(Calgary) Enbridge announced Friday that it has signed a letter of intent with Yara Clean Ammonia to jointly develop a “blue” ammonia production facility at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center near Corpus Christi, Texas.

Blue ammonia refers to ammonia derived from natural gas, with carbon dioxide being generated as a byproduct of the captured and stored process.

It is considered a more environmentally friendly means of producing ammonia, although it is different from “green” ammonia, which is derived from renewable energy.

Calgary-based Enbridge says the proposed facility would cost between US$2.6 billion and US$2.9 billion and produce between 1.2 million and 1.4 million tonnes per year of low-carbon ammonia for meet growing global demand.

It states that approximately 95% of the carbon dioxide generated by the production process would be captured and transported to permanent underground storage nearby.

Yara, which is the largest ammonia distributor in the world, is expected to contract the entire extraction of the facility.