Project Overview
A compressed site-clearance schedule leaves little time to find buyers for reusable process equipment. The challenge is clearing the property on schedule without sending valuable assets into the scrap stream.
Envia's gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Oklahoma City had operated for more than 6,000 hours using Velocys Fischer-Tropsch technology. The economics no longer supported GTL production at that scale, while using the landfill gas feedstock for a planned renewable natural gas (RNG) project offered better economics.
Waste Management needed the property returned so the new RNG project could move forward. Envia had six months to clear the existing GTL facility while leaving designated equipment and infrastructure required for the future RNG project in place.
The Challenge
The six-month deadline limited Envia's options. Potential end users had shown interest in the facility, but they could not make an acquisition decision quickly enough or commit to removing the assets within the required timeframe.
Phoenix purchased the complete facility and assumed responsibility for meeting the six-month deadline. There was not enough time to wait for buyers before dismantlement began, despite significant reuse potential across the facility. Phoenix needed to move quickly while determining which equipment should be sold individually and which systems were worth preserving intact.
Moving Quickly to Meet the Site-Clearance Schedule
Phoenix closed the transaction in less than a month and mobilized within 30 days, giving Envia a clear path to meeting the six-month site-clearance deadline. By purchasing the assets outright, Phoenix could begin dismantlement without waiting for individual equipment buyers to emerge. Phoenix assumed the remarketing risk while the site work moved forward on Envia's schedule.
Recovering Equipment Under a Compressed Schedule
Phoenix approached the facility selectively. The downstream GTL equipment would be recovered and marketed as individual assets, while process systems with greater value as complete units would be kept together.
More than 100 pieces of equipment were preserved for reuse, including vessels, skids, and other process assets. Some were sold to secondary-market buyers, while others were retained for future sale. Scrap recycling was largely limited to piping, some structural material, and electrical cable.
The 15.7 MMSCFD Hydrochem syngas plant was treated differently. Phoenix believed the system had greater value as a complete process unit and intended from the beginning to preserve it intact.
Preserving the Complete Syngas Plant
Phoenix match-marked, dismantled, packed, and transported the complete syngas plant to storage in the Houston area. There was no immediate buyer, but Phoenix believed the system would eventually find another industrial application. Phoenix invested in storing and maintaining the plant while continuing to search for the right buyer.
The system remained in storage for almost five years before that buyer emerged. Phoenix ultimately sold the complete syngas plant for retrofit as a carbon monoxide production plant serving a greenfield facility in Louisiana.
Project Outcome
Phoenix completed the approximately $5 million project within Envia's six-month deadline and with no safety incidents. The site was cleared for Waste Management's planned RNG project while designated equipment and infrastructure were preserved for its future use.
At the same time, Phoenix recovered almost all of the reusable process equipment rather than defaulting to wholesale demolition and scrap. More than 100 assets were saved or sold, and the complete Hydrochem syngas plant ultimately found a new application in Louisiana.
Project Highlights
Client: Envia
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Facility: Gas-to-Liquids Plant
Technology: Velocys Fischer-Tropsch
Project Value: Approximately $5 million
Site-Clearance Commitment: Six months
Transaction Closing: Less than one week
Mobilization: Within 10 days
Equipment Recovery: More than 100 pieces
Syngas Plant: 15.7 MMSCFD Hydrochem unit preserved as a complete system
Safety: Completed with no incidents
Phoenix Scope: Plant acquisition, dismantlement, equipment recovery, relocation, storage, and remarketing
Preserving Asset Value Under a Tight Deadline
A short site-clearance schedule does not necessarily require sacrificing the secondary-market value of reusable process equipment. When Phoenix purchases the assets and assumes the remarketing risk, dismantlement can move forward before every piece of equipment has a buyer.
That also allows different assets to follow different paths. Equipment with immediate demand can be sold individually, while complete process systems may justify the additional investment required to preserve, store, and market them over a longer period. For the facility owner, the site-clearance schedule can move forward independently of how long it ultimately takes to find the right buyers.