• Global nasal drug delivery technology market expected to reach $64 billion by 2021
• Development of CBD-infused soluble gel for nasal delivery targets range of diseases
• Clinical benefits of Sol-gel delivery method include a safer, more reliable delivery platform with higher efficacy

Health sciences company PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) and UniQuest Pty Limited, the main commercialization company of the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, are expecting 2018 to be an exciting, productive year for joint medical research projects. PreveCeutical Medical, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, has entered into a research and option agreement with the University and UniQuest to develop a soluble gel to deliver cannabinoids directly to the brain via the nasal cavity. In a press release discussing the latest research project, UniQuest CEO Dr. Dean Moss said that PreveCeutical’s interest in the University’s intellectual property and expertise to develop soluble gels (Sol-gels) to deliver cannabinoids to the central nervous system (CNS) fit naturally with the company’s research goals (http://ibn.fm/9WHRg).

“Sol-gels potentially provide a safer, more reliable platform to deliver drugs, such as cannabinoids, directly to the CNS, avoiding unwanted rapid metabolism, thus providing clinical benefit from direct nose-to-brain delivery,” Dr. Moss said in the release.

The global nasal drug delivery technology market is projected to reach $64 billion by 2021, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5 percent, according to a report issued by MarketsandMarkets (http://ibn.fm/miHWc). While the report is segmented based on dosage form, therapeutic application, end user, system, container and region, it also states “intranasal drug delivery is one of the most preferred drug delivery routes among patients as well as healthcare providers.”

PreveCeutical’s proprietary nasal formulations will be designed as a CBD-based nose-to-brain delivery system targeting a range of indications such as pain, inflammation, seizures and neurological disorders. Dr. Harry Parekh, chief research officer for PreveCeutical, will lead the Sol-gel cannabinoid project from his base at the University’s School of Pharmacy.

The Sol-gels begin as a liquid that is sprayed into the nose, which then forms a gel as it is warmed in the nasal cavity. This effectively bypasses the stomach and intestines – eliminating first pass metabolism – and may dramatically improve bioavailability, even compared to nasal sprays and other newer delivery systems.

“This feature can potentially be exploited to deliver drugs through the nasal mucosa,” Dr. Parekh said. “The longer-term goal is to develop Sol-gels as safe, reliable delivery systems for cannabinoid extracts across a range of disease indications.”

Terms of the research program, which has a target start date of March 1, 2018, state that PreveCeutical will own all intellectual property developed under the program and will be granted an option to negotiate an exclusive worldwide license to UniQuest’s background IP.

“Increasing evidence of the clinical benefits associated with cannabinoids and the recent legalization of medical marijuana across a number of jurisdictions were the drivers for the collaboration,” Stephen Van Deventer, PreveCeutical chairman and CEO, added in a news release. “Working with UniQuest and UQ will provide the company with unique opportunities to develop new health and wellness products… Nasal delivery of cannabinoids could potentially provide a safer and more reliable delivery platform with clinical benefits for pain, inflammation, seizures, and mental illness.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PreveCeutical.com

Let us hear your thoughts: PreveCeutical Medical Inc. Message Board

• EVIO is a leading accredited provider of analytical services to the regulated cannabis industry
• The company currently operates nine laboratories in five states
• EVIO is on track to open 18 labs around the U.S. by the end of 2018

EVIO, Inc. (OTCQB: EVIO) provides clients across the United States with consistent, high-quality cannabis analytical services. Backed by a stringent quality control assurance program, the company’s laboratory division, EVIO Labs, is the leading provider of accredited analytical testing, scientific research and advisory services to enterprises in the U.S. regulated cannabis industry. The ancillary services provided by EVIO Labs are state-mandated, requiring the company to ensure the safety and quality of cannabis supplied throughout the nation.

Over the past two years, EVIO Labs has performed more than 50,000 tests, mostly consisting of analysis and testing of cannabis and industrial hemp-based flower, extracts and infused products. The company has grown from one laboratory in Oregon to nine labs in five states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts and Oregon. EVIO Labs is on track to open 18 laboratory facilities at other locations around the United States by the end of 2018. Apart from its analytical services, the company provides advisory services to help cannabis producers and retailers enhance production processes, meet quality goals and achieve regulatory compliance.

