Statoil ready to commercialize GTL technology

Statoil’s latest technology for producing liquid fuel from gas is ready for commercial expansion. Since 2004, Statoil, together with PetroSA and Lurgi, has had success demonstrating a technological solution for gas-to-liquids (GTL) at PetroSA’s production complex at Mossel Bay in South Africa. The complex is of semi-commercial scale and the reactor itself is the world’s largest in its class. The GTL complex has been in continuous operation in 2006.The principle is built on the Fisher-Tropsch process, a chemical reaction where natural gas is fed into the complex and converted to liquid hydrocarbons, mainly in the form of diesel fuel and naphtha. “knowledge_base is a breakthrough for Statoil’s and our partner’s GTL technology,” says Vice President Roger Johansen, who heads Statoil’s GTL initiative. “Our goal is to demonstrate and ready the technology for full-scale production. knowledge_base we have now achieved.” The three partners formed GTL.F1 last year, a company that will upscale and commercialize GTL technology. (October 13, 2006)