North Dakota grants final major permit for Cerilon’s proposed North Dakota GTL complex
Calgary-based Cerilon Inc. has received the final major permit required for the operator’s proposed plan to build a grassroots gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant near Trenton, Williams County, ND (OGJ Online, Oct. 21, 2021).
On Dec. 23, Cerilon confirmed the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ) issued the Cerilon GTL North Dakota project a North Dakota Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPDES) permit, which regulates discharges of pollutants from point sources into the state's water bodies.
Granting of the NDPDES permit confirms that Cerilon GTL North Dakota is designed to treat any water used in the GTL process to be of the same or better quality than the river water and—since the production process generates water—that the complex will return about the same amount of water to the river as it uses, Cerilon said.
"We've designed the project with a focus on minimizing impacts on both the community and the environment and have worked hard to meet [North Dakota’s] high expectations,” said Ron Opperman, Cerilon GTL’s chief executive officer.
“Receiving this final major permit means we've successfully delivered on a project design that meets or exceeds these expectations," Opperman said.
Award of the NDPDES permit follows the NDDEQ Division of Air Quality’s issuance of a Permit to Construct the project earlier in the month (OGJ Online, Dec. 10, 2024).
Designed to convert North Dakota's abundant natural gas supplies into 24,000 b/d of high-performance synthetic products that include ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD), naphtha, and Group IlI+ lubricant base oils, the proposed complex will be equipped with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), as well as have optionality to produce "transition," or sustainable, aviation fuel.
In addition to providing reduced-carbon products, the project's access to sufficient electrical power for startup and interconnection to the local power grid would enable the complex to produce and supply excess electricity to the state once the plant is fully operational.
With front-end engineering and design (FEED) on the project now under way, Cerilon previously confirmed it plans to take final investment decision (FID) on the project's estimated $2.8-billion first phase in mid-2026 (OGJ Online, June 7, 2024).
Earlier in the year, Cerilon said it also is seeking regulatory approvals for a Phase 2 complex of similar capacity on the same site.
Targeted for startup in 2028, Phase 1 of the GTL complex is anticipated to reach full operations in 2029, according to the operator.
Tthe North Dakota GTL plant’s GTL process to convert natural gas into ULSD, naphtha, and lubricant base oil will entail:
- A first step involving syngas generation, where natural gas will be converted into synthesis gas.
- A second step based on the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, which involves a series of reactions to convert the synthesis gas into a waxy feedstock.
- A final step applying Chevron's suite of hydroprocessing technologies tailored to treat and upgrade the unique properties of the FT feedstock into high-quality final products (OGJ Online, Mar. 14, 2024).
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
