Gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology and commercial solutions company Primus Green Energy announced plans today to develop and deliver a 160-tpd methanol plant to a manufacturing site in the Marcellus shale region.

Production from the plant is slated to begin in 2017 for regional distribution, and three additional trains in the following years are expected to increase its capacity to 640 tpd. 

Primus’ standardized modular GTL systems will convert low-cost Marcellus feedstock into methanol locally, thus saving its clients in the region both production and transportation costs, the company says.

As a result, the systems are cost-competitive with the world-class methanol plants located on the US Gulf Coast and in international markets, according to officials with Primus, which transforms methane and other hydrocarbon gases into methanol and gasoline.

The company says it plans to deliver up to four additional methanol plants in other North American regional markets with capacities ranging from 160 tpd to 640 tpd, which will follow its low-cost standardized design and facilitate local production.

“The launch of our North American methanol plant in the Marcellus and additional commercial builds to follow for our clients globally demonstrate how Primus’ standardized, modularized STG+ solutions can provide world-class economics in smaller distributed plants,” said Sam Golan, CEO of Primus Green Energy. “In North America specifically, our technology offers clients a politically-stable, cost-effective avenue for local methanol and gasoline production, and we look forward to continuing to provide the industry with this domestic solution.” 

Primus’ STG+ technology can use a range of natural gas feedstocks, including wellhead and pipeline gas, dry or wet associated gas, “stranded” ethane, excess syngas from underutilized reformers or mixed natural gas liquids. 

The systems’ stranded and associated gas applications offer an ideal solution to the lack of traditional natural gas pipeline infrastructure in remote locations, enabling the monetization of gas that would otherwise be stranded or flared. The low-cost, modular systems can be trucked in and assembled onsite for easy deployment, Primus says.

The STG+  methanol and gasoline solutions are being developed in multiple projects across North America, Asia and the Middle East. By comparison with other GTL technologies, the process holds many key advantages, including record low capital and operating costs, high liquid product quality, zero wastewater, unmatched process simplicity and one of the best conversion yields on the market, according to Primus officials. 

These advantages result in STG+ technology being uniquely economical at all scales, the company says, starting at as small as 100,000 Nm3/day (5 million scf) of feed gas.