Encana Corp. and liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling solutions provider Ferus LNG Inc. said they will build a 190,000 liter per day LNG production facility near Grande Prairie, Alberta (AB).

The facility is to be near high levels of energy industry activity in northwestern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia and is expected to be operational by the end of 2013. It would be among the first in Canada designed to produce high-quality LNG fuel specifically for high-horsepower (HHP) engines used in drilling rigs, pressure pumping services and heavy-duty highway and off-road trucks, the partners said.

Other HHP applications for the LNG supply include rail, mining, and remote power generation. To support the entire LNG supply chain, Encana and Ferus LNG have also designed and are in the process of building specialized mobile storage and dispensing equipment.

“LNG is quickly becoming the fuel of choice for HHP engines in both highway and off-road applications in North America,” said Encana’s Eric Marsh, executive vice president. “This project demonstrates the increasing viability of LNG as a fuel alternative for a wide range of industries. With this new LNG plant, Encana and Ferus LNG are meeting a growing market demand by helping diesel consumers in northern and western Canada make the switch to cleaner-burning natural gas to both save costs and reduce their emissions.”

Ferus and Encana said they have committed to using LNG for their own fueling needs. In 2011 alone, Encana saved $12 million in fuel costs by using natural gas instead of diesel in drilling rigs and company trucks and is on track to exceed this figure in 2012, the company said (see Daily GPI, March 26).

“Ferus Inc. understands the economic and environmental benefits of using LNG as an alternative fuel, and as such, not only are we operating the first two LNG tractors in Alberta, we plan to convert our entire truck fleet over the next five years,” said Ferus CEO Richard Brown.

Earlier this year Ferus said it was putting into service the first LNG-powered heavy duty truck in Alberta (see Daily GPI, April 30).

©Copyright 2012Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.