Linc Energy was an Australian energy company that specialised in

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

-based

synthetic fuel Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by reforming ...

production, as well as conventional oil and gas production. It was engaged in development and commercialisation of proprietary

underground coal gasification Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process which converts coal into product gas. UCG is an ''in-situ'' gasification process, carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants and steam. The product gas is brought t ...

technology. Produced gas was used for production of synthetic fuel through

gas-to-liquid Gas to liquids (GTL) is a oil refinery, refinery process to convert natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons into longer-chain hydrocarbons, such as gasoline or diesel fuel. Methane-rich gases are converted into liquid synthetic fuels. Two general ...

technology, and was also used for

power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...

. The company had its headquarters in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. In April 2016 the company was placed into

voluntary administration As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions, similar to bankruptcy in the United States. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry o ...

. At the second creditors meeting in May 2016 the unanimous vote was for the company to be

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

History

Linc Energy was incorporated on 29 October 1996 as Linc Energy N.L. On 17 November 2000, it changed its name to Linc Energy Ltd. It listed on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

(ASX) on 10 May 2006 and on the

OTCQX OTC Markets Group (previously known as Pink Sheets) is an American financial market providing price and liquidity information for almost 10,000 over-the-counter (OTC) securities. The group has its headquarters in New York City. OTC-traded sec ...

in New York in December 2007. On 19 December 2013, Linc Energy delisted from the ASX and listed on the Mainboard of the

Singapore Exchange The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...

. Linc started its Chinchilla Demonstration Facility in July 1999. First gas was produced in that very same year. Initially Linc Energy used the underground coal gasification technology worked out by Ergo Exergy Technologies, Inc, of Canada. However, in 2006 the cooperation with Ergo Exergy was terminated and the cooperation agreement for technology usage, consultation and engineering services was signed with the Skochinsky Institute of Mining and the Scientific-Technical Mining Association of Russia. In 2005, Linc signed a memorandum with Syntroleum granting a licence to use the Syntroleum's proprietary

technology and started to build a GTL pilot plant in November 2007 at the Chinchilla facility. The plant was commissioned in August 2008. The first synthetic crude was produced in October 2008. In November 2007, Linc Energy, in cooperation with BioCleanCoal Pty Ltd, established a joint venture to develop a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

bioreactor A bioreactor refers to any manufactured device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In one case, a bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical reaction, chemical process is carried out which involves organisms or biochemistry, ...

for converting

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

through a

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

into

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

and solid

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

. On 20 December 2007, Linc Energy acquired a 60% stake and later increased it to 91.6% in

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

's underground coal gasification company SPC Yerostigaz. On 15 October 2008, a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n oil and gas company SAPEX Limited was merged with Linc Energy. This acquisition provided Linc Energy with tenements in the Arckaringa, St Vincent and Walloway basins. In 2009, Linc Energy purchased from GasTech IncNorth American coal tenements in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

(

Powder River Basin The Powder River Basin is a geologic structural basin in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its extensive coal reserves. The former hunting grounds of the Oglala Lakota, the area is very s ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, and

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. In 2010, Linc Energy acquired tenements in the Cook Inlet Basin in Alaska from GeoPetro Alaska. At the same year, it sold non-core Emerald, Galilee and Pentland coal mining tenements in Queensland to Adani Mining Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of

Adani Group Adani Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Ahmedabad. It was founded by Gautam Adani in 1988 as a commodity trading business, with the flagship company Adani Enterprises. The Group's diverse businesses include po ...

. In October 2010, Linc Energy acquires 10% stake in the UK-based

alkaline fuel cell The alkaline fuel cell (AFC), also known as the Bacon fuel cell after its British inventor, Francis Thomas Bacon, is one of the most developed fuel cell technologies. Alkaline fuel cells consume hydrogen and pure oxygen, to produce potable wate ...

company

AFC Energy AFC Energy PLC is a developer of alkaline fuel cells which use hydrogen for electricity production. The company is based in Cranleigh, Surrey, United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was established in ...

and in 2011, it increased its stake up to 12%. In the cooperation with AFC Energy and B9 Coal, the company commissioned a hydrogen fuel cell named ''Alfa System'' at Chinchilla. Combining the fuel cell technology with the underground coal gasification allows usage of

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

, produced by the underground coal gasification process, as a feedstock for the fuel cell. In 2011, it acquired three producing oil fields from Rancher Energy, 14 oil fields from ERG Resources, and purchased Renaissance LLC to take control in the Umiat oil field. In April 2012, Linc Energy partnered with a subsidiary of Hong Kong listed Golden Concord Holdings (GCL) to commercialise fuel using its UGC to GTC technology in China. Golden Concord purchased a 5% stake in the company for 120 million Australian dollars (US$124 million). On 23 January 2013, Linc Energy announced the discovery of

tight oil Tight oil (also known as shale oil, shale-hosted oil or light tight oil, abbreviated LTO) is light crude oil contained in unconventional petroleum-bearing formations of low permeability, often shale or tight sandstone. Economic production from ...

resource surrounding

Coober Pedy Coober Pedy () is a town in northern South Australia, north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. Coober Pedy is ...

estimated at between of oil. At the same year, their subsidiary New Emerald Coal bought the Blair Athol coal mine. In July 2014, the company announced that it had gained initial approval from the Ministry of Environment of Poland to commence an underground coal gasification project and that the company has been awarded its third coal exploration license in Poland. Also in July 2014, Linc Energy announced plans to commence drilling wells to prove up deeper parts of the

Arckaringa Basin The Arckaringa Basin is an endorheic basin in Australia. It is in size and is located in South Australia. The basin surrounds the town of Coober Pedy in northern South Australia. It located in the north of the Gawler Block. Structure The bas ...

