Nacero lets new contract for proposed Texas GTG plant

Nacero Inc., Houston, has let a contract to Bechtel Corp. to provide engineering and construction for a newly proposed natural gas-to-gasoline (GTG) plant to be built in Penwell, Ector County, Tex., in the heart of the Permian basin (OGJ Online, Apr. 23, 2021).

As part of the contract, Bechtel will deliver front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Penwell plant that, once in operation, will be the world’s first gasoline manufacturing plant to incorporate carbon capture, sequestration, and 100% renewable power, the service provider said.

Upon completing the FEED, Bechtel said it will deliver a lump-sum turnkey price proposal for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the project based on sustainable design and execution to bring about carbon reduction in the supply chain and reduce the carbon footprint of the project during construction, in line with the companies’ shared commitment to best-in-class environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

A value of the FEED contract was not disclosed.

First announced in April, the proposed $6.5-7.5-billion Penwell GTG plant will use a feedstock of low-cost natural gasoline, biomethane captured from farms and landfills, and mitigated flared gas from the Permian basin to produce 70,000 b/d of finished gasoline component ready for blending to US commercial grades. The second phase of construction, which will take an additional 2 years, will bring plant capacity to 115,000 b/d, according to Bechtel.

The plant’s sequestered CO₂ will be transported via an existing on-site pipeline for use in enhanced oil recovery, Nacero said. The Penwell GTG plant also will produce blue hydrogen (see accompanying box) and will receive all of its electricity from renewable sources, much of which will be produced on-site from solar panels colocated with the processing and production installations on the 2,600-acre site, according to the operator.

While Nacero said construction on the Penwell GTG project is slated to begin by yearend, the operator has yet to disclose a definitive timeframe for startup of either Phase 1 or Phase 2.

Nacero previously entered agreements with Haldor Topsoe AS under which Topsoe will supply its technology and catalysts for the Penwell plant as well as Nacero’s other US GTG plants, which currently include proposed projects in Arizona and the Marcellus basin of Pennsylvania (OGJ Online, Mar. 26, 2020).