(Calgary, AB) – In a time of uncertainty in the oil and gas sector, Field Upgrading Limited is confident their CLEAN SEAS™ project is a made in Canada solution to a global issue. The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta agree, as they both announce funding for the CLEAN SEAS™ project today. Field Upgrading is an innovation leader in the energy business. Their DSU™ technology removes sulphur and metals from heavy oils and refinery bottoms to produce a direct-to-market, clean marine fuel that complies with the new lower ISO sulphur specifications for marine fuel.

Funding for CLEAN SEAS™ Front-End Engineering Study (FEED) study from Alberta Innovates as well as the Government of Canada’s Energy Innovation Program – Oil and Gas Clean Tech Program come at a time in development that will forge new global markets for Canadian resources, particularly the oil sands. Field Upgrading’s CLEAN SEAS™ Demonstration Project showcases this new Made in Canada technology to interested parties, locally and on an international scale. This funding supports the initial engineering of the CLEAN SEAS™ project. The current Design Basis Memorandum (DBM) phase of the CLEAN SEAS™ project is advancing Field Upgrading’s DSU™ technology and transitioning into a FEED study for a first of its kind modular large scale 2500 barrels per day (Bpd) demonstration plant, to be located in the Industrial Heartland of Alberta.

“The funding from both levels of government comes at a crucial time for the CLEAN SEAS™ project,” says Field Upgrading President & CEO Lorraine Mitchelmore. “Global sulphur limits around marine fuel are changing, and we’ve developed solutions for ship-ready marine bunker fuels that will meet these targets. We are taking the bottom of the barrel and creating a more environmentally responsible fuel to help industry meet its new obligations.” The dollars from both levels of government will put the building blocks in place for a full-scale commercial plant and global rollout.

“Canada’s oil sands companies are constantly evolving and innovating. Developing and adopting clean technologies creates jobs and will help Canada increase its global competitiveness for years to come,” says Government of Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, Jim Carr.

“Alberta is the energy and environmental leader the world needs for the 21st century. That’s why we are working with the federal government and industry to find new ways to lower carbon emissions and operating costs in our oil-and-gas sector,” says Deron Bilous, Government of Alberta Minister of Economic Development and Trade. “Together we are building a more diversified and resilient economy for the future — and making life better for Albertans.”

This FEED study will be a building block for a full-scale commercial plant. An important advantage of the DSU™ process is its scalability. One of the objectives of the demonstration project will be to package the commercial plant into sea container-size skids that can be prefabricated and delivered to sites, speeding up the rollout of the technology and minimizing low-productivity work in the field. For more information on the CLEAN SEAS™ project, visit www.cleanseas.ca.

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Field Upgrading Limited is a privately-owned company dedicated to the development and commercialization of a heavy oil upgrading technology called DSU™. DSU™ uses molten sodium to significantly reduce the levels of sulphur, metals, acid (TAN) and asphaltenes in heavy oil feedstocks, including oil sands bitumen. DSU™ also significantly increases the API gravity of the feedstocks while achieving a relatively higher yield compared to conventional upgrading technologies. For more information on the Field Upgrading Limited, visit www.fieldupgrading.com.

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