Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels earns C$21mn APIP grant
Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels (Rocky) said December 11 it had received a C$20.8mn grant through the Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program (APIP) to support its commercial scale gas-to-liquids facility southeast of Calgary, which began operations in late November.
Rocky began construction on its Enhanced GTL® facility near Carseland, some 50 km east of Calgary, in the spring of 2019. The C$173mn plant began production at the end of November, converting natural gas and natural gas liquids into about 220 barrels/day of synthetic diesel, with the potential to expand production to 500 barrels/day.
“The Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels Enhanced GTL® technology is well suited to provide significant added value to Alberta’s abundant natural gas resource,” Rocky CEO Doug Geeraert said. “The government of Alberta has shown its commitment again towards practical entrepreneurial-driven solutions that make this province a leader in energy innovation worldwide.”
APIP funds up to 12% of an eligible project’s capital costs, but only provides the grants following the completion of construction. Larger projects, like the Rocky facility, receive the grant award over a three-year period.
Three other projects have received APIP funding: Inter Pipeline’s Heartland Petrochemical Complex, Dow Canada’s Fort Saskatchewan Furnace Expansion and Air Products’ Net-Zero Hydrogen Complex.
Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels is the first project to receive APIP funding that is not in the Edmonton region. APIP is a province-wide program, and this project will provide an economic boost in rural Alberta through job creation, increased investment and the municipal tax base.
“Alberta is the economic engine of Canada, and our job creation and diversification is key to this,” Energy Minister Brian Jean said. “We are committed to making Alberta a world leader in petrochemicals and APIP is helping to attract investment, like this Rocky Mountain Clean Fuels project, as we capitalise on opportunities throughout the province.”