Sasol-Chevron, the gas-to-liquid (GTL ) fuel joint venture specialist, signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar for three gas GTL projects valued at $6 billion, a spokesman for the South African/US partnership said.
One project calls for a $1.4 billion expansion of the existing Oryx GTL plant to 100,000 bpd from 34,000 bpd, and involves determining the feasibility of a three-train, 65,000 bpd facility with expected start-up by 2009.
In addition, Sasol-Chevron and Qatar Petroleum have agreed to build an integrated facility to produce 130,000 bpd of GTL and 80,000 bpd of associated LPG and condensate at a cost of $4.5 billion, the spokesman said. The third project is to produce GTL base oils, valued at $150 million.
“The deal is one of the most significant developments in the global GTL industry to date,” he said.
Qatar Petroleum and Sasol last December started construction of a $900m GTL plant in Ras Laffan industrial city, which is slated to come onstream in 2005.
'The plant is the first of at least four to five plants that Qatar is planning to build in its bid to be the GTL capital of the world.
“We are working hard to realise the ambition of the State of Qatar to become the GTL capital of the world, and these projects will make an important contribution to achieving that aim,” Qatar’s oil minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said at the announcement ceremony in Doha.
The Ras Laffan-based complex will receive its feedstock from the North Gas field-the world’s largest single non-associated gas field with proven reserves exceeding 900 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).
“This is an impressive slate of GTL projects and through Sasol-Chevron we are eager to work with QP to develop superclean liquid fuels from natural gas and to help advance Qatar’s stated ambition to become the GTL capital of the world,” said Sasol-Chevron chairman John Gass, who is also ChevronTexaco Global Gas president.
Sasol-ChevronTexaco was established in October 2000 as a 50/50 joint venture to pursue commercial application of GTL technology for selected ChevronTexaco and Sasol-held reserves of natural gas; third-party gas reserves and host countries seeking to monetize their gas reserves.
ChevronTexaco produces about 4.4 Bcf/d of gas and is also pursuing a GTL project in Nigeria, while Sasol is the leading provider of liquid fuels in South Africa and operates in 15 other countries worldwide.
