New synthetic diesel plant near Carseland

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

More industries are moving into Wheatland County.
Rocky Mountain GTL – Expander Energy is one of those, building a small-scale modular gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant near Carseland, beside the Martok gas plant, which will produce synthetic diesel.
“We consider engineered synthetic fuel as a bridge to the future,” said Steven Price, president of Expander Energy. “The fossil fuel industry will be under pressure as we move through the century.”
He said the process answers many questions about improving the environmental quality of fuel production in the province.
“The benefits for Carseland and Wheatland County are that it will create new local energy market for gas producers, generate a low emission sustainable fuel and has potential to spur development of other clean carbon concepts in the area,” said Price. “This GTL plant will provide a ‘one stop’ concept wherein product is created, processed, manufactured and can be consumed in local and regional markets.”
The process takes raw natural gas from a pipeline outlet, compresses it, uses a steam methane reformer to break apart various molecules and refines it into energy efficient fuel. Price said it has the lowest greenhouse emissions of diesels, zero sulphur and H2S, and low particulate ratings compared to products produced on the market today. He said it is a well-to-wheel concept. Once processed, it can be pumped directly into vehicles from the tank.
“One of the things that set Rocky Mountain apart from most of the other GTL producers is that we have the ability to take the raw natural gas from the field, along with other natural gas liquids,” said Price. “There will be some methane, ethane, maybe some butane … we don’t have to separate those out.”
Price said there is no venting, stockpile of sulphur products or smell to the surrounding community. Because the system has a heat recovery component, power requirements will be low, and all water used is recovered in the processing. He said the product already meets low carbon fuel standards set for the year 2020, and when blended with traditional diesels, quality increases and pollutants decrease.
“Nobody here can come close,” said Price about the product, adding that the fuel will be shipped to areas that natural gas pipelines don’t service.
It is expected the plant will produce 500 barrels a day and there may be potential for expansion. Price said sales will be about $4.5 million and the county should see a tax of about $250,000 added to its yearly revenues.
Major refineries in Alberta are situated in northern Alberta or resources are exported for refining.
The company has been active for a 10-year period. The plant costs approximately $60 million to build and will employ 50 to 60 people with 10 full-time jobs on an ongoing basis. The plant should be operational by the end of the year.