DM-XTech's Heavy Crude Oil Decarbonisation Model

Prefatory Statement

The world’s progress toward net‑zero cannot ignore the reality that, for the foreseeable future, liquid hydrocarbons will continue to power aircraft, ships and land transport vehicles. At the same time, current supplies of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and other biofuels are far too limited to meet demand. DM‑XTech’s White Paper addresses this tension by proposing a transitional pathway: decarbonising heavy crude oil. Rather than consign vast heavy‑crude reserves – estimated at roughly six trillion barrels – to high‑emission fuels, the company’s multi‑pathway process transforms them into Decarbonised Light Crude Oil (dLCO). Through processes of carbon rejection, deep pyrolysis (methane and full range naphtha), excess carbon is isolated as solid carbon in the form of petroleum coke and pyrolytic carbon black, with the remaining liquid enriched in hydrogen, leading to a higher hydrogen‑to‑carbon ratio and intrinsically lower lifecycle carbon intensity.

This lighter, hydrogen‑rich feedstock is then refined into three ultra‑clean fuels—tLCAF jet fuel, enhanced Universal Marine Fuel and Euro 6+ Diesel—each engineered to deliver tangible climate benefits in its sector. tLCAF reduces lifecycle CO₂ emissions by up to 30 % and, with near‑zero aromatics, drastically cuts soot‑driven contrail formation; UMF meets and exceeds IMO sulphur limits while eliminating most black‑carbon emissions; and Euro 6+ Diesel offers a high‑cetane, low‑aromatic fuel that lowers particulate and greenhouse‑gas emissions. By coupling feedstock decarbonisation with clean‑burning fuel formulations, DM‑XTech’s integrated model presents a pragmatic bridge to a net‑zero future—one that aligns with emerging low‑carbon fuel standards and maximises existing infrastructure while longer‑term solutions mature.

Executive Summary

Two key facts about the chemistry of heavy crude and the way DM‑XTech’s processes change it:

• Heavy crude is “heavy” because it has a low hydrogen‑to‑carbon ratio and a high proportion of carbon‑rich, complex molecules such as asphaltenes and resins. DM‑XTech’s multi‑pathway process transforms this feedstock through carbon rejection and advanced pyrolysis. In the carbon‑rejection step, heavy crude is selectively upgraded into a lighter fraction with a higher hydrogen‑to‑carbon ratio while diverting isolated carbon into solid petroleum coke. Deep pyrolysis of the associated methane and naphtha fractions further converts carbon into pyrolytic carbon black while generating hydrogen. These steps fundamentally change the composition of the oil: the remaining liquid is richer in hydrogen and has lower carbon intensity.
• The removed carbon is isolated in solid form and used in non‑emissive applications. DM‑XTech notes that the solid carbon by‑products—petroleum coke and carbon black—are “captured and utilized for industrial and clean‑energy applications. This means that carbon which would have been burned and emitted as CO₂ in a traditional refining process is instead locked away in materials such as road‑construction aggregate, rubber additives and industrial products. In lifecycle accounting terms, the carbon is effectively sequestered rather than oxidised to CO₂.

Because the process physically removes part of the carbon from heavy crude and isolates it in solid form, while increasing the hydrogen content of the remaining liquid, it reduces the carbon intensity of the resulting oil. In DM-XTech’s business model, the product is referred to as Decarbonised Light Crude Oil (dLCO) — a lighter, hydrogen‑rich feedstock that can be refined into fuels with lower lifecycle CO₂ emissions. In this context, “decarbonising” heavy crude does not imply eliminating all carbon; rather, it refers to reducing its hydrogen‑to‑carbon ratio and removing a portion of its carbon in a way that prevents that carbon from being emitted as CO₂.

TL;DR – Key Takeaways

Introduction

Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will require transformative changes in how we produce and use hydrocarbon fuels. Aviation, maritime shipping, and heavy road transport are widely recognised as “hard-to-abate” sectors: they are highly dependent on energy-dense liquid fuels and cannot be easily electrified or replaced with alternatives in the near term, yet they contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. There is an urgent need for drop-in low-carbon fuels that can dramatically lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants from these sectors, allowing them to decarbonise without waiting for entirely new infrastructure.

DM-XTech’s approach directly addresses this challenge by “decarbonising” the petroleum feedstock itself and converting it into advanced low-carbon fuels. In essence, the company proposes to remove carbon from crude oil before it ever enters a vehicle or engine, rather than relying solely on end-of-pipe solutions. This white paper outlines DM-XTech’s integrated decarbonisation model – centered on decarbonised Light Crude Oil (dLCO) as an intermediate feedstock –and introduces three advanced fuel product lines (tLCAF, UMF, and Euro 6+ Diesel) that collectively enable immediate emissions reductions across air, sea, and land transport. In addition, we address potential skepticism from the traditional oil industry regarding the use of the term “decarbonised” in this context, providing a science-based rebuttal to clarify what is meant by decarbonising oil and why it is both technically and environmentally meaningful.

