Primus Green Energy Inc., along with an unidentified global petrochemical company as a joint venture partner, has let a contract to IHI E&C International Corp. to deliver a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for a first of its kind natural gas-to-gasoline (GTG) plant to be located Texas.
The proposed Texas GTG plant—which would consume 28 MMcfd of natural gas to produce 2,800 b/d of gasoline—will be a scaled-up version of Primus’s demonstration plant in New Jersey, which has safely and successfully produced methanol and gasoline, Primus said.
Underpinning the project is Primus’s patented STG+ technology, which has been validated through more than 10,000 hr of operation. Over the past several years, Primus has collaborated with Koch Modular Process Systems LLC, Paramus, NJ—who will also be participating in the project—to optimize the technology.
The plant will produce RBOB-specification gasoline using low-cost natural gas from the nearby Permian basin, according to the operator’s website.
Primus said it expects the FEED study to be completed in mid-2020.
“As more and more companies focus on climate change and [environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria] in general we feel the time to apply this technology has never been better,” said Steven Murray, Primus’s chief executive officer. “Primus’s strategy is to build practical environmental solutions for natural gas that is currently being flared or otherwise wasted. This project enables us to commercially demonstrate our technology, while opening the door for a range of future projects that support sustainability and zero routine flaring initiatives.”
While Murray did not identify the JV strategic partner other than to note its “significant experience in natural gas derivatives,” he did confirm he expects the company to follow this first planned project in Texas with several others in North America and prospectively worldwide.
A second train at the Texas plant also is under consideration, which would bring total gasoline production at the site to 5,600 b/d, Primus said on its website.
Based in Houston, IHI E&C is an experienced contractor with directly relevant past projects in gas-to-liquids (GTL) and steam methane reforming technology, including FEED and the capital cost estimate for Sundrop Fuels Inc.’s GTL plant near Alexandria, La., as well as FEED, engineering, procurement, and construction of Methanex Chile SA’s methanol plant just north of Puenta Arenas, Chile, according to IHI E&C’s website.
Primus is majority owned by Kenon Holdings Ltd. of Singapore.
