Provectus Biofuels appoints SOS Engineering as owner’s engineer to support FEED phase of DobroJet project

Provectus Biofuels Inc.  announced Aug. 28 the company has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with SOS Engineering Ltd. to collaborate on the execution of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of the DobroJet renewable jet-fuel project.

The LOI outlines the planned provision of services beyond the currently approved scope of the existing engineering-services agreement (ESA).

“Establishing SOS as our owner’s engineer is the natural progression of their work and reflects the progress SOS has made to-date in the pre-FEED phase of Provectus’ DobroJet renewable jet-fuel project,” said Jon Jaque, CEO of Provectus. “As we prepare for the front-end engineering and design phase for the DobroJet project in Vegreville, Alberta, it makes sense to deepen our relationship with SOS given their knowledge and understanding of the project. This development enhances our ability to advance DobroJet to help air carriers meet the air-travel industry’s growing decarbonization requirements.”

Under the existing engineering-services agreement, SOS provides engineering-advisory and project-support services including:

• General engineering consulting.

• Project scheduling and budget oversight.

• Coordination with third-party consultants and contractors.

• Regular reporting on progress, risks and issues.

• Technical support to advance Provectus’ project-development objectives.

The LOI announced Aug. 28 will allow the parties to expand the scope of work to include specific services and deliverables required during the FEED phase and leading into construction and commissioning.

“Our team’s intimate understanding of the DobroJet biofuel project and extensive energy industry experience makes us the right partner to collaborate with to move this project forward,” said George Garaganis, the CEO of SOS Engineering. “Provectus’ approach, adapting proven off-the-shelf technology for their fuel-production process, really simplifies the technology-development pathway. We look forward to working with the Provectus team to move this project forward.”

SOS will act as owner’s engineer to Provectus through the following stages:

• Stage 1: Pre-FEED.

• Stage 2: FEED owners engineer oversight and technical execution.

• Stage 3: Final-investment decision preparation and capital readiness.

• Stage 4: Construction and commissioning preparation.

According to Provectus, the specific scope of work, compensation and deliverables related to the above phases will be defined in future work orders or supplemental agreements to the existing ESA, if required.

The DobroJet project aims to develop a renewable jet-fuel facility that will convert wheat straw into biobased jet fuel using commercially available technologies.

The facility will be located in Vegreville, Alberta, which has recently achieved a Biofuel Development Opportunity Zone Grade A rating and provides an insurable wheat-straw supply base of 455,000 metric tons annually.

Provectus said only a third of this insurable base is required to support the DobroJet facility.