EVIO Labs has built up its leading position in cannabis biotechnology by leveraging the extensive experience of its scientists and management team. The company’s laboratories specialize in performing analysis for cannabinoids, terpenes and pesticide residues. They also conduct tests for moisture content, as well as the detection of heavy metals and harmful residual solvents from the cannabis extraction process. EVIO Labs has extensive experience in product research and development, analytical chemistry techniques and the cultivation and production of medical cannabis. The company’s management team has a solid track record in designing and rolling out successful business ventures, ensuring conformance to regulatory and compliance standards.

On December 26, 2017, EVIO announced that its Colorado licensee, PhytaTech CO, had attained ISO 17025 accreditation, the highest recognized quality standard for calibration and testing laboratories. Adherence to this standard requires consistent precision and accuracy of testing, and the implementation of a rigorous quality management system. In early January 2018, EVIO acquired a 60 percent stake in C3 Labs, LLC, located in Berkley, California, with an option to purchase the remaining shareholding over the next three years.

In releasing this news, EVIO’s CEO, William Waldrop, stated, “C3 Labs generated over $1M in consulting revenues during the last two years. EVIO plans to continue offering these services along with traditional compliance testing. The 8,000 square foot facility is already outfitted with the latest analytical testing equipment, and will become our Northern California hub laboratory… Demand for testing services is expected to increase significantly as the state rolls out its adult-use marijuana market.”

On January 3, 2018, EVIO announced the appointment of Al Lustig as its new president, reporting to Waldrop. Lustig has a track record of success in sales management and corporate growth at Pfizer, one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies. He will be tasked with driving company growth, as well as developing and executing both national and international sales, and operational strategies. EVIO also appointed a new vice president of operations, Ron Russak, on January 29, 2018. Russak had regional operational responsibility, during a 17-year career with Quest Diagnostics, for 529 patient service centers and 228 inter-office phlebotomy sites in the U.S. He will play a major role in driving the expansion of the company’s laboratory operations.

With its established reputation for accredited analytical, research and development, and advisory services, EVIO is poised to expand its operations across North America. Recent key appointments have strengthened the management team to ensure that the company is well positioned to capitalize on the rapidly growing cannabis industry.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EVIOLabs.com

Let us hear your thoughts: EVIO, Inc. Message Board

• Blockchain-focused business unit launched to create crypto-based ecosystem connecting merchants and consumers
• Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology applications market could reach $10 trillion by 2033
• Institutional investment of $7.55 million will support blockchain initiatives and continued growth

Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE), a global financial technology and value-added solutions group that supports electronic payments acceptance in an omni-channel environment spanning across point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile devices, recently announced that it has completed a $7.55 million private placement of restricted common stock and warrants with a New York-based office that has made several investments in blockchain technology platforms. Shares of Net Element rose on news of the investment, which will be used to fuel development of the company’s blockchain-focused business unit, support growth initiatives and allow for potential acquisitions, Net Element CEO Oleg Firer said in a press release (http://ibn.fm/z1hzf).

“We are delighted to receive a significant investment that will help ensure full scalability of our platform and accommodate the Company’s anticipated future growth as well as the development of our value-added services blockchain platform,” Firer said. “The Company’s balance sheet is now the strongest in its history, allowing Net Element to support future growth opportunities.”

A capital markets analyst with The Royal Bank of Canada predicts that the cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology applications market could reach $10 trillion by 2033, an article in Bitcoin Magazine states (http://ibn.fm/BED3e). In his January 3 report, a summary of which was shared via Twitter (http://ibn.fm/DtSBv), Mitch Steves states that he believes the bulk of the massive market share would be created through blockchain technology’s ability to “secure the internet.” The $10 trillion figure represents one-third of the current size of the market for value storage services such as Dropbox or iCloud, Steves points out.

Net Element’s blockchain-based business unit is expected to become a decentralized crypto-based ecosystem that will act as a framework for an unlimited number of value-added services offered by the company. Net Element’s determination to bring the transparency, security and peer-to-peer sales potential of blockchain technology to its merchants and consumers is driving the company’s move in this emerging market. Net Element has partnered with Bunker Capital to develop and deploy blockchain technology-based solutions.

