Stone Horn Ridge - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stone Horn Ridge?
Stone Horn Ridge LLC is a joint venture of CIRI and Laurus Energy Inc. founded in 2010 and dedicated to expanding energy options with diversified syngas production.

CIRI is an Alaska Native corporation with a deep and long history of energy development projects, from traditional oil and gas to alternatives such as wind, biofuels and underground coal gasification.

Laurus Energy is a Houston-based energy company and the exclusive North America licensee of Ergo Exergy's proprietary Exergy UCG technology, the only commercially proven underground coal gasification process used today. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's Project Partners section for more information.

What is UCG?
UCG is a technological process that harnesses the power of abundant and unmineable coal resources to create cleaner energy without the environmental hazards of coal mining and surface handling. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's About UCG section for more detailed information.

Why is Stone Horn Ridge looking at underground coal gasification (UCG)?
Stone Horn Ridge is dedicated to responsibly developing diverse energy options that are high in value and low in price. In Alaska, UCG-produced syngas will provide a domestic alternative energy source to a region reliant on natural gas and bring price stability, reliable power and increased business competition to Southcentral Alaska's energy needs. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's About UCG section for more detailed information.

What is syngas?
Synthesis gas, or syngas, is an energy-rich mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane gases produced from coal or other hydrocarbon sources. It can be handled and used like natural gas, used directly to generate electricity with gas turbines or converted into synthetic natural gas for local use and export. Syngas is also an excellent feedstock for producing clean-burning liquid fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel as well as production of fertilizer, plastics and other petrochemicals.

Why is Stone Horn Ridge looking at UCG now?
The country is facing a looming energy shortage that requires new thinking. UCG-produced syngas provides a reliable, domestic source of energy for power generation and other industrial uses that can help the nation economically and reliably transition from petroleum to more sustainable energy resources. Syngas is a dependable and cost competitive alternative to natural gas. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's About UCG section for more detailed information.

Is Stone Horn Ridge qualified to do this?
Stone Horn Ridge is dedicated to UCG best practices as established by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, the world's leading scientific adviser on UCG best practices and technical advisor to CIRI. Since 2009, the company's joint venture partners, CIRI and Laurus Energy have collaborated to develop a responsible, deliberate plan for this UCG project. CIRI is an Alaska Native corporation with a diverse portfolio of traditional and alternative energy projects, including oil and gas, wind and biofuels. Laurus Energy is the exclusive North America licensee of Ergo Exergy's proprietary Exergy UCG Technology, the only commercially proven underground coal gasification process used today. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's About UCG section for more detailed information.

Is Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory involved in this project?
CIRI, a joint venture partner in Stone Horn Ridge, has retained Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a research institute funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and home to some of the nation's best minds on energy technology and security, as its independent science and technology consultant to help ensure safe, clean and responsible project development, operation and closing.

Where will Stone Horn Ridge's UCG facility be located?
The site will be on resource-rich CIRI-owned land on the west side of Cook Inlet in Southcentral Alaska. CIRI core drilling has confirmed significant commercial coal reserves and favorable geology in the project area that can support safe, clean and economic UCG development, particularly a deeply-buried coal seam overlain by a strong and impermeable layer of rock, which minimizes the risk of environmental contamination. CIRI plans to locate the project near existing power and natural gas infrastructure and away from densely populated communities. Please see Stone Horn Ridge's project map located on the Resources page for more information.

How does UCG work?
UCG facilities involve wells drilled into carefully selected deep coal seams that are well below the fresh water aquifer and contained by overlying, strong impermeable layers of rock. Site operators inject air into one set of wells and initiate carefully controlled combustion reactions to convert the coal into syngas, produced through a second set of wells. The process is designed so that operators can effectively control the oxygen supply and, thereby, combustion from the surface. The process can be stopped at any time by turning off the oxygen supply. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's About UCG for more detailed information.

Why haven't I heard of UCG?
UCG development was curtailed when abundant sources of affordable natural gas and oil became available after the oil crisis of the 1970s. In recent years, rising oil and gas prices coupled with shrinking supplies have shifted market economics and encouraged development of new energy sources, including UCG. Since the Stone Horn Ridge project was announced in 2009, UCG has experienced a significant surge of attention as a responsible alternative to traditional coal from the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory as well as environmental stakeholders like the Clean Air Task Force and Natural Resource Defense Council. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's Newswire for recent media coverage about UCG.

Is UCG a proven technology?
Yes. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL), a research institute funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and home to some of the nation's best minds on energy technology and security, developed UCG best practices based upon experience and science. Commercial-scale UCG projects have been used to gasify coal for more than 50 years. There have been more than 50 test and commercial UCG projects worldwide, including in the United States. Numerous commercial operations are currently in various stages of design, development, scale-up or operation. Recent investment and scientific study have led to numerous refinements that make the UCG process safer and cleaner.

How is UCG different from conventional coal mining and surface handling?
UCG-produced syngas leaves a total carbon footprint similar to power generated with natural gas, the cleanest of all fossil fuels. UCG is conducted completely underground and UCG-produced syngas can be converted into synthetic natural gas for local use and export. UCG requires minimal surface infrastructure and emissions and leaves most coal waste products safely in the coal seam, deep underground. As a result, the aboveground landscape remains largely untouched with no open pits, mountaintop removal or tailing piles and the surface landscape is easily restored upon project completion. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's Benefits of UCG for more information.

Are there risks associated with UCG?
There are risks associated with any industrial project. UCG's biggest environmental concerns involve subsidence and possible groundwater contamination that can be prevented through careful site selection, geological modeling, project design, operation and ongoing monitoring. Stone Horn Ridge is committed to rigorous site selection and management, a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process and ongoing monitoring of production and environmental processes. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's About UCG for more detailed information.

What does Stone Horn Ridge intend to do with the syngas it produces?
Syngas presents numerous opportunities, from near-site electrical power generation to upgrading into synthetic natural gas, liquid fuels or other products. These synthetic fuels can be burned directly for a variety of home, transportation and industrial purposes, from space heating and cooking to diesel and jet fuels.

How does UCG compare to other energy sources?
UCG-produced syngas burns more cleanly than coal and leaves a total footprint similar to power generate with natural gas. Burning UCG-produced syngas after pre-combustion carbon capture produces about the same or fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a combined-cycle natural gas power plant, the cleanest of all fossil fuel plants. UCG-produced syngas also significantly reduces or eliminates other pollutants including nitrogen and sulfur oxides, mercury, particulates and coal ash. Please visit Stone Horn Ridge's Benefits of UCG for more information.

How will UCG benefit Alaska?
Developing UCG in Alaska will not require public subsidies and can be faster, more economical and more reliable than building the infrastructure needed to import natural gas into Southcentral Alaska. UCG with carbon management can enable environmentally responsible development of Alaska coal reserves to replace diminishing oil and gas resources to provide cleaner, reliable energy. UCG is part of CIRI's diversified energy portfolio that also includes wind, hydrokinetic and geothermal and can help Alaska regain its position as a world-class energy provider and innovator.

When will Stone Horn Ridge begin production?
CIRI began the permitting process in October 2009 to start its resource assessment testing. Project planning, permitting and construction could be completed as early as 2015, with initial commercial operations and production following shortly after.

What is the status of the project today?
Please view our project presentation to get the most recent project updates.

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