$477 Million NatGas Coming to Clinton County, PA. A natural gas synthesis plant that would produce a range of projects is planned in rural western Clinton County at an estimated cost of $477 million.
The development, which has been in the planning stage for 16 months, is an effort of Frontier Natural Resources and a new company, KeyState Agri, both headquartered in Bellefonte.
Many hurdles have been cleared but there are plenty to go about the environmentally friendly project, Perry Babb, who leads the KeyState development team and serves as acting CEO, said Monday.
A natural gas synthesis plant uses the methane in natural gas as a feedstock to produce a range of products used in agriculture, industry, medicines and transportation, he explained.
The majority of carbon dioxide generated in gas synthesis processes is captured and used in making other products, he said.
More than a dozen similar plants have been built across the United States in the last 15 years, he said.
The plant will have up to a 30-acre footprint and be adjacent to Frontier’s liquefied natural gas plant in West Keating Twp., Babb said. It will sit on top of its own 6,000-acre natural gas supply, he said.
State-of-the-art wells will be drilled once a year for 20 years to provide the gas, he said.
Between 150 and 200 jobs are expected to be created when the plant goes into operation, with 600 to 800 needed during construction that is to begin in 2022, he said. Completion is scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025.
In touting the benefits of the synthesis plant, Babb said the urea fertilizer production will provide Pennsylvania agriculture with its own, stable, lower-cost supply.
The urea fertilizer also will be used in diesel exhaust fluid that the Environmental Protection Agency mandates in all diesel trucks, buses and marine vessels to lower nitrous oxides in emissions, he said.
There is no production of urea fertilizer and diesel exhaust fluid in a 13-state Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region, Babb said.
The economic development impact of the project will be profound and widespread especially on towns in the area that once relied on coal, he predicts.
It is projected two or three trucks an hour and six to eight rail cars a day will transport product from the plant, he said.
Plans call for housing built for construction workers to be converted into units for the low-income and elderly, he said. Workforce development programs will be coordinated with area schools and universities, he said.
KeyState will provide land and funding with the Keystone Country Elk Alliance to enhance the wildlife habit for elk by reclaiming some of the old surface mines, he said. Some believe “elk will be grazing next to our fence,” he said.
Although KeyState is local, a veteran team of consultants, engineers, technology providers, major construction companies and investment bankers has been assembled, he said.
Agreements have been signed with industry partners, all headquartered in Pennsylvania, that will purchase and distribute 100 percent of the plant’s proposed capacity, Babb said.
Frontier is an independent oil and natural gas producer with a primary focus on conventional and unconventional resources across the Appalachian Basin.
NatGas Plant Coming to Tunkhannock, PA. The low cost NatGas has attracted one deal to Clinton County, PA. Elis Energy is working on a similar deal for the Tunkhannock, PA area. (RUMOR)
The development, which has been in the planning stage for 16 months, is an effort of Frontier Natural Resources and a new company, KeyState Agri, both headquartered in Bellefonte.
Many hurdles have been cleared but there are plenty to go about the environmentally friendly project, Perry Babb, who leads the KeyState development team and serves as acting CEO, said Monday.
A natural gas synthesis plant uses the methane in natural gas as a feedstock to produce a range of products used in agriculture, industry, medicines and transportation, he explained.
The majority of carbon dioxide generated in gas synthesis processes is captured and used in making other products, he said.
More than a dozen similar plants have been built across the United States in the last 15 years, he said.
The plant will have up to a 30-acre footprint and be adjacent to Frontier’s liquefied natural gas plant in West Keating Twp., Babb said. It will sit on top of its own 6,000-acre natural gas supply, he said.
State-of-the-art wells will be drilled once a year for 20 years to provide the gas, he said.
Between 150 and 200 jobs are expected to be created when the plant goes into operation, with 600 to 800 needed during construction that is to begin in 2022, he said. Completion is scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025.
In touting the benefits of the synthesis plant, Babb said the urea fertilizer production will provide Pennsylvania agriculture with its own, stable, lower-cost supply.
The urea fertilizer also will be used in diesel exhaust fluid that the Environmental Protection Agency mandates in all diesel trucks, buses and marine vessels to lower nitrous oxides in emissions, he said.
There is no production of urea fertilizer and diesel exhaust fluid in a 13-state Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region, Babb said.
The economic development impact of the project will be profound and widespread especially on towns in the area that once relied on coal, he predicts.
It is projected two or three trucks an hour and six to eight rail cars a day will transport product from the plant, he said.
Plans call for housing built for construction workers to be converted into units for the low-income and elderly, he said. Workforce development programs will be coordinated with area schools and universities, he said.
KeyState will provide land and funding with the Keystone Country Elk Alliance to enhance the wildlife habit for elk by reclaiming some of the old surface mines, he said. Some believe “elk will be grazing next to our fence,” he said.
Although KeyState is local, a veteran team of consultants, engineers, technology providers, major construction companies and investment bankers has been assembled, he said.
Agreements have been signed with industry partners, all headquartered in Pennsylvania, that will purchase and distribute 100 percent of the plant’s proposed capacity, Babb said.
Frontier is an independent oil and natural gas producer with a primary focus on conventional and unconventional resources across the Appalachian Basin.
NatGas Plant Coming to Tunkhannock, PA. The low cost NatGas has attracted one deal to Clinton County, PA. Elis Energy is working on a similar deal for the Tunkhannock, PA area. (RUMOR)