DM-XTech’s Decarbonised Light Crude Oil (dLCO) Approach

DM-XTech defines “decarbonisation” of heavy crude oil as converting high carbon-to-hydrogen ratio feedstocks (e.g. oil sands bitumen or heavy residue) into a lower carbon-to-hydrogen ratio light crude via carbon-rejection technologies. In practice, this means upgrading heavy hydrocarbons by stripping out a portion of the carbon as solid by-products while enriching the hydrogen content of the remaining liquid fuel. For example, processes like delayed coking can be used to thermally crack heavy oil, leaving behind solid petroleum coke (mostly carbon), and pyrolysis techniques can decompose hydrocarbons to yield solid carbon (such as carbon black) and hydrogen-rich gases. The removed carbon ends up sequestered in solid form (coke or char), and is not burned as fuel. The remaining liquid oil is thereby lighter, cleaner, and more hydrogen-rich. Because hydrogen combustion produces water (H₂O) rather than CO₂, a fuel with a higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratio inherently releases less CO₂ per unit of energy. In simpler terms, a portion of the carbon that would have become CO₂ during combustion is instead extracted and stored as a solid, while the liquid fuel that remains contains proportionally more hydrogen and burns more cleanly.

DM-XTech’s process employs a combination of established and novel technologies to achieve this: delayed coking (to remove heavy carbon as coke), methane pyrolysis (to generate hydrogen in situ and produce carbon black), and deep hydroprocessing (to saturate and clean the fuel). A notable innovation is the use of “turquoise” hydrogen, produced on-site via methane pyrolysis (sometimes called a form of turquoise decarbonisation). In methane pyrolysis, natural gas (CH₄) is split into hydrogen (H₂) and solid carbon without emitting CO₂. DM-XTech integrates this by using the hydrogen generated to hydrocrack and hydrotreat the oil, upgrading heavy molecules and removing impurities, without relying on externally sourced hydrogen (which is often made from natural gas with CO₂ emissions). By internally supplying zero-carbon hydrogen for these refining steps, the process avoids the significant emissions that conventional refineries incur when they produce hydrogen via steam methane reforming. The net result is a desulphurised, demetallised, fully saturated light crude oil – termed decarbonised Light Crude Oil (dLCO) – that has a much lower carbon intensity than the original heavy feedstock. In effect, some of the carbon that would eventually have been oxidised to CO₂ in engines is pre-emptively removed and stored during refining. The dLCO can then be used as a cleaner input for fuel production.

How dLCO Differs from Traditional Crude

Compared to a typical heavy crude or bitumen, dLCO is lighter in density (higher API gravity), far lower in sulphur and heavy metals, and comprised of more hydrogen-rich molecules. Much of the residual carbon (asphaltenes and other refractory fractions) has been broken down or removed, so dLCO behaves more like a sweet light crude oil. For refiners or fuel blenders, this means dLCO yields a higher fraction of light, high-quality products (jet, diesel, etc.) with less need for intensive processing to meet emissions specifications. Importantly, the lifecycle carbon emissions associated with fuels made from dLCO are significantly lower. By one accounting, if one starts with a barrel of heavy oil that would emit X kg CO₂ when fully burned, converting it into dLCO plus a solid carbon co-product might result in only ~0.8X kg CO₂ eventually emitted (the other 0.2X remains as solid carbon that never gets oxidised). This represents a real and permanent reduction in CO₂ released to the atmosphere for each barrel. Frameworks like the ICAO CORSIA program and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard explicitly recognise such upstream carbon removal in their life-cycle analysis methodologies, crediting fuels for process-based emission reductions. In summary, dLCO is “decarbonised” oil in the sense that it has been processed to remove a substantial fraction of the carbon (and associated future emissions), yielding a cleaner-burning crude. It is not oil with zero carbon, but oil with less carbon – and that difference is quantified and meaningful in climate terms.

Another advantage of the dLCO approach is scalability and decentralisation. Because the upgrading to dLCO can be done in relatively small, modular facilities (e.g. combining a coker, a pyrolysis unit, and hydrotreaters), it enables distributed production of cleaner oil. Regions with stranded heavy oil resources or oil sands could install dLCO mini-refineries to supply local low-carbon fuel needs, rather than relying solely on giant centralised refineries. This “democratises” clean fuel production, potentially spurring economic development while reducing emissions. Indeed, major hydrocarbon-producing countries are exploring similar concepts: for instance, Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have embraced “decarbonised” oil production – through carbon capture, cleaner processes, and hydrogen integration – as a way to reconcile continued oil output with their net-zero commitments. Energy strategists note that developing new industries around decarbonised oil and gas can open additional revenue streams and keep these resources viable in a carbon-constrained world. DM-XTech’s dLCO initiative aligns with this global trend, positioning the company as an early solution provider delivering the kind of cleaner hydrocarbon feedstock that regulators and markets are increasingly demanding.

