Calumet Specialty Products Partners, the producer of specialty hydrocarbon and fuel products, has announced that it will be investing as a joint venture partner in the construction of a commercial gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant that is being built to produce 1,100 barrels per day of refined products, such as waxes, drilling fluids, distillate and naphtha from natural gas.
The Lake Charles, Louisiana plant, estimated to cost $135 million, is scheduled for operation by late 2015.The brownfield plant is owned and operated by Juniper GTL and will be funded through a combination of equity and senior secured debt. Calumet will be investing $25 million in exchange for an equity interest of approximately 22 percent in the joint venture.
The GTL process starts with the reforming of natural gas into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. These gases are then send to a reactor, where they combine into a paraffinic liquid through a reaction known as Fischer-Tropsch (FT). The remaining liquid is refined by distillation and hydrogenation. The whole process, guaranteed under a single GTL license (XTLH®), focuses on the reliable, profitable production of high quality specialty and fuels products.
“This joint venture offers Calumet the opportunity to lead a growing market that converts lower-cost natural gas into higher value liquids,” stated Jennifer Straumins, president and COO of Calumet. “Looking ahead, we believe this project puts Calumet in a leadership position to capture promising GTL opportunities which we anticipate to arise given expectations for continued growth in domestic natural gas production in future years.”