News Post
Natural gas to methanol to gasoline plant considered for Sarnia
Ainsworth Energy, based in British Columbia, has re-surfaced plans to build a 15,000 bpd synthetic gasoline project in Sarnia, Ontario, the Lamnton Shield newspaper reported. At a cost of $1.9 billion, the project would convert natural gas to methanol, then methanol to gasoline.
The plant production would displace gasoline currently imported into Ontario. The synthetic gasoline produced is high octane and contains zero sulfur. Natural-gas based production also helps meet Canadian federal and provincial low carbon intensity gasoline legislation.
Ainsworth Energy and Javelin Commodities was granted permission from Sarnia's committee of adjustment for a long-term lease of 70 acres at TransAlta's Bluewater Energy Park, the site of a former Dow Chemical plant.
“We’ve been working on this project for a while and managed to keep our heads below the parapet,” said Michael Ainsworth, president of Ainsworth Energy. Their Financial Invetment Decision could be made by 2020, adding that their engineering is well in progess and they have begun work on permitting. The business case for this project is based on long-term lower cost of natural gas compared to crude oil.
Methanol-to-Gaoline technology was developed by Mobil and implemented as a $1 billion project in the 1980s under a 25%/75% agreement with the New Zealand government, using feedstock from the offshore Maui field.
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