BP hosts public reception at GTL site in Nikiski
Last June, BP announced the selection of Nikiski as the site of a demonstration plant to test potential breakthrough gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology designed to convert methane gas into synthetic crude oil. Last week, BP invited hundreds of local officials, business leaders and community members to a reception at the new construction site.
Under thousands of square feet of temporary aluminum tube framed tenting, corporate of ficials from BP welcomed those assembled to the construction site of the new $86 million dollar test facility, which when completed will be approximately the size of the BP office building in Anchorage.
According to Fred Franklin, Senior Vice President of Kvaerner Process Technology, the plan is to commercialize a chemical conversion technology that has been known since World War II. "A lot of the experimental work has been done over the last few years to bring this technology forward to what we think is going to be an economic process," said Franklin. "It's about designing something which fits with the environment and the scale of projects that are likely to occur particularly here in Alaska where there are large gas reserves." Kvaerner is a global company that is involved with oil and gas development in the North Sea, and the production of very large-scale petrochemical plants around the world.
BP as an oil and gas company has seen dramatic growth over the last few years with the acquisition of AMOCO and ARCO corporations and is now becoming more focused on gas with the companies production nearing 40% in gas, according to Richard Campbell, Senior President BP Alaska. "We're focusing on gas because people want more gas. Today the growth in markets for gas is much greater than the demand for liquid fuels, and I think that is trend we will see continuing into the future," said Campbell.
Twenty-one Alaska-based companies have been awarded contracts related to the construction and operation of the plant for services ranging from pre-construction environmental fieldwork to janitorial and security services. The demonstration facility will convert about 3 million cubic feet of natural gas into an estimated 300 barrels of synthetic crude a day, according to Campbell. The facility is scheduled to begin operations during the first half of 2002.
Last June, BP announced the selection of Nikiski as the site of a demonstration plant to test potential breakthrough gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology designed to convert methane gas into synthetic crude oil. Last week, BP invited hundreds of local officials, business leaders and community members to a reception at the new construction site.
Under thousands of square feet of temporary aluminum tube framed tenting, corporate of ficials from BP welcomed those assembled to the construction site of the new $86 million dollar test facility, which when completed will be approximately the size of the BP office building in Anchorage.
According to Fred Franklin, Senior Vice President of Kvaerner Process Technology, the plan is to commercialize a chemical conversion technology that has been known since World War II. "A lot of the experimental work has been done over the last few years to bring this technology forward to what we think is going to be an economic process," said Franklin. "It's about designing something which fits with the environment and the scale of projects that are likely to occur particularly here in Alaska where there are large gas reserves." Kvaerner is a global company that is involved with oil and gas development in the North Sea, and the production of very large-scale petrochemical plants around the world.
BP as an oil and gas company has seen dramatic growth over the last few years with the acquisition of AMOCO and ARCO corporations and is now becoming more focused on gas with the companies production nearing 40% in gas, according to Richard Campbell, Senior President BP Alaska. "We're focusing on gas because people want more gas. Today the growth in markets for gas is much greater than the demand for liquid fuels, and I think that is trend we will see continuing into the future," said Campbell.
Twenty-one Alaska-based companies have been awarded contracts related to the construction and operation of the plant for services ranging from pre-construction environmental fieldwork to janitorial and security services. The demonstration facility will convert about 3 million cubic feet of natural gas into an estimated 300 barrels of synthetic crude a day, according to Campbell. The facility is scheduled to begin operations during the first half of 2002.