“We believe that we’re at the dawn of a new evolution where additional digital payment methods are being introduced,” Firer added (http://ibn.fm/vKsaL). “Introduction of our division focused on blockchain as part of the NASDAQ-listed entity will add transparency and compliance assurance to our investors as well as provide access to deploy value-added services to over 20 million electronic commerce clients that are currently part of Net Element’s growing network.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NetElement.com

• Company plans mid-2018 commencement of adult-use market sales in Canada as it addresses medical segment opportunity
• The firm received its cultivation license during the fourth quarter of 2017, anticipates receiving its sales license by May
• Phillip Millar, MMG president, said company’s portfolio includes genetic strain that holds the highest level of CBD in Canada, sees potential in medical segment and for European export

Golden Leaf Holdings, Ltd. (OTCQB: GLDFF) (CSE: GLH) recently announced that its subsidiary, Medical Marijuana Group (“MMG”), has received its first order of genetics at its St. Thomas, Ontario facility as it transitions from a production location to a functioning plant-growing unit (http://ibn.fm/8l4tD). The move comes after MMG received its cultivation license in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The firm anticipates receiving its sales license by May, and it has already prepared applications for licenses for oil extraction and wholesale. The plants received at the St. Thomas location are expected to be ready for cultivation in three months, the company said, and it anticipates additional shipments in the future.

GLDFF is a Canadian company with operations in Oregon, Nevada and Canada, and it is one of the largest cannabis oil and solution providers in North America. GLDFF cultivates, extracts, manufactures and distributes its products through its own branded Chalice Farm retail dispensaries, as well as third-party dispensaries. Its advantages include a scalable and proprietary supply chain, low cost production of cannabis supply oils, high brand equity and a proven business model that’s exportable to other states.

“MMG Canada has bold expansion plans for 2018 as its prepares for the commencement of adult-use market sales in Canada in mid-2018, and to adequately address the ever-increasing medical segment opportunity,” William Simpson, CEO of the company, stated in a news release.

The company’s portfolio includes a genetic strain which holds the highest level of CBD in Canada. Phillip Millar, MMG president, added, “This genetic is extremely valuable in the medical market and also holds tremendous potential for European export. We are encouraged by the strong demand for our high-quality THC strains that we expect will provide a strong platform for dynamic growth across Canada.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GoldenLeafHoldings.com

• YiLo has now received a California state license to manufacture and cultivate cannabis
• YiLo is increasing its product line with introduction of additional CBD products and the ‘Jamyn’ brand of edibles
• Company operates in Arizona, with wholesale operations and the YiLo Superstore on Thunderbird Road in Phoenix, and plans wholesale distribution throughout California

YiLoLife, Inc. (“YiLo”), a cannabis holding company, is setting plans in place to expand into California from its Arizona base. YiLo is now developing operations in California for cultivating and manufacturing products. It has acquired a 34,000 square foot warehouse on a 4.66 acre parcel and also obtained a California state license enabling it to cultivate, manufacture and distribute within the state, according to Carsten Loelke, founder and CEO.

The company is currently working on building out the warehouse to ready it for the processing of its products. YiLo notes that the facility can be expanded to up to 130,000 square feet.

The Phoenix-based company is already operational in the neighboring state of Arizona, where it distributes its line of YiLo-branded edibles, such as soft gels and gummies, drinks and other THC and CBD products, to dispensaries statewide. It also operates the YiLo Superstore on 2841 W Thunderbird Road in Phoenix.

YiLoLife, Inc.’s goal is to become a public company listed on the NASDAQ. To achieve that, the company is seeking to attract more shareholders, as required to qualify to be listed on the exchange. “It’s a new era for cannabis. There’s never been a better time to invest,” Loelke said.

California is developing the largest cannabis market in the world, and YiLo’s expansion could mean an even more lucrative investment for its shareholders.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.YiLo.com

• Cannabis industry expected to reach $24.5 billion in sales within four years
• Company expanding into Canada ahead of expected nationwide legalization
• Medical diagnostic device set for clinical tests to validate detection of STDs

With the sunny investment disposition toward marijuana and blockchain-related industries carrying over from late 2017’s marketplace into the new year (http://ibn.fm/0jJdm), Florida-based Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST) is optimistic about its ability to serve the medical and recreational needs of a growing population of cannabis users. The biotechnology company has established a research agreement with the University of Central Oklahoma and DV Biologics Laboratory to study and advance the health care benefits of its high-grade hemp CBD oil, placed its cannabidiol (CBD) food products in retail stores throughout the country, established a non-profit foundation to help underprivileged patients use its products and acquired Quebec, Canada-based Canna Inno Laboratories Inc. in a bid to expand into that country as it prepares to legalize the recreational use of marijuana on a national basis later this year.

Earth Science Tech, Inc. announced in May 2014 that it was entering the legal cannabis and medical marijuana industry as a natural progression of its mission to deliver wellness and alternative medicine options to American consumers. In the nearly four years since, a growing number of states have legalized medicinal and recreational uses for marijuana derivatives as popular sentiment has shifted toward acceptance of the drug despite its continued classification as a controlled substance by the federal government. The revolution in Canada that is expected to result in full legalization this summer has outpaced U.S. attitudes and provided a near-neighbor alternative for U.S. businesses that continue to encounter market obstacles at home.

