Linc Energy: new player from Down Under.

• Author: Stricker, Julie
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: MINING

In the past couple of years, a new player has appeared in Alaska's energy sector. Linc Energy, based in Brisbane, Australia, is an independent firm with an entrepreneurial reputation that has pioneered techniques to turn "stranded" coal reserves into valuable cleaner energy. Linc Energy is working to commercialize its technology and has projects in Australia, Vietnam and the United States. In Alaska, Linc Energy is involved in gas, petroleum and coal exploration.

"They're all over the place," said Rick Fredericksen, mining section chief with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. "Their primary interest is underground coal gasification and a gas-to-liquids plant to produce highquality diesel and aviation fuel."

UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION

Underground coal gasification, or UCG, is the process of converting coal to a gas through a process using heat, oxygen, coal and water. The UCG process uses the coal where it lies underground.

The synthetic gas, or syngas, that results can be used to produce liquid fuels when combined with gas-to-liquids technology. The low-emission syngas also can be used to power turbines to create electricity and as feedstock for other petrochemical processes. The technology has been around for decades, but Linc Energy has found success linking it with gas-to-liquids technology at its Chinchilla Demonstration Facility in Queensland, Australia.

"The technology holds a great deal of promise for Alaska because it would take a lot of the coal that is essentially uneconomic and turn it into a valuable resource--energy," Fredericksen said.

He says most of the coal Linc Energy is interested in is too far underground to be mined using con ventional techniques, and that the company also has active interests in Wyoming and Colorado.

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"We're excited that they're up here and hope that they're successful," Fredrickson said.

Wanetta Ayers says the direct investment into Alaska from a foreign company is welcome. "It's interesting to have a company with their portfolio and broad base invest in Alaska," she said of Line Energy's promising track record in new technology to develop cleaner energy. "That's how a lot of industries got their start in Alaska."

ALASKA OPERATIONS

The company has opened an office in Anchorage to oversee its Alaska operations, which include onshore oil and gas leases in Cook Inlet and significant coal deposits. Earlier this year, Line Energy bought controlling interest in oil and gas...