Canadian firm plans GTL complex for North Dakota

The North Dakota Department of Commerce (NDDC) has approved initial funding support to Cerilon GTL Inc.—a subsidiary of Calgary-based Cerilon Inc.—for the operator’s plan to build a grassroots gas-to-liquids (GTL) complex in Trenton, Williams County, ND.

As part of the Oct. 14 funding approval, the North Dakota Development Fund (NDDF)—an NDDC division—has pledged $3 million in initial funding, as well as anticipated future financial support, to Cerilon GTL to proceed with ongoing development of the first $2.8-billion phase of the proposed GTL complex that, once online, would convert the state’s abundant supply of natural gas into 24,000 b/d of ultralow sulfur diesel and other specialty products, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and NDDC said in a release.

Alongside supporting future growth of North Dakota’s natural gas production, the planned GTL project also aligns with Burgum’s goal for the state to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 while simultaneously delivering high-demand, low-carbon energy products to regional markets.

“The global investment community and markets are demanding low-carbon energy, [and] North Dakota is well-positioned to be a global leader and coveted location for businesses who are looking to expand and respond to the many factors that are currently shaping the future of energy,” Burgum said.

Slated to become the lowest-carbon footprint plant of its kind in the world if realized, the proposed GTL plant—the location of which allows for rail and pipeline access and offers carbon sequestration opportunities—also would be equipped to produce military-grade jet fuel, naphtha, and Group 3 base oils from natural gas feedstock as part of planned future phases, according to Cerilon’s website.

Following completion of necessary development work, Phase 1 of the GTL plant is scheduled to begin in early 2023, Burgum and NDDC said.

Project proponents revealed no further details regarding either the nature of remaining development work to be completed or an anticipated timeline for the plant’s commissioning.

Oklahoma project

Announcement of Cerilon GTL’s proposed North Dakota complex follows a previous funding award in 2019 to Cerilon for development of a similarly planned GTL plant in El Reno, Okla., according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s (ODC) Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund Annual Report 2019.

As part of the Oklahoma closing fund award Cerilon GTL was to receive $2 million to build the GTL plant, with $1 million to be paid after Cerilon completed construction on half of the $2.35-billion plant and the remaining $1 million to be paid upon the plant’s startup.

It remains unclear to date whether development of the Oklahoma plant remains under way or if the project has been abandoned.