Algae oil extraction achieved by Labor Day goal

[dlgoff]

Hey Ivan.

I've been wondering about your project for a while. Can you give us an update?

Regards

 

[D H]

http://www.oilnergy.com/hpix/2obrentm.gif

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Posted Sep17-07, 03:29 PM

Dang! If only I had looked at this prescient chart a year ago! How were they able to predict in September 2007 that the price of oil would fall by almost 2/3 one year later??

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Hey Ivan.

I've been wondering about your project for a while. Can you give us an update?

Regards

Crash and burn. The plan was to demonstrate at small scale, get funding, and scale up. What I learned is that many problems are scale dependent. As a result, it was going to take far more money to reach a point where I could attract investors than I could possibly afford. And the only people who had access to that sort of money were only interested in making money; whether the approach made sense or not. We were quickly heading down the path to a scam, so I ended it. At this point I am looking at several options, including teaming-up with an existing company. It may also make sense to focus on one aspect of the process. There is a guy at OSU who is working on I think the centrifuge issues, and he gives it five years to market.

As for the price of fuel, I predicted that it would drop, and I now predict that it will go up again. I think the Canadian oil sands produce about $3 a gallon fuels, and at that price biodiesel should be competitive. So the long-term still looks good. Just ask T Boone Pickens.

The problem that we have had in Oregon is that we can't get enough biodiesel to meet the 5% mandate by the State. So, when the price of fuel was high, so was the demand for biodiesel.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Another incidental: At $1.80 a gallon, "drill here drill now" won't happen. It isn't cost effective, which is the real reason why we haven't drilled here already.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

One more thing: The economy has not helped. One investor that I was very excited about is now defaulting on payments to customers. They owe one guy that I know almost a half million dollars. When I started the algae project, they were swimming in money.

I just got a phone call from the guy out the money. He is not a happy. Times are tough.

 

[D H]

Another incidental: At $1.80 a gallon, "drill here drill now" won't happen. It isn't cost effective, which is the real reason why we haven't drilled here already.

It also isn't helping with the alternative fuel crowd, either. Alternative fuels were just beginning to become competitive with oil when oil was $4.00 a gallon and climbing.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yes, I have always used $3 per gallon as the magic number for alternative fuels. That is also about the price at which soybean and canola derived biodiesel is competitive.

 

[glondor]

Sorry to hear about the setbacks. There will be a viable market for the fuel one day soon. Oil prices will not remain low for long. Money will flow.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Just got word that my best hope for a big-league investor filed chapter 7. My business associate is out over $370K.