Bakken Energy and Mitsubishi Power Americas have announced the acquisition of a financially distressed synthetic natural gas facility in western North Dakota, which they want to rehabilitate to create hydrogen.
The purchase of the Great Plains Synfuels Plant from Dakota Gasification Co. is scheduled to be completed by April 2022. Dakota Gasification is a subsidiary of Basin Electric Power Cooperative, which is located in Bismarck. The deal’s terms were not disclosed.
In recent years, the facility has struggled to compete with inexpensive natural gas made available by hydraulic fracturing in western North Dakota’s oil sector. Officials aim to connect the hub to other centres across North America via a pipeline. The hydrogen for the project will be derived from natural gas generated in North Dakota’s oil fields, or from gas produced at the Dakota Gasification facility, or from a combination of the two.