Mc Bitor Eyes Orimulsion Market

Mc Bitor Ltd, a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corp and Petroleos de Venezuela-Bitor, plans to market Orimulsion in India.

Orimulsion is a liquid fuel recently allowed by the government for power generation. The new liquid policy announced in July had removed the 12,000 mw ceiling for liquid-fuel power projects and put condensate and Orimulsion on the open general license (OGL).

Mc Bitor was one the first companies that approached private power developers in India to use Orimulsion for power generation.

Some leading IPPs in the country are already working out the feasibility of using this fuel for power generation.

Orimulsion emerged as an alternative fuel due to its long-term availability, as under the earlier liquid fuel policy, the government was unable to guarantee the availability of fuels such as naphtha.

Orimulsion is a higher form of bitumen which exists in solid form. Petroleos de Venezuela has developed technology to convert this into liquid form with 71 per cent bitumen and 29 per cent water. Petroleos de Venezuela is the world's second largest energy corporation and is the only company to produce and market all four commercial fossil fuels: gas, oil, coal and Orimulsion.

One of the main concerns which will have to be resolved is the long haulage of over 16,000 km. Venezuela, which has a monopoly over the supply of this fuel, has assured the Indian government of a guaranteed supply for over 300 years.

Apart from this, the price that is being offered is said to be in the range of $50-60 per metric tonne. This fuel, according to ministry sources has a much higher calorific value than coal at 6700kcal/kg. Apart from this, Orimulsion has a much lower sulphur content compared to furnace oil.

Mc Bitor, which is planning to market the fuel in India, is already supplying the fuel to power plants in Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Denmark, and is expected to sell this fuel in countries like South Korea and China.

The UK was the first country to use Orimulsion for power generation.

The company claims that Orimulsion can be used in cement plants and for fertiliser production.