Worley awarded contract to engineer Cerilon’s gas-to-liquids plant

Cerilon has awarded Australia’s Worley a contract to provide front-end loading engineering services for its gas-to-liquids facility in North Dakota.

The $2.8 billion greenfield site in North Dakota, USA, will produce up to 24,000 barrels (3.8 million liters) per day of high-performance synthetic energy products including ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), naphtha and lubricant base oils from natural gas reserves.

The first phase of the build is scheduled to start operating in 2028. The site also aims to integrate carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to collect CO2 emissions at the location for transport to underground storage reservoirs.

Cerilon believes that with new mandates expected in the US on transportation fuels, the production of these liquids will help meet high demand and assist with the country’s low carbon objectives.

The GTL facility will also include carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), to further enhance the project’s sustainability. The overall plan for the project is to adopt a design one, build many approach. This modularization methodology is one that Worley has considerable experience in, with customers leveraging this approach to enable a quick response time to market.

“This energy transition project directly aligns with our purpose of delivering a more sustainable world,” said Worley SVP of Operations Rhys Mersereau. “With escalating future energy demand and concerns for energy security at the forefront of our mind, the production of these low carbon energies will be crucial as we navigate towards net zero.”

Cerilon’s strategy is to replicate this major GTL facility in other sites across North America, with speed – achieved through modularization – and sustainability as the main drivers. Cerilon CEO Ron Opperman said, “Cerilon GTL intends to adopt a design one – build many approach and the Worley team has the GTL experience and global reach that we were looking for in an engineering partner. Their capability to provide full engineering, procurement, and construction services and to support other important elements of our project design such as CCS makes them the right fit for our team.”

The latest announcement from Cerilon comes about two weeks after it hired ABB to provide front-end design services for automation, electrical and advanced digital technology at the facility.

The project will use automation and digital twin technology, which provides a virtual replica of a physical process or facility to test scenarios and ensure the design is future-proof and fit for purpose, Cerilon said. Worley is a global company headquartered in Australia. Cerilon is based in Canada.