Variances in forecasts about the market potential for the legal cannabis industry are measured in billions of dollars nowadays; cannabis industry analysts Arcview Market Research, in partnership with BDS Analytics, predicts that the market will reach $24.5 billion in sales within the next three to four years with a 28 percent CAGR that follows on a 33 percent increase between 2016 and 2017 despite ongoing federal prohibition (http://ibn.fm/of9OR). As this market potential grows, Earth Science Tech is working to uplist under the OTCQB’s regulations for new Tier II Regulation A+ companies, with hopes for SEC approval by March.

The proposed uplisting will underpin efforts to raise an additional $4 million in operating capital so the company can complete planned projects advancing its brand in the United States and Canada. In December, Earth Science Tech announced a CBD product revamp and brand education strategy (http://ibn.fm/vyiCM) that it expected to launch by the end of January, along with a renewed push for major donors to help its non-profit foundation and a collaboration with a start-up accelerator in Canada to help it ramp up its brand awareness.

In February, the company plans to begin a nine-month series of human clinical trials on its new CBD formulation, which is designed to decrease cravings and the negative effects of withdrawal in addicts. If the trials prove successful, the product is set to launch in 2019 as a new addition to the stable of Earth Science Tech patent-pending offerings.

“We look to hit the ground running in 2018 with all we have lined-up in the first quarter,” president, director and COO Nickolas Tabraue stated in a news release. “We have other exciting discussions that are progressing well, and we will share those once any material developments have been finalized. Our story and vision will be seen very soon and we greatly appreciate all who have believed in us since the beginning.”

Another aspect of Earth Science Tech’s mission is to develop low-cost, noninvasive home-use diagnostic tools for sexually transmitted infections and/or diseases. The company’s first medical device has been labeled MSN-2, which is set for clinical tests under an agreement with Laboratories BNK Canada to ensure the device meets regulatory requirements as part of the company’s bid to meet the specific needs of women. Earth Science Tech has already established the MSN-2 device’s ability to detect chlamydia, and it now aims to validate similar results for gonorrhea, another sexually transmitted disease that can have permanent consequences for patients if untreated. The company also plans to add testing to detect the different serotypes of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer. The diagnostic testing market for STDs is expected to grow to $108 billion by 2019, according to Transparency Market Research.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com

• IEG Holdings plans to create its own gold metal-backed cryptocurrency for consumer loans and consumer loan repayments
• The company’s loans offer interest rates that are significantly lower than payday lenders
• Adoption of blockchain technology offers substantial growth potential

On January 10, 2018, consumer loan provider IEG Holdings Corp. (OTCQB: IEGH) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Investment Evolution Crypto, LLC, is negotiating to purchase a gold project with prospecting licenses and known gold resources. The corporation plans to use a gold resource for the creation of its own gold metal-backed cryptocurrency, with a view to offering loans and accepting loan repayments through blockchain technology. Investment Evolution Crypto has not started mineral operations as yet, but it is currently developing plans to explore these crypto/blockchain opportunities. These efforts will include an evaluation of the legalities and associated economic risks.

Unlike other digital currencies like bitcoin, ether, Ripple and Litecoin, IEG Holdings’ cryptocurrency will be backed by gold and registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) as a security.

In a news release, the company’s chairman and CEO, Paul Mathieson, had this to say about the venture: “We believe potentially combining the exciting new blockchain technology with the hard asset of gold metal, expected SEC registration, a leading sophisticated online consumer finance system and individual U.S. state lending licenses is a very exciting proposition. In addition, we believe the future leaders of the crypto/blockchain sector will be companies that are materially compliant with all the existing and future related U.S. government legislation. We aim for IEGH to leverage off its existing fintech business credentials, specifically its extensive experience in online consumer loans, to potentially be a key player in the crypto/blockchain sector.”

IEG Holdings, based in Las Vegas, is a global leader in consumer finance and provides small-sized online personal loans to consumers in the United States. Through its operating subsidiary, Investment Evolution Corporation, the company offers loans under the brand “Mr. Amazing Loans.” Mr. Amazing Loans is a fintech company that specializes in providing loan amounts of $5,000 to $10,000 to consumers through a professional, user-friendly website. IEG Holdings’ loans are unsecured consumer loans with a five-year maturity period and interest rates that are significantly lower than payday lenders.

