The Petroleum, Chemicals & Energy Practice has developed the methodology and tools to provide consistent, accurate comparisons of competing technologies. The combination of our process knowledge, engineering capability, and project experience enables us to address all major issues.

Licensed process technology evaluation and licensor selection are two of the most important analyses in new project development. Selection of a process with inherently low energy efficiency, availability, poor yields, high catalyst costs or with poor flexibility to meet market demands will reduce profit margins throughout the operating lifetime of the project.

Unfortunately, technology comparisons are rarely straightforward. Competing licensors may quote yield, plant cost estimates, and royalties on completely different bases, while utility usage rates may assume different energy sources, equipment drivers and heating media. Our procedure is designed to eliminate differences in design philosophy and reporting that mask the true operating and installation costs of competing processes.

Additionally, an area that can no longer be overlooked as a critical aspect in an overall technology evaluation is environmental impact. We address the difference of environmental impacts as part of our evaluation. If the project is site-specific, we can estimate off-site costs as part of the total cost of the plant, and discuss how environmental issues affect the permit schedule and, therefore, the timing of an entire project.

Other Licensor Selection Activities
Licensor selection may also include our involvement, in close collaboration with the client, on the following activities:

• Preparation of selection criteria, in terms of both essential and desirable characteristics, aligned with the client’s key project drivers
• Technical compliance review of licensors’ offers and assessment of technical risk, and licensors’ experience and capability
• Commercial review of licensor offers
• Economic evaluation of licensor offers
• Quantitative and qualitative comparison of licensor offers, using the agreed criteria
• Licensor presentations and clarification meetings
• Site visits
• Final selection, based on the quantitative economic evaluation and qualitative criteria ranking
• Novel technology development support

Objective, Independent Evaluators
Our experience in the critical aspects of technology comparison—process, environmental, and marketing—coupled with our structured approach validates our ability to objectively compare licensor-provided information. Furthermore, because we do not maintain a position in marketing products or licensing technology, we are accepted as true independent evaluators by all the major technology licensors.