Pictured from left to right: Leanne Beaupre, Reeve of the County of Grande Prairie, Honorable Wayne Drysdale, MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Dick Brown, CEO of Ferus
If there’s one thing that Ferus isn’t intimidated by, it’s tough or new terrain. The Calgary-based company is so comfortable with rugged landscape that it is known for “going there” – both in terms of stretching its products and services to some of the most remote and roughest country, and being at the forefront of developing industries in North America.
“Flaring is a process that sends gas into the air, wasting a valuable resource, with huge economic and environmental implications,” says Blaire Lancaster of Ferus.
“Our equipment is specially designed and built to move cryogenic liquids off-road, with complex logistical considerations. This is what sets us apart from our competitors,” says Blaire Lancaster, director of communications and government relations at Ferus in Calgary. It’s the constant push for technological innovation and going – sometimes literally – the extra mile that has set Ferus and its North American projects apart. “In the beginning, it was all about being totally dedicated to the oil and gas industry, and now it’s about demonstrating expertise and providing solutions for customers in multiple industries including energy, mining, on- and off-road transportation and remote power generation,” Lancaster adds.
The dedication has paid off. This year, Ferus was featured as one of Canada’s Top 20 Energy Innovators in Alberta Oil, honoured for the work it has done on its Elmworth liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, 65 kilometres southwest of Grande Prairie, Alberta. Last October, Ferus announced the grand opening of this first merchant LNG facility in Canada, positioning the company as a leader in the North American domestic LNG market. Ferus produces, transports and supplies liquid carbon dioxide, liquid nitrogen, LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG), and integrates product with operational and logistical services to get that product where it needs to be. Working with various industries (including oil and gas, mining and transportation), Ferus supports its customers by finding innovative ways to make their work more efficient and competitive.
Innovation means the company provides more than product. The Ferus Integrated Service Advantage comprises a series of services that does everything from on-location, 24/7 supply to consulting about financial and reporting obligations.
Elmworth Alberta LNG Plant
The new LNG plant is part of Ferus’ deeper commitment to service and solutions. The Elmworth location is strategic; it places the company in the heart of oil and gas country in northwest Alberta and northeast British Columbia. The plant produces high-quality LNG fuel for engines used in drilling rigs, pressure pumping services, water heating for well fracturing and heavy-duty highway and off-road trucks. “We believe there is going to be a build-out of many more LNG plants across Canada and the U.S.,” Lancaster says, “which really emphasizes the significance of this first plant.”
Constantly pushing for change can be a daunting task, and it’s something that Ferus knows all about. A growing company, its leadership takes its commitment to innovation seriously, creating a dynamic atmosphere that has fostered some of the most interesting technological innovations in the field of LNG and CNG. One example is the partnership between Ferus Natural Gas Fuels and GE Ventures to launch a new solution that is changing how large oil and gas companies manage and use the natural gas they are flaring.
Around the same time as its Elmworth announcement, Ferus announced an expansion plan for its “Last MileTM Fueling Solution,” which captures flare gas and uses it to power, in this case, six of Statoil’s drill rigs and a frac fleet in North Dakota. “Flaring is a process that sends gas into the air, wasting a valuable resource, with huge economic and environmental implications,” Lancaster says. The Last Mile Fueling Solution is expected to reduce emissions and provide cost savings and logistics solutions for the Bakken oilfield operations they run. The two companies – Ferus and GE – are primed to work together on the project, by combining GE’s natural gas fueling technologies and Ferus’ operations and logistics expertise. “It really has to be a partnership approach, and we’re focused on building relationships.”
Last Mile Fueling Solution On-Site In The Bakken
Photos: Jay Pickthorn/AP/Statoil
The Last Mile has been operating for less than a year near in North Dakota, with a new operations base in Williston. During this time, it has been capturing natural gas that would otherwise be flared and has instead been put to work fueling E&P operations. Statoil believes the new expansion will increase its flare gas capture to between three and five million standard cubic feet per day – this equates to greenhouse gas emission reductions of between 120,000 and 200,000 metric tons per year. That’s the equivalent of removing between 25,000 and 45,000 cars from the road. The Ferus/GE joint venture has signed agreements to capture flare gas and supply CNG to other companies in the area, and it is building a CNG fueling station for a third operator, who is converting its entire ground fleet to natural gas.
Ferus is primed for developments in the area. The Bakken is one of the key regions where energy companies are focusing on unconventional oil and gas exploration and production, but the region is lacking the infrastructure to store and transport the natural gas produced along with oil, so operators were flaring up to 30 per cent of the natural gas produced in the Bakken alone.
Meeting these targets is a priority for the company, which has also started a second joint venture with GE called Eagle LNG Partners. Eagle LNG aims to build regional LNG infrastructure across the United States, meeting a growing demand for cleaner-burning, less-expensive fuel for industries like long-haul trucking, rail, mining, marine and oil and gas services. Right now, the partnership is focused on the development of LNG liquefaction in Florida that targets the marine sector as well as power generation in the Caribbean Islands.
The partnership in innovation wins on all fronts. “Not only is Last Mile enabling us to better comply with new flaring regulations in North Dakota, but we are also further reducing emissions and costs by using the captured gas in our drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations,” says Lance Langford, vice president for Bakken development and production at Statoil. “This is good for profit and the climate.”
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