Ferus Natural Gas Fuels and ENN Canada Corporation announced a joint venture to construct, own, and, operate two LNG liquefaction plants in Canada. The plants will be strategically located in Vancouver BC and Edmonton AB to service the on-road trucking market as well as other high-horsepower applications including marine, rail, mining, and oil and gas exploration.
“The benefits of fueling with natural gas are significant," says Henry Cai, chief executive officer of ENN Canada. “Natural gas over diesel represents a 30%-40% cost savings to the end-user and contributes up to a25%reductionin greenhousegasemissions.”
Ken Hughes, Alberta’s Energy Minister, says: "Theseprojectswillhelpbuildthemarketforcleanburningnaturalgasasatransportation fuel.Itisanotherstepontheroadtofindingnew usesand new marketsforourabundant naturalgasresourceshereand in BritishColumbia.”
ThepartnershipbringstogethertwomajorplayersintheNorthAmericannaturalgasfueling market.FerusNaturalGasFuelsspecializesinbuildingandoperatingcryogenicandmicro-LNG plants and distribution equipment, and ENN Canada, which is developing LNG refueling infrastructure across the country, brings expertise in the construction and operation of LNG/LCNG stations and provides assistance in acquiring and transitioning to natural gas vehicles.
“Lackofinfrastructureisoneofthemajorchallengesassociatedwiththedevelopmentofthe LNGfuelingmarket”,saysDickBrown,chief executive officerofFerusNaturalGasFuels. “Inorderforour customerstomaketheswitchtonaturalgas,theyneedcertaintyofanuninterrupted supplyof LNGtofueltheirequipment.ThesetwoLNGliquefactionplants,alongwiththespecialized distributionequipmentandplannedretailfuelingstations,will ensurethatsupply, which inturn willpromoteand facilitatethewidespread usageofLNG in Western Canada.”
Bothfacilitieswillinitiallybebuilttoproduce100,000USgallonsperdayofLNG,withthe abilitytoexpandasdemandgrows.Siteselectionwillbedeterminedwithinsixmonths,and constructionwillbe initiatedimmediatelyafterward. Firstproductisexpectedearlyin2016.
AsOperator,FerusNaturalGasFuelsisresponsibleforthedesign,engineering,construction, operation, andmarketing, and sales of both facilities. ENN Canada has committed to a significantamountof theLNGproducedattheseplantsfor itsplannedfuelingstations.