Nice financing, Auric covers dwon 7 points with secondary stock. Here's some competitive information from my namesake company:
"Engelhard and Sasol Develop Custom Catalyst to Convert Natural
7/5/0 13:48 (New York)
Gas Into Liquid Hydrocarbons; G-T-L
Catalyst and Process Yield High-Quality, Sulfur-Free Diesel
Business/Energy Editors
ISELIN, N.J. & JOHANNESBURG, Republic of South Africa--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--July 5, 2000--Engelhard Corporation (NYSE: EC) and Sasol
Limited today announced a manufacturing and supply agreement in which
Engelhard will produce an advanced Fischer-Tropsch base-metal catalyst
for Sasol Technology (Pty) Limited, an affiliate of Sasol Limited. The
catalyst, developed by Sasol and scaled up by Engelhard, will be used
in the first commercial plants using Sasol's Slurry Phase Distillate
(SPD) process, a proven method for converting natural gas into liquid
hydrocarbons.
The combination of Sasol's custom Fischer-Tropsch catalyst and SPD
process will enable energy companies to convert remote or associated
natural gas, currently often flared off in the production of crude
oil, into valuable fuel products. This will allow energy companies to
tap natural gas reserves in remote areas by enabling them to convert
the natural gas to liquid hydrocarbons such as diesel oil, which are
much easier and less expensive to transport. In addition, diesel fuel
obtained from the process is of excellent quality and essentially free
of sulfur and aromatics.
Sasol is already in negotiations with several major international
energy companies to license the SPD process or utilize it in joint
projects, and has an agreement with Chevron to form a global alliance
to implement gas-to-liquids ventures.
Jan Fourie, executive director of Sasol Limited, said, "The
combination of our unique Fischer-Tropsch catalyst and SPD process,
together with Engelhard's catalyst development and manufacturing
expertise, resulted in a commercially proven and economically viable
product that provides a real opportunity to immediately monetize gas
reserves. This is demonstrated by the Nigerian and QATARI
gas-to-liquids ventures under development, which will utilize Sasol's
well-proven technology. This agreement is a further step in Sasol's
pursuit of attractive offshore business opportunities created by the
utilization of our world-leading gas-to-liquids technology."
"The commercial potential for this new, important technological
process is significant," said James A. Martin, group vice president
and general manager of Engelhard's process technologies business. "We
are excited by the potential of leveraging our work with Sasol to
deliver value to customers worldwide."
Engelhard has designed and will soon begin construction on a
$20-million capacity expansion at its manufacturing facility in
DeMeern, The Netherlands. The new capacity will be devoted to
production of Sasol's Fischer-Tropsch catalyst. Engelhard and Sasol
are sharing the cost of the expansion project.
Engelhard Corporation is a leading global provider of
environmental technologies, specialty chemical and performance
products and related services. The company's process technologies
business delivers a uniquely broad portfolio of chemical, petroleum
and polyolefin catalyst technologies used in the manufacture of a wide
variety of products across a vast spectrum of industries.
Internet address: www.engelhard.com
Sasol, established in 1950, is a world-leader in the commercial
production of liquid fuels and chemicals from coal and crude oil. The
company has annual sales of $2.8 billion and is listed on the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange (SOL), with a market capitalization of $4
billion, and on the NASDAQ (SASOY). Sasol manufactures more than 200
fuel and chemical products at its plants in Sasolburg and Secunda in
South Africa, as well as at several other plants abroad. The company's
products are exported to more than 70 countries. Sasol has developed
world-leading technology for the commercial production of synthetic
fuels and chemicals from low-grade coal as well as the conversion of
natural gas to environment-friendly diesel and chemicals.
Internet address: www.sasol.com
--30--ah/ny*
CONTACT: Engelhard Corp.
Kevin M. Kelly, 732/205-6244
or
Sasol Limited
Alfonso Niemand, +27-11-441-3218" |
