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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Green Oasis Environmental, Inc. (GRNO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ferick who wrote (10645)	7/16/1999 10:13:00 AM
From: Charles A. King	Respond to of 13091

Ned, it depends mostly on what feedstock costs. Assuming fixed costs of roughly $400,000 a year, you have to pay through the nose to buy feedstock by the truckload and then each batch must be tested per DHEC's requirements. But if a way could be found to get and store a proper supply of very cheap feedstock that meets DHEC's requirements, the break even point drops accordingly. There is a railroad track running past the plant and Charleston is located on a ocean sea port. There are several large storage tanks in the vicinity of the plant. Maybe waste oil could be barged into Charleston and stored in tanks, but that would take money. The best time to buy cheap feedstock is in the winter when cold weather stops some activities that use waste oil up north. A public library might have a phone book for Charleston. The yellow pages list diesel suppliers as well as companies that handle waste oil as well as oil reclamation equipment. Maybe some idea of costs can be gotten from such sources. Charles

To: Ferick who wrote (10645)	7/16/1999 10:21:00 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13091

What price does deisel have to be before it becomes profitable to run the processor? Ned, First of all, thank you for posting that update, and thank you Mr. Eaton for dropping by the plant. Now.. to the processor. The processor could quite likely be operated profitably right now, if not for one minor, but expensive problem, that of adequate tank storage to facilitate continuous operations. I could go into the entire operation, but suffice it to say that once waste oil arrives at the tank farm, and is stored in a 20,000 tank and stirred, it will be 48 hours before it comes out as diesel fuel. There is 40,000 gallons of waste oil storage, 24,000 gallons of #2 diesel storage, and 20,000 of #3-5 fuel oil storage. Combining that with the settling and testing requirements, it may take 72 hours to process one single batch of fuel. More tank storage would permit continuous, rather than batch, operation. Ideally, having 2 to 3 20-40,000 gallon tanks for #2 product would be ideal. That would provide the capacity necessary, while also limiting the quantity of different fuel quality tests required (they do one test per storage tank so the larger the better). So rather than think about the Charleston machine as a TV for sale, I think of it as a proof-of-concept demo being shown to others interested in making TV's for their markets, the manufacture and sale of which, GRNO will retain a annual liscensing and royalty fee. But all in all, it is encouraging to know that folks are still on the job. That is a miracle unto itself after what we've all been through. Regards, Ron

To: Ferick who wrote (10645)	7/16/1999 12:20:00 PM
From: R KIEFHABER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13091

I think you guys are missing the obvious?? If Vern said that Pete said: "He did acknowledge that the plant is able to operate and has operated briefly recently." Then obviously it was run for a the benefit of a potential customer or two. If I am not mistaken the last time that happened was just prior to the Chinese deal. Do we have another deal in the works ??? Many thanks to Vern and Ned for keeping us informed. Have a good weekend all. BOB K

To: Ferick who wrote (10645)	7/19/1999 3:51:00 PM
From: Norman H. Hostetler	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13091

Ned--a bit more on the additional tankage requirement and related start-up costs. The processor sits on two acres leased from Allied Terminal, a very large port operation. There is space on site for at least three or four 40,000 gallon tanks of the type already there. Used tanks can sometimes be had for the cost of moving them. However, the current tank site is full, so environmental siting and piping costs will be significant. An extremely rough estimate would be $25,000. On the other side of the chain link fence, Allied's petroleum tank farm begins--varying sizes, but huge. Allied does not use most of these, hence the opportunity for mass storage of waste oil at reasonable cost. If you bought waste oil in very large lots and primarily in winter, per Charles's posts, you would probably need three, one to work out of and two to store shipments. The obvious way to move the feedstock to the processor site is piping, so more money for that installation. Rail shipment, though a siding is adjacent, would require another installation. So tankage is a very soluble problem, but probably for not less than about $50,000 up front plus on-going storage rent to Allied. "Large lots" of waste oil: 9/10 rail cars = 1 barge load = about 400,000 gallons. Depending on seasonal pricing factors and the amount of water contamination you are willing to accept, the up front cost for that amount could be anywhere from c. $25,000 to c. $80,000. At present, the plant does not have an oil/water separator (another $200,000 to buy and install). Since the operation is restricted to "high-quality" (very low water)waste oil, cost will tend to the upper end of that range. At its rated capacity, running at 95% efficiency for 95% of the year, the processor will use about 11 barge loads per year. To economize on cost and shipping, you could buy that amount in one barge train in mid-winter, but you'd still have to come up with at least $500,000, so you probably don't want to start this way. Plus that would mean a lot more storage tanks and installations. "Small lot" purchases are spot rates for local (less than 300 mi.) tank truck loads, which could cost as much as $2000, though a year-round average of $1600 is a reasonable rough estimate. A year's worth of feedstock at "small lot" rates is about 50% higher than a year's worth at "large lot" rates. Start-up capital would have to cover a couple of months while the above was being installed, and preventive maintenance, testing on the processor, and training of operators was taking place. A very rough estimate would be maybe another $50,000, until payments for production started being received. Sales price would depend in minor ways on how and when the products were sold, but in general the amount produced is too small to affect the local "rack rate," the wholesale price for a one-time tanker truck load. So diesel production should receive at or close to that amount, which over the last two years has varied in Charleston between $0.36 and $0.78 per gallon, and sometimes changes two or three times per day. Presumably, a credit-worthy operation could borrow a significant portion of the capital improvement and feedstock inventory costs. Unfortunately, in its current financial condition, GRNO can't do that. And it's difficult to imagine anybody lending it until it's proven that the processor can operate on a consistent basis and produce profits that exceed the requirements of loan repayment. So you are looking at a rock bottom of $75,000 to start an operation using local waste oil, plus about another $100,000 for initial installations and feedstock purchases to take advantage of "large lot" price savings. If you have that amount hanging around looking for a purpose like this, or you know where it is hanging around and how to get it, you can be the hero of the SI GRNO thread. =+=+=Norm