State support is critical to getting value-added mineral processing facilities to set up shop in Wyoming, backers told a legislative committee Monday. A bill currently under consideration by the Legislature would set up a mechanism for the state to invest in value-added projects. The governor’s office, which sponsored the bill, says it’s particularly targeted towards projects that would convert natural gas to liquids, like diesel, although it could apply to any of the state’s minerals. As the bill is written, the state would supply the raw minerals and pay for their processing in exchange for a share of the profits.
“If you have a solid manufacturing sector, you generally weather ups and downs a little bit better than other parts of the country and economy," said JerimiahRieman, the Governor's natural resources policy advisor. Rieman told the House Minerals Committee there’s minimal risk to the investment because the state wouldn’t get involved until a facility was up and running.
Joe Nicholas works for Wyoming-based Nerd Gas. He says state involvement is key.
“I know that there are some states that are aggressively recruiting [gas-to-liquids plants],” he said, adding that without Wyoming's encouragement, companies would likely go elsewhere.
There are currently no gas-to-liquids facilities in North America. Nerd Gas says it's partnering with Greyrock Energy to explore the possibility of building plants in Wyoming and elsewhere. Greyrock has said previously that it plans to build a demonstration facility outside of Houston by the end of 2015.