Natural gas company signs deal to develop Jefferson County fuel factory
GTL Americas LP, the company that is establishing a $3.5 billion-plus gas-to-liquid facility near Pine Bluff that will be the first of its kind in the United States, formally signed an agreement on Wednesday with Hyundai ENG America and S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd. for front-end engineering and design.
By: I.C. Murrell
Arkansas Democrat- Gazette
GTL Americas LP, the company that is establishing a $3.5 billion-plus gas-to-liquid facility near Pine Bluff that will be the first of its kind in the United States, formally signed an agreement on Wednesday with Hyundai ENG America and S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd. for front-end engineering and design.
Huyndai and S&B are also teaming up to work on the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning. The front-end engineering and design is expected to take 18 to 24 months.
The signing ceremony Wednesday at the Little Rock Marriott marked the first significant milestone in the effort to build in Jefferson County what developers call a world-class facility to convert natural gas into liquid transportation fuels. The project promises 2,500 construction workers with 225 to 250 full-time employees during Phase 1 operations at the plant, which will be located 15 miles northwest of Pine Bluff near the National Center for Toxicological Research, with access to the Arkansas River.
The project is considered the largest single-industrial development undertaking in Arkansas history.
“I think it’s very exciting, not only for our two companies, but also GTLA to be able to contribute to a project that has the potential to rebuild a city that’s struggled,” said Brook Brookshire, chief executive officer of S&B.
Jefferson County officials had been waiting for the formal start of the facility's development ever since it was initially announced in 2016.
“This is beyond exciting,” said Allison Thompson, president and CEO of the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County. “You can put ‘thrilling’ on this one. A project of this size takes time. And then, throw some significant hurdles in the way like covid, which slows things down.”
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