Regulatory Alignment

The push for lower lifecycle emissions in fuels is no longer theoretical – it is being written into policy and market requirements worldwide. DM-XTech’s dLCO and its derived fuels are designed in anticipation of these emerging standards:

• Emissions Trading Systems & Carbon Intensity Standards: The European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and forthcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will impose costs on high-carbon fuels and reward lower-carbon alternatives. Refiners are incentivised to supply crude oils with reduced upstream emissions. In the United States, California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) assigns each fuel a Carbon Intensity (CI) score; fuels produced via carbon-rejection methods (like dLCO) can achieve significantly lower CI and earn valuable credits. Other jurisdictions, from Canada to Singapore, are implementing or considering similar fuel CI standards and carbon taxes that improve the economics of removing carbon from fossil fuels early in the supply chain.
• International Aviation and CORSIA: The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), implemented by ICAO, explicitly recognises Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAFs) as a means for airlines to reduce their offsetting requirements. By ICAO’s definition, an LCAF must achieve at least a 10% reduction in life-cycle GHG emissions relative to conventional jet fuel. DM-XTech’s tLCAF, derived from dLCO, comfortably meets this threshold and in fact exceeds it, meaning airlines can use tLCAF to directly reduce their reported emissions under CORSIA rather than purchasing as many carbon credits. Airlines and fuel producers are actively seeking CORSIA-eligible fuels to meet mandatory offset obligations and future emissions caps; a fuel like tLCAF that is fossil-derived yet low-carbon provides an attractive interim solution.
• Sustainable Fuel Mandates and Incentives: Governments are introducing blending mandates and incentives for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and cleaner marine fuels. For example, the EU’s “ReFuelEU” initiative will require increasing percentages of SAF in aviation fuel from 2025 onward, and only fuels meeting strict sustainability and carbon criteria will qualify. Blends using dLCO-based tLCAF could qualify as “book-and-claim” lower-carbon fuel usage. Likewise, the IMO’s discussions on market-based measures for shipping (including potential carbon intensity payments or credits) create an opportunity for ultra-low-carbon marine fuels like UMF to earn premiums. On the road transport side, many countries in Europe and states like California offer incentives or credit multipliers for advanced drop-in biofuels and e-fuels; a partially decarbonised fossil diesel could similarly slot into such schemes if appropriately certified. By pre-emptively aligning its products with the direction of these policies, DM-XTech aims to secure early-mover advantages. For instance, a refinery producing dLCO and using the dLCO to make finished fuels could generate multiple credit streams: one for the upstream carbon reduction (under LCFS or similar) and another for the downstream fuel quality (under SAF credits or renewable fuel standards).
• Public Environmental Goals: The integrated approach also speaks to the broader environmental goals and corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) criteria that investors and governments are endorsing. Decarbonising fossil fuels appeals to jurisdictions that face political or practical barriers to immediate fossil fuel phase-out. It offers a way to clean up oil and gas in the interim. Countries like those in the Gulf Cooperation Council (e.g. UAE, Saudi Arabia) have explicitly included “decarbonised oil” in their net-zero strategies. Even in OECD countries, oil majors are experimenting with blue hydrogen, carbon capture, and other decarbonisation of their operations to lower the carbon footprint per barrel. DM-XTech’s strategy dovetails with these efforts, but goes further by integrating the concept through to cleaner end-use fuels. This holistic decarbonisation (from well to wings/wheels) is likely to attract support in green finance circles, possibly qualifying for green bonds or climate finance, since it addresses emissions in sectors that are otherwise difficult to decarbonise in the near term.

In summary, the dLCO platform and its derived fuels are proactively designed for compliance and advantage under evolving climate policies. They can achieve verifiable reductions in life-cycle emissions that regulators are beginning to demand. By delivering a concrete drop-in solution that industry and governments can use immediately, DM-XTech positions itself at the nexus of policy and technology – offering a pathway to meet mandates and goals that would otherwise be challenging (if not impossible) with existing fuels alone.

