Heavy Oil ? As someone else recently said, we have a pro management team, with wide international experience, esp in the Middle east.
You may also have noticed the recent change in top management.
Mr Babwil has taken over as President, in addition to his role as CFO.
If you check his CV...and it is noithing short of being very impressive....you will find that he has been President of two very successful heavy oil companies.
Babwi was President of Rally Energy which had heavy oil operations in Eygpt when it was sold in 2007.
He then became President of Bankers Energy ( BNK..m cap of $1.8 billion ) which has been very succesful in producing heavy oil in Albania.
He retired as President in 2013 but is still a direrctor of BNK.
In the Middle east, there are many heavy oil fields that have been bypassed until recently.
Extracting heavy oil from many of the Middle East reservoirs has been fraught with unique challenges.
Unlike the heavy oil sands of California or Canada, heavy oil resources in the Middle East are generally contained in carbonate reservoirs which are highly heterogeneous, presenting additional challenges when designing and implementing ( Enhanced Oil Recovery ) EOR methods.
Many carbonate formations are fractured, greatly complicating flow in the reservoirs. Adopting heavy oil production strategies in carbonates often requires a good understanding of the fracture network, which itself is a major technical challenge. The fracture network can sometimes enhance the efficiency of steam injection by aiding the heating of the oil; it can also detract from the EOR process by allowing steam to bypass much of the oil.
However, recent technological developments have made heavy oil in fractured carbonate reservfoirs very successful.
Bankers is just one example.
Eygpt has abundant reserves of heavy oil.
It is also going thru a energy crisis and the Govt is offering incentives for foreign companies to invest in its large oil reserves.
Mr Badwi knows how to successfully and cheaply produce heavy oil in Carbonate reservoirs both in Etgpt and Albania and elsewhere.
Presumbaly, given his wide background in the Middle East, he has many contacts in that region.
Of course, while logical, this may not be the contemplated scenario for RPT.
But, diverfification of production is a clearly stated objective of our management.