Perth-based minoow Nido Petroleum announced yesterday that its gas technology investment, Cool Energy Pty Ltd, had signed an intellectual agreement over its CryoCell technology with Shell Global Solutions International, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell.

The licensing agreement with Shell confirmed CyroCell’s potential for worldwide impact on the gas industry and the value of Nido’s February investment in Cool Energy, Nido managing director Dave Whitby said.

In March, Cool Energy also signed a contract with Melbourne gas facilities design company Process Group to build a 2 million cubic feet per day field test plant in the Perth Basin.

Cool Energy holds the global intellectual property rights for the technology developed with Shell’s backing at the Woodside Hydrocarbon Research Foundation at Perth’s Curtin University.

CyroCell removes carbon dioxide in liquid form from natural gas, potentially solving a significant environmental problem facing the gas industry worldwide, Cool Energy claims.

It may allow the development of gas fields which are currently uneconomic because of their CO2 content, remote location or small size.

This week’s agreement allows sharing the intellectual property developed by both parties, cooperation with Shell in technology development and business areas in which Cool Energy and Shell may commercialise CyroCell. It also covers the knowledge gained from the field tests.

Cool Energy managing director Jessie Inman said the agreement was a milestone because of the technology's market potential and the future development cooperation with Shell, a leader in global gas business.