Sasol ready to roll in Qatar
19/04/2006 14:35 PM
fin24.co.za
Johannesburg - South African fuels group Sasol Ltd (SOL) said on Wednesday it plans to launch the world's first commercial-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar on June 6, producing 34 000 barrels per day of liquid fuels from natural gas.
The GTL project, named Oryx, at Ras Laffan in Qatar is run in partnership with a local partner while oil major Chevron will do most of the marketing in Europe and North America.
"The inauguration is on June 6, we will produce 34 000 bpd in the first phase but we plan to expand that with our partners to a 100 000 bpd which we will call Oryx 2," Sasol chief executive officer Pat Davies said.
Sasol is the world's biggest producer of synthetic fuel from coal, and also produces chemicals with global operations.
Sasol's technology, which converts coal or natural gas to liquid fuel, was developed in South Africa during apartheid rule to overcome sanctions and is now seen as a means to develop a global footprint and expand its earnings.
Sasol has so far produced more than 1.5 billion barrels of CTL fuel, far ahead of rivals, he said, and it has a capacity of about 150 000 barrels per day of CTL.
The group has said it hopes to more than double its capacity in the long term, with the bulk produced offshore.
Shares in Sasol were 0.1% lower at R249.80 by 14:37, underpeforming the JSE Securities Exchange's blue chip Top-40 index. |
