Talisman breaks ground on innovative co-generation plant at its Edson facility

Petroleum News

Talisman Energy has begun construction of a 10-megawatt co-generation power plant at its Edson natural gas processing facility, the Calgary-based company said June 21. The C$21 million plant will be the first co-generation facility at a sour gas processing plant in Alberta and the first retrofit of an existing gas plant to co-generation.

“This is an excellent project that improves the cost competitiveness of the Edson gas plant and meets our investment hurdle rates,” said Jim Buckee, Talisman’s president and chief executive officer.

Capital spending by Talisman in the Edson area this year is projected to be about $249 million with plans to spend about $45 million on infrastructure and participate in drilling 103 wells.

The company said in a press release that the new co-gen facility will replace older equipment with cleaner, more efficient technology. In addition to reducing the amount of natural gas needed to operate the processing plant by about 12 percent, or 700 thousand cubic feet daily, the new co-generation power plant will produce about two megawatts of electricity more than is required to operate the gas plant, which is enough electrical power to serve about 1,000 homes. Under the Voluntary Challenge and Registry program, Talisman has committed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The co-gen project will result in the reduction of direct carbon dioxide emissions by 22,000 tonnes a year and a further indirect reduction of 82,000 tonnes annually, the company said.

Construction of the project, which will employ about 100 people, began after Talisman received approval for the facility from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and Alberta Environment.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2004.

The Edson facility, which now processes about 200 mmcf of gas daily, is the largest gas plant operated by Talisman in Canada. It is connected to about 500 kilometers of pipelines within the company’s 100 percent owned Central Foothills Gas Gathering System, Columbia Minehead Gas Gathering System and other midstream pipeline assets ranging from 75-100 percent ownership that support exploration and development in both the Edson and Foothills areas.