Advanced Low-Carbon Product Lines

Rather than selling dLCO simply as a cleaner crude oil to other refiners, DM-XTech’s strategy is to integrate the production of dLCO with on-site refining into finished fuels tailored for critical transport sectors. This creates a synergistic business model: the low-carbon feedstock (dLCO) is immediately turned into value-added fuels with superior environmental performance, capturing more of the value and ensuring quality control from feedstock to end product. Below, we describe each of our advanced product lines and their benefits:

Integrated Production & Synergy

A core strength of DM-XTech’s model is the integration of feedstock decarbonisation with on-site refining. Rather than treating the production of dLCO and the manufacture of fuels as separate stages, they are co-designed to maximise overall emissions reduction and value. This integration yields several advantages:

• Optimised Carbon Use: Carbon that is removed in the dLCO stage (as coke/solids) is intentionally maximised to the extent that it improves fuel quality. Hydrogen produced from that rejected carbon (via pyrolysis) is fed back in, so no energy is wasted – it is redirected to improve the fuels. The net effect is a multiplicative emissions reduction: we cut carbon once at the refinery gate and again at the tailpipe through cleaner combustion.
• Flexibility and Market Responsiveness: An integrated dLCO refinery can adjust its output slate in response to demand or policy without losing the emissions benefits. If aviation fuel demand rises, more of the dLCO can be routed to tLCAF production. This provides resilience and risk mitigation for the business.
• Shared Infrastructure and Lower Costs: Producing multiple fuels from one decarbonised stream allows for economies of scope. The same hydrogen unit, the same hydrotreater, can serve multiple product lines at different stages. This reduces duplication of equipment and optimises capital use.
• Holistic Emissions Reduction: Because DM-XTech controls the process end-to-end, it can ensure that improvements in one area are not offset by setbacks in another. The net life-cycle analysis (LCA) is optimised across the whole chain. This is a fundamental departure from conventional refining.

This integrated approach means DM-XTech can credibly claim to deliver full-spectrum decarbonisation of liquid fuels – tackling CO₂, particulate matter, NOx, sulphur, and contrails in one package. It sends a coherent message to regulators and investors that, rather than piecemeal projects, this is a holistic platform for decarbonising fuels.

Alignment with 2050 Climate Targets Across Sectors

Every major transport sector has declared aspirational climate goals for mid-century, and DM-XTech’s fuel portfolio is designed to help achieve those goals by delivering near-term reductions:

In all, DM-XTech’s fuels are bridging solutions that have a scalable impact starting now and lasting through mid-century. They recognize that decarbonisation is not a single leap to zero, but a journey of incremental improvements. By aggressively pursuing what is achievable today, these fuels deliver cumulative emissions savings that are essential to hitting 2050 targets.

Addressing Industry Skepticism: Redefining “Decarbonisation” of Oil

It is understandable that the term “decarbonised oil” might raise eyebrows. In this section, we directly address common critiques and clarify what we mean by decarbonisation in the context of hydrocarbons, backing it with scientific and policy rationale.

Conclusion

DM-XTech’s integrated approach – from decarbonising heavy crude oil into dLCO, to refining it into ultra-clean aviation, marine, and diesel fuels – represents a holistic pathway to reduce emissions across transportation sectors well before 2050. By addressing the problem at both the feedstock level (through upstream carbon removal and clean hydrogen use) and the finished-fuel level (through tailored low-emission fuel formulations), we create a multiplier effect on emissions reductions and set the stage for a new paradigm in the petroleum industry. It is a synergistic business model where environmental innovation and commercial opportunity go hand in hand: the production of decarbonised oil feedstock can itself grow into a new value-added sector, and when fused with advanced refining, it yields premium fuels that meet the demands of a carbon-constrained world. Rather than viewing decarbonisation as a threat to the oil industry, DM-XTech demonstrates it can be an evolution of it – one that aligns oil-derived products with climate goals and regulatory realities.

As we advance toward mid-century climate targets, it’s clear that a mosaic of solutions is needed. Clean electrification, hydrogen, and renewable energy will do heavy lifting, but decarbonised fuels will fill critical gaps for airplanes in the sky, ships at sea, and vehicles on the road during the transition. Our vision is to be at the forefront of that effort, proving that “lower-carbon oil” is not a myth but a pragmatic bridge to a sustainable future. We have embraced the challenge of decarbonisation not just in theory but in practice – reimagining oil refining for the climate era and proactively addressing the challenges through technology and transparency. Ultimately, success will be measured in real emissions avoided. The widespread adoption of tLCAF, UMF, and Euro 6+ Diesel, all fueled by dLCO, could eliminate millions of tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually while also dramatically cutting air pollutants. That is a meaningful contribution to global decarbonisation efforts.

We invite stakeholders – from policymakers to industry peers – to examine our approach with an open mind. Healthy skepticism is important, but it should be informed by the facts of what our fuels achieve. We are confident that once the data speaks for itself, even traditionalists will recognise that decarbonising oil – though unconventional – has a legitimate and important place in the portfolio of climate solutions. DM-XTech stands ready to deliver on this promise: driving the change whereby the aviation, marine, and land transport industries can continue to thrive and meet their mobility needs, while steadily shrinking their carbon footprint on the way to 2050. Through innovation and responsible action, we can chart a new course for oil in the 21st century – one that honours both economics and the environment, to the benefit of current and future generations.

Appendix: Technical Validation and Performance Data