Petroteq Energy Inc., the company that has begun operating an oil sands extraction plant at Asphalt Ridge near Vernal, has announced that it has begun selling oil extracted from the facility into the regional crude oil market. The plant, touted by the company as pollution-free, is producing approximately 250 barrels per day, the company said.

Petroteq said it intends to scale up its capacity at the Uintah County plant with several more high-capacity extraction units added to its existing facility. Currently, Petroteq is in Phase 2 of its plant capacity expansion and expects to reach 1,000 barrels per day of oil extraction by the end of the year.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

“Our first sale of our product this week represents a critical milestone in Petroteq’s evolving history,” said CEO David Sealock. “From a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Petroteq has developed into an oil sands mining producer and technological leader in the sector, and this is due to the hard work of everyone at the company. Throughout 2018, we’ve continued to improve on four critical focus areas: focusing on health and safety, increasing production, reducing per-barrel costs and working to maximize the value of every barrel we produce.”

Petroteq continues to identify investors for growth capital for the intended expansion of the Asphalt Ridge plant, Sealock said. {/mprestriction}