Voluntary Administration

On 16 April 2016, after the coal price fell from a high of US$130 to $US55 per tonne, the company was placed into voluntary administration. PPB Advisory were appointed as the administrator. On 13 May 2016 the administrators announced that in their opinion the company should be liquidated, but found Linc Energy were solvent prior to the appointment of administrators and they could not identify any potential offences or liquidation recoveries. At the second creditors meeting on 23 May 2016 the unanimous vote was for the company to be liquidated. The administrator's report found the rapid deterioration of global commodity prices impacted on Linc Energy's financial position.

Operations

Linc Energy had business interests in Australia, North America, the United Kingdom, Poland, South Africa, China, Vietnam and Uzbekistan. In addition to the underground coal gasification, the company was active in traditional coal mining and oil and gas exploration and production. The company owned and operated the Chinchilla Demonstration Facility west of Brisbane, which was the world's first gas-to-liquid plant operating on

synthesis gas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

produced by underground coal gasification. The facility hosted five underground coal gas generators, a GTL pilot plant, a laboratory, and a wastewater treatment plant. Linc Energy also planned to build a gas-to-liquid plant on the Arckaringa Basin in South Australia. The plant was to be designed by

Aker Solutions Aker Solutions ASA, an engineering company based in Oslo, provides the products, systems and services required to unlock energy from sources such as oil, gas, offshore wind and capture. The company, founded in 1841, was known as Aker Kværner u ...

and it was to be fed by synthesis gas produced by underground coal gasification. BP had an option to buy 70% of the produced

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

. In the

Yining YiningThe official spelling according to (), also known as Ghulja ( ug, غۇلجا) or Qulja ( kk, قۇلجا) and formerly Ningyuan (), is a county-level city in Northwestern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China and the seat of the Ili Kazakh ...

mining area in China, Linc Energy planned to develop a coal gasification project in cooperation with Xinwen Mining Group. Together with

Vinacomin Vinacomin (Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group, vi, Tập đoàn công nghiệp Than và Khoáng sản Việt Nam (TKV), links=no) is a Vietnamese mining company. The industrial conglomerate focuses on coal and mineral mining and h ...

, Song Hong Energy and

Marubeni (, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a ''sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well as a st ...

, Linc prepared the Red River Delta UCG (UCG Tonkin) project in Hung Yen,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Linc Energy cooperated with

UK Coal UK Coal Production Ltd, formerly UK Coal plc, was the largest coal mining business in the United Kingdom. The company was based in Harworth, in Nottinghamshire. The company was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The successor company that con ...

in the UK and

Exxaro Exxaro Resources Limited (Exxaro, the company or the group) is a South Africa-based diversified resources company with a robust coal business and acquisitive growth prospects in minerals and energy solutions. Exxaro is among the top five coal ...

in South Africa. It had a coal exploration lease in the Upper Silesia Coal Basin, Poland. In December 2012, it started cooperation with Ukrainian energy company

DTEK DTEK (Ukrainian: ДТЕК) is the largest private investor in the energy industry in Ukraine. The company's enterprises generate electricity at solar, wind and thermal power plants; extract coal and natural gas, trade energy products in the Ukrain ...

to evaluate potential of the underground coal gasification on the DTEK's local coal resources. Linc Energy had a subsidiary in

Angren, Uzbekistan Angren ( uz, Angren/Ангрен; russian: Ангрен; tg, Ангрен) is a district-level city in Tashkent Region, eastern Uzbekistan. The city is located on the Angren River to the east of Tashkent. The City of Angren was created in 1946 fr ...

called Yerostigaz. Yerostigaz was established in 1961 and operated in the field of underground coal gasification. It produced about one million cubic meters of

syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

per day. The produced syngas was used as fuel in the Angren Power Station.

Controversy

In Australia in 2014 the Queensland Government filed charges over alleged environmental harm stemming from its Chinchilla Facility. Linc Energy reported that these charges were not material to the company's finances or operations and that it would staunchly defend allegations. In 2021 all charges against former Linc Energy executives were dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions when Crown Prosecutor Ralph Devlin QC told the court that "the prosecution was no longer satisfied it could prove serious environmental harm". Former executive

Peter Bond Peter Bond is an Australian mining and energy executive, best known as the former Executive Chairman of Linc Energy and creator of the world's first synthetic crude oil. He is now a director of renewable energy company Infinite Power and ranke ...

labelled the case a "witch hunt" and accused the Queensland Government of wasting $50M of public money on pursuing the case.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links