Meridian Energy Group Inc., Irvine, Calif., has finalized a licensing agreement with a division of Axens SA, Rueil-Malmaison, France, for implementation of processing technology at the proposed 55,000-b/sd Davis refinery to be built in the heart of southwestern North Dakota’s Bakken shale region, near Belfield, in Billings County, ND (OGJ Online, Dec. 23, 2015).
Axens North America Inc. (Axens NA) will define and provide licensing for its proprietary Clean-Tech refinery and hydrocarbon processing technology to be installed on several process units at the Davis refinery, Meridian said.
As part of the definition effort, Axens NA and engineering firm Vepica USA Inc., Houston, began working together in July on design of the project under a process book supply agreement between the service providers, according to Meridian.
Financial details of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.
This latest contract follows Meridian’s early-August contract award to Vepica for engineering definition on the planned grassroots refinery (OGJ Online, Aug. 10, 2016).
With its zoning certificate and conditional-use permit for the proposed refinery already approved by the Billings County Board of County Commissioners, Meridian currently in the process of finalizing its application to the air quality division of North Dakota’s health department for the refinery’s permit to construct (OGJ Online, July 7, 2016).
Due to be completed in 2017, Phase 1 of the refinery, or Davis Light, will have a capacity of 27,500-b/sd and include a single crude unit as well as ancillary processing units. A second phase of development to expand overall capacity at the site to 55,000-b/sd is scheduled to come on stream sometime in 2019 (OGJ Online, Mar. 23, 2016).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