Through Mr. Amazing Loans, consumer loans receive same-day processing, with no prepayment penalty and no hidden or additional fees. Repayment interest rates are fixed at an annual percentage rate (APR) of 29.9 percent or less for the life of the loan.

According to the Center for Responsible Lending, typical payday lenders charge interest rates ranging from 391 percent to 521 percent APR on loans from $100 to $1,000 (http://ibn.fm/XyAYf). Terms presented by Mr. Amazing Loans offer low fixed repayments which fit into consumer budgets in an effort to ensure that they strengthen their financial positions. Loans may be approved on the same day of application, and funds are deposited directly into approved consumers’ bank accounts.

IEG Holdings is licensed and/or holds certificates of authority to originate loans in 20 states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. All loans are processed and serviced through the company’s corporate offices in Las Vegas, which eliminates the need for physical offices in each state where the company is licensed to conduct business.

While IEG Holdings’ primary goal is to create its own gold metal-backed cryptocurrency, it will explore the acceptance of established digital currencies, like bitcoin, for consumer loan repayment. With its foray into the rapidly growing blockchain space, 2018 promises to be a year of substantial growth for the company.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.InvestmentEvolution.com

Let us hear your thoughts: IEG Holdings Corporation Message Board

• Bringing to market the first and only comprehensive card processing operation of its kind, simple for businesses and clients
• Helps cannabis distributors stay in compliance with all federal laws
• Empowers businesses with an advanced client management system

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG) provides the industry with fully secure, state-of-the-art financial services that are simple to set up and easy to use. In January, the company launched Green, a platform with full merchant account functionality. Cash-only operations are now a thing of the past. This comprehensive card processing operation allows for online sales, client management, repeat billing and 100 percent secure electronic payments. Still classified as an illegal drug by the federal government, marijuana sales have left legal marijuana distributors in need of financial and banking solutions. Green is the answer.

Green allows marijuana dispensaries to have immediate access to funds while simultaneously keeping them in compliance with all Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) laws. Operating as a cash-only business creates a number of problems. Tracking funds and managing security can be a logistical nightmare. Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions allows businesses to be more accountable with their cash flow and more accurately track sales. It also helps simplify payroll and bills. Businesses can pay expenses straight from their Green accounts.

Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions offers businesses an advanced client management system, relieving the headache that comes with a cash-only operation. Green allows businesses to take payments directly from patients. Branded cards for clients are available so that they will have the businesses’ brands with them everywhere they go, fostering customer loyalty. Recurring billing orders can be set up, as well as integrated ecommerce shopping carts for online orders. Green is a total banking solution. Cannabis-related businesses now have top-tier banking solutions that are simple to use.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.REFG.co

Let us hear your thoughts: Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions Message Board

• Global medicinal cannabinoid market to exceed $55 billion by 2025
• Teewinot has created patent protected methods to produce exact cannabinoid molecules called CANNSYNTHESIS®
• Efficient cost-effective methods reduce production time and increase purity

There is indisputable scientific evidence of the curative effects of cannabinoids, and specialty biopharmaceutical companies are positioning to capitalize on the explosive growth expected in the cannabinoid-derived pharmaceutical market. In a report that may be substantially underestimated, the global medical cannabinoid market is expected to exceed $55 billion by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/stG53). However, the discovery of the human endocannabinoid system dramatically changed both the understanding and the vast potential of cannabinoid therapeutics. Understanding of the human system of lipids and receptors has sparked new scientific research into cannabinoids that may affect a much broader range of physiological functions than previously considered. With a tsunami of innovation, cannabinoid biopharmaceutical companies now research, identify and develop new drug candidates to improve and extend patients’ lives, create unique therapeutics to treat multiple maladies and provide new solutions for unmet medical needs.

At the vanguard of biopharmaceutical advancements in cannabinoid therapeutics, Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation has emerged as a leader in the manufacture and delivery of products containing cannabinoids, cannabinoid analogs (modified to enhance efficacy), and cannabinoid prodrugs (activated by body metabolism). Teewinot’s patent-protected biosynthetic cannabinoid manufacturing processes, called CANNSYNTHESIS®, are substantially more efficient than conventional chemical synthesis or methods of botanical extraction from the cannabis plant. The company’s patent protected processes for production of pure cannabinoids utilize biocatalysts and synthetic biology. With its wholly owned subsidiaries, Teewinot Technologies Ltd. (fka Full Spectrum Laboratories Ltd.) and Teewinot Laboratories Inc. (fka CMH Biotechnologies), both domiciled in legally favorable jurisdictions, Teewinot has created novel methods of cannabinoid production that reduce cost and production time while increasing purity.

