Heavy oil technology developer Ivanhoe Energy of California has performed a test on ConocoPhillips bitumen from Athabasca, Canada, showing the engineer sent by bankers that a lighter, more valuable crude is obtained by its trademark HTL process.

While ConocoPhillips has initial rights to the knowledge, Ivanhoe is later free to sell its heavy oil upgrade to the likes of Norwegian state champion Statoil, which now owns valuable properties in the oil sands of Western Canada.

Ivanhoe also claims lower costs and versatility in the size of plants, which would be a breakthrough for the heavy-oil oil regions.

The process also produces extra energy for steam generation or electricity.