Kibo mulling synthetic oil production at syngas plant

Renewables-focussed developer Kibo Energy announced a decision to potentially introduce an additional revenue stream to its 2.7 MW plastic-to-syngas power plant on Tuesday, which sits within the 65%-owned Sustineri Energy.

The AIM-traded firm said the potential new revenue stream would involve the production of synthetic oil from non-recyclable plastic waste, in addition to the production of electricity from syngas, which it said promised “significant” added benefits to the project.

It expected that the addition of synthetic oil production could “significantly increase” the project's profitability, and provide the company with the opportunity to potentially generate revenue much earlier than initially projected.

The company said it could also contribute “materially” to de-risking the project, and would make the project “significantly more attractive” to a wider spectrum of interested funders, thus reducing the funding risk.

Kibo said it had already determined the technical and commercial viability of synthetic oil production through the current project design.

It was now conducting a comprehensive integration study to determine the full technical, operational and financial impact to the project in terms of construction, commissioning and, most importantly, ultimate profitability and investment returns.

As a result of the decision to potentially introduce the production of synthetic oil to the project, the company said its development could be executed in distinct phases, with an expected positive impact on its funding requirements and the ability to secure that financing.

The first phase would include the construction of the plant to produce synthetic oil, and would be followed by the second phase , when the electricity from syngas production facility would be added.

Kibo said the first phase would involve the installation of a materials preparation system, a pyrolysis chamber and condensers that would produce synthetic oil products.

During the second phase, the pyrolysis chamber temperature would be elevated to produce syngas that would be fed to newly-installed gas engines for electricity generation.

The principal design of the first two phases would remain the same, with “only a few” equipment additions during the second phase.

Kibo said the final decision to proceed with the implementation of the first phase remained subject to the outcomes of the integration study.

The company said it would now complete that study, and continue to secure financial close with the construction phase to start shortly after that.

“The potential introduction of this significant development to our first South African waste-to-energy project has great potential for investors, the company and South Africa's highly challenging energy sector,” said chief executive officer and acting chairman Louis Coetzee.

“The phased approach to the project will allow Kibo Energy the opportunity to stay on-track with the project rollout but with potentially significant value added to an already strong business case.

“It will also ensure that the company remains on course to actively pursue the successful execution of its declared strategy of advancing clean / renewable energy solutions.”

At 1500 GMT, shares in Kibo Energy were up 8% at 0.14p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.