Syntroleum Corp. asserts 2nd Singapore patent against Neste Oil

Syntroleum Corp. filed suit against Neste Oil Singapore Pte Ltd. with the High Court of Singapore asserting its Singapore Patent No. 169053 entitled “Hydrocracking Process for Biological Feedstocks and Hydrocarbons Produced Therefrom.” In the court filings for Suit 510 of 2013, Syntroleum alleges that Neste “operates a renewable diesel refinery at 1 Tuas South Lane, Singapore 637301, that processes biorenewable feedstocks to produce hydrocarbon products such as renewable diesel fuel and bionaphtha,” which Syntroleum alleges “falls within at least Claim 1 of the Patent.” Syntroleum's patent issued on May 31, 2013, and expires on August 21, 2028.

Syntroleum's action against Neste is not the first dispute between the parties in Singapore. On Feb. 7, 2013, Syntroleum filed suit against Neste with the High Court of Singapore asserting its Singapore Patent No. 172045 entitled “Even Carbon Number Paraffin Composition And Method of Manufacturing Same.” In the court filings for Suit 120 of 2013, Syntroleum alleged that Neste’s “operation at its renewable diesel refinery in Singapore involves the processing of a biorenewable feedstock to produce a hydrocarbon composition having at least 75 percent (by weight)  even carbon number paraffins” which Syntroleum alleges “is claimed at the very least, in claim 22 of the Patent.”

Syntroleum has invested substantial time and resources in its proprietary Bio-Synfining technology and will seek to enforce its intellectual property rights in venues around the world. Syntroleum owns the Syntroleum Process for Fischer-Tropsch conversion of synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons, the Synfining Process for upgrading FT liquid hydrocarbons into refined petroleum products, and the BioSynfining technology for converting renewable feedstocks into drop-in fuels. In a joint venture, Syntroleum and Tyson Foods own Dynamic Fuels, a 75 MMgy renewable diesel facility in Geismar, La.