The Odessa Development Corp. and Nacero Inc. plan to build a $6.5 to $7 billion lower-carbon gasoline manufacturing facility at a site in Penwell, Texas, in two phases. Phase one will produce 70,000 bpd of gasoline component (ready for blending). Phase two will increase that capacity to 100,000 bpd. The gasoline produced at the facility will contain no sulfur and have half the lifecycle carbon footprint of traditional gasoline. The gasoline will be made from a combination of natural gas, captured bio-methane and mitigated flare gas.
The Odessa Development Corp. and the Economic Development Department of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce led the negotiations that resulted in Penwell being chosen for this important facility.
Nacero gasoline will be useable in today's cars and trucks without modification, sold locally in addition to being distributed widely, and be cost competitive with traditional gasoline. Construction of the Penwell facility will employ a peak of 3,500 skilled workers during the four years of phase one construction. When fully operational, the plant will employ 350 full-time operators and maintenance personnel in three shifts with a forecasted annual salary of approximately $85,000 per person.
Construction of the Penwell facility will employ a peak of 3,500 skilled workers.
The plant will be the first in the U.S. to make gasoline from natural gas and the first in the world to do so with carbon capture and sequestration. Sequestered CO2 will be transported via an existing on-site pipeline.
Nacero plans to actively engage with the local community and local educational and training institutions. The facility will include a visitors' center with interactive educational displays.
"Ector County is the ideal location for us," said Nacero President and CEO Jay McKenna. "From a geographic and logistics standpoint, you can't beat it. We will be a major new market and beneficial home for the natural gas that is currently flared in the Permian Basin. Our zero-sulfur gasoline will reduce ground-level ozone, a pollutant that is causing illness and limiting economic growth in cities across Texas and the Southwest."
Nacero COO Hal Bouknight credited the overwhelming enthusiasm and support of the Odessa Development Corp., Odessa's business leaders and taxing entities, and its local residents as a key factor in Nacero's decision to locate in Penwell. "I'd always heard that Odessa's citizens have a 'can-do spirit,' but I was really impressed by just how hard people were willing to work to help bring us to the area," he said.
"This project proves once again that West Texas in general, and Odessa in particular, leads the nation in energy innovation and production," said Odessa Development Corp. Chairman Tim Edgmon.
Odessa Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Director Wesley Burnett described Nacero as a "perfect fit" for Ector County. "The regional economic impact of this single facility will be in the tens of billions of dollars," he said.
Nacero is on a mission to prove that cleaner energy doesn't have to cost more. The company is planning additional facilities in Pennsylvania and Arizona.
For more information, visit www.nacero.co or call (310) 395-2544.
