A $4 billion factory is planned in North Dakota that will convert natural gas liquids into plastic, company and state officials said.
Badlands NGL chief executive William Gilliam, Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Sen. John Hoeven announced the project Monday in Bismarck.
Dalrymple said the project would be the largest private investment in the state and “one that will surely go down in history.”
It will help capture more of the natural gas that is being burned off and wasted as a byproduct of the state’s soaring oil production.
The factory would annually produce 3.3 billion pounds of polyethylene in the form of tiny white beads that can be converted into products such as pipes. The plant would be complete by 2017. At least two sites are being considered.
Badlands NGL has fewer than 10 employees and is establishing a headquarters in Denver and an office in Bismarck, Gilliam said.
Houston-based Vinmar Projects has agreed to purchase all of the polyethylene produced at the proposed plant for 15 years, Gilliam said.
