Iodine extraction specialist Iofina (LON:IOF) more than doubled output in its latest three months despite one of its plants running below capacity.
Iofina has two plants in the US extracting iodine from the waste brine produced from onshore oil and gas wells.
Production totalled 45 tonnes of iodine paste in the quarter to June, compared to 17.5 tonnes in the previous three months, as the plants' runtime rose to 80% from 40%.
Output would have been higher but Iofina’s second extraction plant, IOsorb IO#2, had less water to process than expected due to customers’ bringing on fewer new wells than expected.
The IO#2 plant also faced large ingresses of produced oil in the water in June, something Iofina said was handled well with the remedy to be incorporated into future plants.
Iodine levels and volumes at the first plant, IO#1, improved over the period and Iofina said that overall flow rates in July were more consistent than the previous three months.
As a result, average production is forecast to reach the previous estimate of 800-900 kilograms per day in the current quarter especially as additional oil and gas wells are tied-in.
Construction of a third plant, IO#3, is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of September, while locations for three more plants have selected and are being prepared. IO#4, IO#5 and IO#6 are scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Iofina added it has also expanded its deal with one of the largest US independent oil and gas producers to cover four separate locations with additional sites also identified.
Some of these are multiple sites with extremely high iodine concentrations and Iofina is developing a unique processing unit for these that will produce iodine without the need to process large water volumes.
In 2014, Iofina added it is budgeting for six new plants or one every two months.
Elsewhere, an engineering study on the water processing project in Montana is expected to be completed in mid-August. Finalised agreements for the terminal's physical location, the necessary flow line right of ways, and pump stations have been completed.
