FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2021
For more information, contact:
Lindsey Harriman
Williams County Communications Department
Phone: 701-577-4557 (office)
lindseyh@co.williams.nd.us
Williams County to provide support for Cerilon GTL ND to bring gas-to-liquids plant to Williams County
Williston, N.D., (November 2, 2021) – By unanimous vote of the Board of County Commissioners during their regular meeting on November 2, 2021, Chairman Steve Kemp was authorized to sign a letter of intent for providing a $6 million no-interest loan to Cerilon GTL ND in support of bringing a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant to the Trenton area. Loan proceeds are intended to be used towards engineering, licensor input, engineering surveys, project specialists’ inputs, project service providers, and reports related to the project.
The intent of providing a loan comes two weeks after the Governor’s Office and the North Dakota Department of Commerce announced a loan for Cerilon GTL ND from the ND Development Fund.
When completed, the Cerilon GTL ND plant planned for Williams County will be the first of its kind in North America and will have the lowest carbon footprint of any GTL plant in the world. Initial GTL products derived from natural gas include ultra-low sulfur diesel, naphtha, and future plans could include military-grade jet fuel, other specialty products, and carbon capture operations. Cerilon GTL ND’s parent company Cerilon is based in Alberta, Canada and the team has been part of the support of major GTL plants across the globe.
Signifying a major step forward for Williams County, the project provides the building blocks of GTL and petrochemical development that will enhance benefits to the state, county, and the community. “Not only is this an incredible opportunity in itself for a GTL plant to operate in Williams County, but it sets the stage for future industrial and petrochemical development” says Chairman Kemp.
The Cerilon GTL plant anticipates bringing approximately 1,000 construction jobs and 80 permanent jobs to the area, creating new technology job opportunities along the way. The project also will bring enhanced community and infrastructure development as well as long-term property and sales tax revenue. Overall, the plant will help to accommodate the state’s growing production of oil and natural gas through innovation, not additional flaring, and help to avoid any potential reduction of oil production that may have been caused due to the inability to effectively offload associated natural gas produced.
Nico Duursema, CEO and President of the Cerilon Group, and Ron Opperman, CEO of Cerilon GTL ND, Inc., participated virtually in the meeting where they emphasized that the project has completed due diligence processes with the North Dakota Development Fund as well as other major partners. This project supports the pathway to Governor Burgum’s goal of carbon neutrality, resulting in a cleaner environment and greener energy options. Duursema indicated the shared values between the Williams County community and Cerilon will enable a collaborative future.
Under North Dakota Century Code 57-15-10.1, Williams County is permitted to provide funds for promoting industrial development within the county. Funds must be paid out of the Williams County General Fund; the intention is to utilize proceeds from the County’s Gross Production Tax as a way reinvest oil and gas dollars back into industry.
Loan disbursements will be paid out over a 12 month period once an executed agreement between Cerilon GTL ND and Williams County is in place and binding land purchase agreements have been signed. The loan is required to be paid back over a 24 month period once commercial operations commence or seven years, whichever is earlier.
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