Oryx plant start up in fourth quarter

South African petrochemicals group Sasol said in September that its gas-to-liquids (GTL) project in Qatar was likely to be between nine months and a year behind schedule due to contractor problems. The start of operations of the Oryx gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, originally expected to be onstream by the first quarter of 2006, has now been delayed to the fourth quarter of knowledge_base year due to damage during early commissioning to a steam superheating plant. General Manager Lean Strauss said that Oryx’s operating costs were expected to soar between 50% and 60% due to the rise in commodity prices. (October 5, 2006)