Teewinot’s unique ability to cost effectively manufacture industrial quantities of exact cannabinoid molecules and modify delivery methods may become an indispensable asset in the global quest to develop effective new cannabinoid therapeutics. The company’s system diversifies the number and types of molecules that can be made available for research, product development and commercial pharmaceutical production of potentially life-changing drugs.

To protect this invaluable asset, Teewinot has taken aggressive intellectual property protection actions and filed patent applications in key countries around the world. Teewinot has created an exceptional combination of cutting edge scientific research on cannabinoids and an aggressive intellectual property portfolio to develop new and improved patient therapies and build significant value.

A myriad of cannabinoid-based drugs may soon be developed to unlock a vast range of new therapeutics that benefit millions of ailing people and answer lingering unmet medical needs. These new-found therapeutics have the potential to create a bonanza in the biopharmaceutical sector, and Teewinot may well become the beneficiary.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.TLSCorp.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Teewinot Life Sciences Message Board

• Vertical integration strategy paying off
• Successful oil trader
• Expertise in shipping petroleum products

Oil continues to be the world’s leading fuel, according to experts, accounting for about one-third of global energy consumption (http://ibn.fm/kzaJw). Fifteen years of decline – from 1994 to 2014 – have not been enough to knock petroleum off that perch, and, in 2015 and 2016, its global market share actually rose. Despite the environmental concerns that surround its use, oil is going to be around for a while. The management team of Petrogress, Inc. (OTC: PGAS) knows that. The company has been operating in the oil and gas industry since 2009. Led by CEO Christos Traois, who has over 25 years’ experience in the maritime industry and an eight-year track record in the oil industry, Petrogress continues its journey to success. Its vision is to be a global, vertically integrated energy company, well regarded for its people, partnerships and performance. It is well on the way to being exactly that, as its landmarks will testify.

Incorporated in the Marshall Islands in 2009, the company set up operations in Piraeus, famed as the port city of Athens in antiquity, and began chartering its vessels to transport gas oil. Gas oil is distilled crude with a range of boiling points (250-350°C) very similar in properties to diesel. Relying on previous experience as a maritime bunker supplier in and around Greek ports, the company shipped petroleum product from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. In 2010, due to the vibrancy of the oil and gas sector in Africa, Petrogress expanded operations to West Africa and, in particular, Nigeria and Ghana.

In 2011, Petrogress began trading crude. In view of its success in shipping petroleum products, the company decided to enter directly into trading crude, as well as shipping. Based on the expertise and relationships developed while acting solely as a carrier, Petrogress was able to seamlessly mesh its shipping and trading activities, after which the company was set for the next stage on its path to full integration.

By 2013, Petrogress had become well known in the region as a Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) trader. It shipped around 110,000 barrels that year, most of which was bought from small suppliers. By 2014, it was operating four tankers and LPFO sales had increased to 175,000 barrels. In addition, the company transported 8,750 tons of gas oil that year. The company also collaborated with a small Ghanaian refinery and acquired another tanker. During 2015, Petrogress increased its petroleum product sales to around 400,000 barrels of LPFO and 10,000 tons of gas oil, strengthening its position as an oil trader in West Africa.

Going forward, Petrogress is eyeing the U.S. gas export market (http://ibn.fm/l690J). In 2017, the U.S. became a net exporter of natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), mainly because of growing exports to Mexico but also because of declining pipeline imports from Canada and increasing exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The United States is currently the world’s largest natural gas producer, having surpassed Russia in 2009. Natural gas production in the United States increased from 55 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2008 to 72.5 Bcf/d in 2016. Most of this natural gas – about 96 percent in 2016 – is consumed domestically. However, abundant resources and large production increases have created opportunities for significant U.S. natural gas exports.

At some point, Petrogress plans to begin leasing LNG tankers to enter this lucrative market. It has incorporated a subsidiary in Delaware – Navigas Carriers Inc. – specifically to manage its natural gas activities. A sister subsidiary – Petrogress Oil & Gas Energy Inc. – has been incorporated in Texas to handle trading and logistics. The company is actively seeking opportunities in operating and developing natural gas production and transmission facilities along with LNG processing in the U.S., as well as refinery operations in North and West Africa and the transport and sales of LNG in Europe.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PetrogressInc.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Petrogress, Inc. Message Board