EEE as WE KNOW IT STARTED IN 2004:
LOT's of TALK I HAVE SEEN GILLETTE!
FT. UNION is A MASSIVE PROJECT:
My visit to the Gillette facility last week only served to confirm that Evergreen has made very good progress reengineering the processing units and Bechtel has done a terrific job in focusing attention on key design changes that will enhance production rates and reduce downtime. Of course, everyone, especially management, wishes that these changes could have been implemented overnight, or that they had the foresight to include these features into the original design, but after all, that is why you build a prototype. This knowledge simply cannot be obtained through computer modeling, or any other exercise.
Professionals involved with engineering and design know only too well how difficult the move from the drawing board, and laboratory sized models, to a full scale commercial facility can be, and that is exactly why you undertake the construction of a prototype unit. Only then, on a real time basis, can you experience the conditions that exist in a functioning volume production unit and make the necessary adjustments and equipment modifications. Seasoned engineers all recognize that bringing on a new plant on line (especially a first of its kind) is a process, and it is expected that you will discover ways and methods to improve on the prototype design once you have a working model. It would be very unusual if this were not the case.
Clearly, the time has been well spent, and one of the best decisions that management made was to bring in Bechtel to review the operation and spearhead the effort to come up with the final designs for both minemouth and K-Direct configurations. It's one thing to modify and make engineering changes on a test facility. It's quite another to retrofit 50/100 processing units. What they have learned from debugging this facility will pay great dividends in the form of major design improvements the can be incorporated into new high volume units.
While the time that this has required, however necessary, has been longer that originally anticipated, it is function of Bechtel's thoroughness, rather that any failure in concept as Evergreen's detractors would have investors believe. The plant works, the product quality is good, the demand is there - and this last part is key. If you are going to refine millions of tons of a product, you must have a tough, reliable, engineered systems that can run continuously with minimal downtime for cleaning and maintenance and offer a homogeneous product with consistent high quality. This was the assignment that Bechtel undertook, and as I see it, the company is in the best shape that it has ever been in. It's ironic that just as this important work by Bechtel is being completed, investors are dumping shares at ridiculously low prices for tax loss selling.
Anyone who takes the time to visit the plant will quickly see that there are no smoke and mirrors here. This is a very substantial operation, especially for a start-up - but Evergreen needed to test a commercial sized plant design. As you approach the site, you are immediately taken by the size of the processing units. They are massive! Conveyors run everywhere and there are three huge silos for storage and loading. Of course, new facilities with 20 stacks or more, will employ a more compressed design, with piping and conveyor mapping configured to reduce travel distances and improve efficiency ( the Gillette plant inherited some material handling equipment that already existed at the site, and Bechtel's designs will feature a much improved layout).
It's apparent that Bechtel has gone far beyond the basic "Sasol" design which was, after all, engineered more for gasification. By all appearances, crews are proceeding full steam ahead, and I noted that injection wells have been completed, shed ponds are under construction, a pad has been poured for a coal fired boiler (which will reduce fuel costs, and allow Evergreen to process coal fines), and loading systems for unit trains are in place along with equipment to apply surfactant to each rail car.
It's easy to see why a world-class mining/engineering company like Sumitomo wants to be a part of what Evergreen is building for the future. My pictures really don't do justice to the size and scope of the operation in Gillette, but will give those interested some idea of what I have tried to highlight.
* Pictures to follow.
AI
