SasolChevron remains interested in projects to boost capacity at a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar and to build another, even though costs are rising as the company awaits the government's go-ahead for new gas schemes.

"It's still the plan," said Patrick Butcher, Qatar country manager for SasolChevron, a joint venture between South Africa's Sasol and US company Chevron Corp.
"The costs are going up. We can't help that," he said on the sidelines of an energy conference.
Butcher said the costs for SasolChevron to boost capacity at the Oryx GTL plant, from 34,000 barrels per day to around 100,000 bpd by 2009, would now be much higher than the initial estimate of around $1.5 billion.
He declined to give a new estimate.
GTL plants produce clean-burning fuels such as diesel, demand for which is rising as governments tighten emissions regulations.
SasolChevron also still has plans to build a second, larger GTL plant with capacity of 130,000 bpd. That plant had an initial price tag of $4.5 billion.
The schemes are two out of four GTL plants that are on hold after Qatar declared a moratorium on new projects from its massive North Field gas reservoir in 2005.
Qatar does not expect to complete a study of the North Field, the world's largest reservoir of pure gas not associated with oil, until 2009. Only then will it decide whether to give the go-ahead for any more LNG or GTL projects.
While the projects remain on the drawing board, potential costs have spiralled due to rapid inflation in the global oil and gas industry as the sector strains to bring online new projects to meet rapidly rising energy demand.
In February, rising costs forced ExxonMobil to drop its plans – which were not subject to the moratorium – to build the world's largest GTL plant in Qatar.
Royal Dutch Shell is forging ahead with its Qatar Pearl GTL plant, despite costs rocketing to as much as $18 billion. The initial cost of the project was $5 billion in 2003.
"Our projects depend on the results of the moratorium," said Butcher. "But it's a great opportunity for us here."
After Exxon dropped its project, some questioned the viability of GTL technology. Butcher said that he had confidence in it and the technology had not achieved industry-wide recognition simply because so few plants exist.
The $1 billion Oryx plant is currently starting up. It will take 9-12 months to reach full production, the plant's technical manager Lowrens Jacobs said in a presentation at the same energy event.
Sasol has a 49 per cent stake in the Oryx plant, while state-owned Qatar Petroleum owns the remaining 51 per cent.