Faustina Hydrogen Products LLC (Faustina) plans to proceed with a major $1.6 billion gasification facility in Louisiana that will produce some 1.3 million st/y of anhydrous ammonia. Faustina plans to apply for regulatory permits in July. Construction will commence once permits and financing are procured. Completion could occur in 2010.
The facility would use petroleum coke and high sulfur coal as feedstocks to produce anhydrous ammonia for agriculture, methanol, sulfur, and industrial grade carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide will be sequestered and sold as an industrial feedstock and for enhanced recovery of “stranded” oil reserves in oil fields along the Gulf Coast. Faustina told Green Markets that it plans to use both coal and petcoke, but primarily petcoke. It said it has been in the process of sourcing supply for some time, and continues in that process.
The project, initially announced last year (GM April 17, 2006, p. 1), will be located next to Mosaic Fertilizer LLC’s phosphate manufacturing plant in St. James Parish. Mosaic sold the site to Faustina, and will receive 60 percent of the ammonia offtake. Mosaic also agreed to purchase all sulfur produced by the project for use in its fertilizer operations.
Agrium Inc. announced June 18 that it has signed a 15-year agreement with Faustina to take 40 percent of the ammonia. Agrium says the deal will provide it with competitively-priced nitrogen for customers, with strategic access to all modes of transport to domestic customers, including barge, pipeline, and rail as well as deep-water access for possible exports. Agrium also has the option to obtain a sufficient supply of carbon dioxide for the potential development of a large-scale facility for upgrading ammonia to UAN/urea.
Neither Mosaic nor Agrium is expected to be an equity partner in the initial Faustina gasification project.
Faustina is near completing long-term agreements with major chemical companies to purchase the entire methanol output. Denbury Resources Inc. has agreed to purchase nearly all the carbon dioxide, which will be used for enhanced recovery of oil stranded or left behind after traditional rig drilling, revitalizing old oil fields throughout south Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
“Ammonia is an important fertilizer for U. S. agriculture,” said John Kinnamon, Faustina senior vice president, development. “Natural gas is a feedstock for ammonia, and the cost of natural gas has skyrocketed in recent years causing some companies to import lower-cost ammonia from abroad. We believe this new facility will revitalize domestic production of ammonia, which is vital to our food supply.”
“Faustina Hydrogen Products is committed to environmental stewardship,” said Stephen Goff, Louisiana operations manager. “We made sound, reliable process systems and environmental protection key requirements in our front-end engineering and design work. Our goal is to operate this facility with a strong emphasis on low emissions, waste minimization and recycling. In fact, the facility will be the first of its kind in the United States to capture virtually all of its carbon dioxide emissions.”
Construction employment is estimated to peak at 1,400 workers; once operational, the facility would employ 200 people.
Faustina is in the process of being transferred from US Syngas LLC, Coral Gables, Fla., which was listed as its owner last year (GM April 17, 2006, p. 1), to U.S. TransCarbon LLC, which is primarily owned by Green Rock Energy LLC, a company formed by the D.E. Shaw group and Goldman, Sachs & Co. to invest in coal and petcoke gasification projects that address demand for more environmentally friendly sources of energy production. The transfer is expected to be complete on or about June 30, 2007.
In addition, Eastman Chemical, Kingsport, Tenn., has been associated with the project from inception and is currently an investor. Subject to execution of definitive agreements, Eastman has agreed to provide operations and maintenance services for the project and to play a larger role in the project, according to a Faustina spokesman.