HOUSTON—Biofuels Power Corp. has signed a letter of intent with ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and Liberty GTL Inc. to build a small-scale gas-to-liquid demonstration facility in Houston. The parties have established a non-binding target date to complete installation and commissioning of the GTL Pilot Plant on or before Dec. 31, 2014.
The purpose of the GTL Pilot Plant is to commercially demonstrate converting stranded natural gas resources to synthetic crude oil. BFLS will operate the GTL Pilot Plant for the two-year demonstration.
ThyssenKrupp will provide technical services and contribute a previously operating auto-thermal reformer pilot plant of proven design, which will be used to generate synthesis gas feedstock for the production of synthetic crude oil.
Liberty will provide intellectual property and operating know-how regarding crude oil synthesis along with the relevant catalyst supply. The Liberty technical team is also credited for designing the FT (Fischer Tropsch) Reactor which will convert the synthetic gas to synthetic crude oil. The GTL Pilot Plant will be assembled at the Houston Clean Energy Park, which is an industrial estate owned by BFLS.
The focus of the GTL Pilot Plant will be to optimize design and operability of small-scale gas-to-liquid facilities capable of converting five to 10 million cubic feet per day of natural gas into approximately 500 bbls per day of synthetic crude oil. Building on Liberty's previous engineering studies completed by ThyssenKrupp in 2013, BFLS and Liberty are in the process of completing engineering on a 500 bbls per day reference plant design with the goal of deploying multiple units in North America in the future. This process is scheduled to be completed in the coming weeks.
Eric Gadd, the company's chief commercial officer says that “This GTL pilot project is an important milestone toward our goal of installing small scale GTL plants at stranded gas well sites. The pilot plant will prove the commercial viability of deploying small-scale GTL plants in North America. With an abundant natural gas resource base, future gas-to-liquids developments like this could fill a need in the energy industry for decades to come.”
Wayne Stocks, the president of Liberty stated “Liberty has been through several years of extensive research and engineering studies and considers its IP, know-how and strategic relationships to be the key to unlock the considerable value in monetizing the abundant gas resources in North America. This plant will be a first for the US and an important step to the future of clean fuels for the Nation. Liberty is proud to be associated with ThyssenKrupp and Biofuels Power and is truly excited to commercialize small-scale gas to liquids on a global scale.”
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
