First it was LNG. Now Canada is looking to export another petroleum-based product to China by containership – this time its bitumen.
Last week saw the first shipment of semi-solid bitumen mined from oil sands on a containership rather than in liquid form on a tanker.
In June Canada’s Senate passed Bill C-48, prohibits tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of oil from calling along the northern British Columbia coast, an area that stretches from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border.
The project's backer, Calgary-based Melius Energy, was able to get around the ban by sending the bitumen in a semi-solid state, undiluted with lighter oils such as condensate.
Sonya Savage, Alberta’s energy minister, welcomed the news of the shipment.
“Alberta bitumen is now en route to International markets after leaving the Port of Prince Rupert this week by shipping container. I’ve been following Bitcrude for a while and am pleased to see exports off the NW coast of BC!” she said in a tweet.
Solid bitumen is also considered less hazardous than liquid crude because it is not combustible and would float on water.
About 130 barrels of bitumen left the Port of Prince Rupert bound for a refinery in China in custom 20-foot shipping containers.
The bitumen shipped by Melius is returned to its solid state through a patented process known as BitCrude, which uses an electrically powered diluent recovery unit.
The cost of shipping solid bitumen is said to be competitive with transporting liquid crude via pipelines and tankers.
“Now that we have tested the intermodal transportation method for exporting bitumen, Melius Energy is focused on scaling the BitCrudetransportation solution,” said Melius president, Nicole Zhang.
“Establishing a transportation solution for Canadian energy that delivers tremendous value for local producers while satisfying the demand for our energy internationally is our priority.”
Melius said it continues to “establish relationships” with refineries in Asia and is working to provide a “long-term, stable supply” of bitumen to these customers.
The refineries that Melius is currently working with plan to refine Alberta bitumen into products such as asphalt and low-sulphur diesel, it said.
“BitCrude partnered with Melius to commercialize and market our innovative transportation solution for bitumen,” said BitCrude creator, Cal Broder.
“We have now proven that we can ship bitumen to international markets safely and efficiently.”
