Belgium's IBA buys 10 pct of PetroBeam Inc

BRUSSELS Jan 14 (Reuters) - Belgian cancer diagnosis and therapy company Ion Beam Applications (IBAB.BR) said on Monday that it had taken a 10 percent stake in PetroBeam Inc with warrants allowing it to raise its holding to 20 percent.

IBA said the investment was about $6 million in the company developing particle accelerator technology for processing and upgrading oil products and could mark a move by IBA into the petroleum sector. PetroBeam used one of IBA's accelerators, a Rhodotron, in a pilot project to irradiate heavy oil or bitumen and transform it into light oil.

"The Petrobeam Process opens the door to a potential new market with exciting promises, where our Rhodotron can be used. That's why IBA decided to take a stake into PetroBeam", IBA Chief Executive Pierre Mottet said in a statement.

The process could help yield usuable oil from bitumen reserves. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Paul Bolding)