Early last year, Ivanhoe Energy was developing an oilsands project in Alberta, had partnered with China National Petroleum Corporation on an oil play in Ecuador, was pushing ahead with a proprietary heavy oil refining technology and wanted to build an offshore floating refinery. For over a decade, the company's goal was to use a process that converts heavy oil to light oil for easier transportation and processing, which it spent $100 million to acquire in 2004.