The subsequent high-speed hydraulic impulse wave emitted is strong enough to remove any clogged sedimentation from the perforation zone without damaging steel. The series of impulse waves/vibrations also penetrate deep into the reservoir causing nano fractures in the matrix which increase reservoir permeability for up to a year per treatment.
In the die-hard conspiracy theorist community—particularly in the latest ‘Cold War’ atmosphere the media has latched onto once again—there will be continued rumors of Russian scheming here. Some might say that the Russians laid the foundation for a ‘no’ vote on fracking and then swooped in to invest in ‘clean’ fracking technology.
It may or may not be a coincidence that Propell’s Plasma Pulse Technology is licensed from Novas Energy, a venture capital-backed Russian energy technology company.
There is also another Russian element to this: PPT has been very successfully employed in Russian injector wells. This is perhaps the most significant aspect to consider. Russia does not have draconian fracking regulations pressuring companies to use environmentally friendly technology. Instead, they are using PPT to improve enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and reduce production costs.
Conspiracy or not, Abramovich does nothing small or half-heartedly.
Abramovich is a metals magnate who also happens to own the Chelsea football club. He is the 143rd wealthiest person in the world and is worth about $9 billion, according to Forbes. He is the main owner of UK-registered Millhouse LLC, a private investment company whose assets have included major stakes in stakes in Sibneft, which is now Gazprom Neft. In 2005, Millhouse sold a 72% stake in Sibneft to Gazprom for more than $13 billion.
Abramovich has now invested in Propell’s PPT. The investor is Cyprus-registered Ervington Investments Limited, whose ultimate beneficial owner is Abramovich.
“This will not merely be a $15 million investment,” said one source close to the deal. “You have to read between the lines here. Abramovich doesn’t do anything small. He’ll get the infrastructure in place and then look to acquire a significant position in the US oil sector at today’s fire sale prices. We’ll probably be looking at hundreds of millions in investment at the end of the day.”
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Source: http://marketdailynews.com/2015/02/25/russian-billionaire-invests-15m-in-u-s-clean-fracking-technology/
