Rentech shows off production
Published Friday, August 8, 2008
NATCHEZ — More than 1,100 miles away in Commerce City, Colo., Rentech’s workers are starting to see the fruits of their labor.
Rentech’s product demonstration unit in Colorado has started making the same ultra-clean synthetic fuel the company plans to manufacture in Natchez.
And the fuel production represents an important first for the company.
The company’s director of investor relations, Julie Dawoodjee, said the Colorado plant represents the first time Rentech has been able to make their fuel from start to finish in one location utilizing their entire process.
“The fuels we have produced are test worthy,” she said. “We’re extremely enthusiastic and upbeat.”
While Rentech only announced its capability to produce this week, on Thursday Dawoodjee said the plant has been able to make the fuel for “several days.”
But other details, including how long the company has been producing fuel for, are not being disclosed yet.
Dawoodjee would not say how much fuel the plant could produce in a day, nor how much they have produced to date, but did say that they have yet to reach their 10-barrel a day goal.
Dawoodjee said the company has a focus on quality, not quantity.
“We want to be able to ensure the quality of the product,” she said.
And Dawoodjee said the fuel produced is meeting the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials, a voluntary standards testing organization.
Though Rentech is not disclosing every detail about the plant, Dawoodjee said the plant is fulfilling its most important role — making usable fuel.
“The product that’s been produced can be sent to potential customers,” she said.
Again Dawoodjee would not say how much fuel, if any, had been sent out for testing but did say several groups have expressed interest in the product.
Dawoodjee said representatives from the U.S. Air Force, the airline industries and some chemical companies have been in talks with Rentech and have expressed a desire to test their product.
However, Rentech’s Senior Vice President and chief technology officer, Harold Wright, said by the end of the calendar year Rentech will have sent out thousands of gallons of fuel to be tested.
“It’s a very exciting time,” Wright said.
And for Rentech, the testing of those fuels is extremely important, Wright said.
Rentech’s plan is simple, send out samples of their clean burning diesel, then get clients to enter into purchase contracts with Rentech, Wright said.
“We want to have contracts signed and ready,” Wright said.
Wright said those pre-signed contracts will help to prove Rentech’s safety in investing in Natchez.
Contrasting Natchez, the Colorado is a small scale version of what scheduled locally.
Once fully operational, the Natchez plant is poised to produce 25,000 barrels a day.
In addition, the Colorado plant was built at a cost of between $80-$85 million, recent cost estimates have put up to a $4.5 billion price tag on the Natchez plant.
Also contrasting the Natchez plant is the fuel, also called feedstock, in Colorado their currently using natural gas to make fuel.
In earlier plans, Rentech has stated their intent to use petroleum coke to make fuel at the Natchez plant.
However, Wright said, the process works the same no matter the feedstock used in the conversion.
Wright said within months the Colorado plant should be using petroleum coke, and other resources, as feedstock to make fuel.