Avalon's technology group acquires and develops oil production enhancing technologies from early stage licensing partners. Through its relationship with UTEK, Inc., Avalon is building an asset portfolio. Its business model is to evaluate the commercialization potential as to technology and market viability, and if merited, proceed to rapid prototype development and field test of licensed technologies.Through relationships with targeted marketing partners, system design considerations will be tailored for market acceptance and adoption.

Oil Market Opportunity

Global market conditions present an attractive investment opportunity for proven technologies which will expand oil production efficiency in established fields. New supply solutions are not sufficient to offset declining production in the US. This has led to redevelopment of shut-in wells and prematurely abandoned wells by new market entrants such as Avalon Oil & Gas. Avalon has the advantage of preferential access to the company's field test beds for evaluating prototype technologies for oil production enhancement. In addition, Avalon's industry relationships can be leveraged in developing marketing partnerships for strategic technology commercialization.

Strategic Alliance with UTEK, Inc.

UTEK is a leading, market-driven technology transfer company that enables companies to rapidly acquire innovative technologies from universities and research laboratories worldwide. UTEK has operations in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel and trades on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) in the US and on the LSE (AIM) in London under the ticker symbol "UTK". Through its strategic alliance with UTEK, the technology commercialization team at Avalon has access to early identification of promising oil production enhancement innovations, and the capability to finance their acquisition in exchange for equity.

Technology Asset Portfolio

Avalon is in the process of acquiring a portfolio of new technologies for the oil and gas industry which have been identified through its partner UTEK; and were developed at leading universities and research labs. The initial technologies licensed by Avalon are described below: Paraffin Wax Mitigation Technology , developed by researchers at the University of Wyoming; and Borehole Casing Technology , developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  

Paraffin Wax Mitigation Technology

This license provides Avalon with exclusive rights to paraffin wax removal technology for improving oil production efficiency. The technology utilizes ultrasonic waves to mitigate deposits of paraffin wax from crude oil. In this process, a series of varying ultrasonic frequency generating devices are positioned in production tubing walls as a means to inhibit the wax from attaching to the pipes. This technology helps prevent precipitate from forming on the pipes and breaks wax bonds, helping operators to maintain optimal oil viscosity thereby increasing flow rates and production efficiency.

Why this matters. Wax deposition in crude oil pumping equipment is an enormously expensive problem for nearly all oil producers around the world. In the field, production tubing is often plugged by paraffin wax that deposits on the walls of the tubing and surface flow equipment. The deposition of the paraffin wax leads to a significant fall in the oil production rates from the affected well. The wax deposits occur when the temperature and pressure in the tubing move below the cloud point of the oil.   These cloud point fluctuations cause paraffin wax crystals to form in the oil and collect within the tubing.   They also cause viscosity to increase, further choking off flow-lines.  

How it works. Ultrasonic frequency generating devices are positioned adjacent to the production tubing walls, producing at least three optimal ultrasonic frequencies to prevent precipitation. At least one frequency is tuned to disintegrate any of the wax that forms.   The second frequency is designed to break down the wax by forming molecules into smaller molecules, and the third frequency employed inhibits the wax from attaching to the production tubing walls. Variations in frequencies can be applied to better prevent the wax buildup in specific installations.

Borehole Casing Technology

The second technology license acquired by Avalon is from researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This technology involves 'smart oil well borehole casings' for oil recovery. The smart borehole casing technology uses a densely spaced network of casing sensors to monitor critical parameters in a subsurface oil reservoir. Data from a range of sensor types are combined with data fusion technology to yield real-time knowledge of the reservoir and processes such as primary and secondary oil recovery.   Sensors located deep within the reservoir are much more sensitive than sensors located on the surface. Types of sensors that can be customized in installation include seismic sensors, electrical resistance tomography electrodes (ERT), electromagnetic (EM) induction tomography coils and thermocouples.

Applications include real-time mapping and monitoring of subsurface fluid composition and distribution in deep oil reservoirs to maximize oil recovery without interfering with normal well operations. Hydrocarbon recovery and well locations can be optimized.   Bypassed oil and fluid-flow barriers can be identified; and fluid saturation changes can be effectively mapped.