Liquid asset

Wednesday, 24 September 2008 21:20

Rose Sanchez For the Pipeline Although there has been a slow down in gas production in the southeast corner of Alberta the past year, the carbon dioxide (CO2) liquefaction facility near Empress is continuing to see demand for its product. Ferus Gas Industries Trust opened the $11 million facility in the fall of 2004. It cleans and liquifies industrial grade carbon dioxide from the Empress gas plant and the finished product is sold to fracing companies and used for stimulation of natural gas wells in the area, as well as into Saskatchewan. “We’re delighted with the production we’re seeing out of the facility,” says Joe Ladouceur, vice-president and treasurer with Ferus Inc. The CO2 facility near the Empress gas plant is unique in that the liquefied product is sold specifically to the energy industry. A CO2 facility in Medicine Hat sells a food-grade finished product to companies such as McCain and Pepsi-Cola. “We’re one hundred per cent dedicated to the energy industry,” says Ladouceur, adding even the trucks that are hauling the liquid CO2 are built to drive to wellsites which are usually off the beaten path. The Empress gas plant extracts numerous components from a gas stream, including CO2. Ferus takes that CO2 and cleans it up to make it safe for use by fracing companies. The CO2 is compressed to a high pressure to facilitate purification and liquefaction, done with an interstage cooler and separator. The CO2 is stored until it’s sold to fracing companies. Ladouceur explains that CO2 is unique because it acts like a liquid when it is pumped down into a well. When it is no longer under pressure it becomes a gas, making it more easy to extract from the well than water. About 50,000 tonnes of liquid CO2 is produced in the Ferus plant near Empress every year and the product continues to be high in demand because there is still a lot of well stimulation occurring in the province and overall there is a shortage of industrial grade carbon dioxide in the province. Ferus has been strategic in its placement of CO2 liquefaction facilities. There is one in Grande Prairie, one in Rimbey and one in Empress. “The locations of our facilities are very important and strategic to our company,” says Ladouceur. “It aligns perfectly with where the demand is for our product and CO2.” Officials are already seeing more demand for the product in Saskatchewan, where a new government is looking to open the door to oil and gas development. Ladouceur believes as the new royalty regime comes into play next year, there will be more demand for CO2 in Saskatchewan as well as B.C.