NiQuan wants to become ‘global energy player,’ hopes for second plant in TT

NiQuan Energy Ltd CEO Ainsley Gill hopes the company can show other foreign investors that Trinidad and Tobago is a good country to do business with. In fact, already has plans to open another gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in the country. He said he wants NiQuan to become a “global energy GTL player.”

The Prime Minister opened the Pointe-a-Pierre plant on Monday. It is the first of its kind in the western hemisphere.

The plant turns natural gas into high-quality energy products with low emissions. It began operations in December 2020 has a capacity of 2,400 barrels of GTL Paraffinic Diesel and GTL Naphtha.

In a press release, NiQuan said it uses “commercially proven low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch technology in a fixed bed system.”

The Fischer-Tropsch process originated in Germany and is used to create liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels. It has three stages.

The release said, “The first stage consists of combining natural gas with steam in a reformer in order to create a synthetic gas…In the second stage, this is fed into the Fischer-Tropsch reactors where it is subjected to a catalytic reaction that converts it into a waxy synthetic crude, or ‘syncrude.’

“In the final stage, the waxy syncrude passes through the hydrocracker where it is cracked (broken down) into the required product slate in a similar way to the refining of crude oil in a traditional refining process which removes pollutants and contaminants.”

At the opening ceremony, Dr Rowley said the project was once “plagued by delays and cost overrun,” as construction initially began in 2007.

But back then, it was being internally managed by Petrotrin and WGTL (World GTL TT Ltd), which Rowley called an “undeniable failure.”

He said, “…People may ask what is successful about a plant that started construction in 2007 and has only just now been completed in 2021…If the project was written off as a failed attempt, as was the case before this initiative, there was nothing to be had except permanent financial losses, finger-pointing and political grandstanding. Thankfully there was another option.”

That option was NiQuan.

In 2018, it paid Petrotrin US$10 million in cash for the plant, with US$25 million to be paid in preference shares.

Speaking with Newsday, Gill said it is “the cleanest transportation of fuels the world has ever seen.”

NiQuan's website said he is "an energy industry veteran and seasoned entrepreneur with more than 20 years’ experience in international government relations, financing, business development, information technology and management consulting."

At the opening ceremony, he had said the project is a bridge from a “dirty energy past” to a “cleaner energy future.

Expanding on that point, he told Newsday, “The bridge is that we’re not (creating) renewable (energy). We’re clean. And so, our feedstock, from a renewable point of view, there needs to be more research and development to get to clean (energy) in the transportation of fuels, whether its aviation or marine – which includes heavy duty.

“I don’t see electricity replacing an excavator or big crane anytime soon. I don’t see ships being run by electricity or heavy-duty trucks being run by electricity anytime soon. And so we are always going to have a fuel pool mix. And it needs a bridge to get it to be clean. NiQuan reps that bridge. We’re the bridge from dirty to renewable.”

He said it took a long time to “get the economics in place” get to this point, adding that, in the energy business, economic viability is crucial.

“If it’s not sustainable, people still not going to do it. And so, to do that, renewable still hasn’t been determined to be economically stable. Environmentally – yes, of course. But if it’s not economic, it’s just not sustainable.”

Asked how he feels progress related to clean energy is globally, he said he believes it has the world’s attention.

“So it’s focused on what needs to happen and it’s putting policies to do so, putting awareness in place…The world is doing what the world needs to do. But are the people doing what they need to do as opposed to the world of global leaders?”

He said he feels relieved, thankful and humbled that the plant is finally open and was delivered during a global pandemic.

Over 700 people were employed during construction and 65 skilled workers are now permanently employed.

“What you feel is thankful to your team, you look around you and you realise that you’ve now been able to make a positive impact right here in TT. We’re encouraged to be part of the energy matrix… That in TT, we get to transport the cleanest fuels right here in our backyard.”

He added, “Being a son of the soil and being able to do it in Trinidad has its own personal appreciation.”

“But what really came out of that pandemic is the most fascinating thing. NiQuan had to draw on the wealth of their resources locally. That (the pandemic) was like a diamond in the rough. Out of that came so much good.”

The project has achieved a local content rate of around 90 per cent and was financed regionally.

Gill said, “If we were anywhere else, we would not have been able to do it…So because we are here, what I can highlight is clearly how rich this country is with local content…It is too cool.”

Asked what’s next for the company, in addition to stabilising its operations, he said, “Hopefully build another plant here which will create additional employment, we will be paying more taxes…

“We also see the fact that we are a foreign exchange earner and being able to facilitate to help with that issue, we see NiQuan being a major contributor to the GDP (gross domestic product) of TT in a very positive way and to help manage a foreign exchange issue.”

He added, “But in addition to that, to stimulate investment interest from outside expats that TT is a good place to do business.”

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story said "In 2018, it paid Petrotrin US$10 million in cash for the plant, with US$125 million to be paid in preference shares." This was incorrect and has since been corrected. The accurate figure for preference shares was US$25 million.