ORYX GTL – The Flagship
ORYX GTL is our flagship GTL plant, producing at levels greater than its nameplate capacity on a sustained basis. Its cleaner-burning products command a premium on the world market. It is the benchmark for Sasol GTL facilities worldwide and the springboard off which we plan to leverage our experience. Visit the ORYX GTL website: http://www.oryxgtl.com.qa/ for more information.
EGTL – value from waste
Originally developed to reduce flaring, Escravos GTL (EGTL) is designed to take what has been historically a waste product in Nigeria and turn it into high value products with the potential to access export markets anywhere in the world. Commissioning and start-up activities continue as scheduled. Of similar design and specification to ORYX GTL, EGTL is a collaboration between Chevron, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Sasol.
EGTL has proved that Sasol's GTL technology can be deployed in a diverse range of circumstances: for example, the remote site at Escravos in the Niger Delta is in complete contrast to the ultra-modern infrastructure and port facilities available to ORYX GTL via Ras Laffan Industrial City. Project firsts include the heaviest single lift on record in Africa. Through EGTL, Nigeria has acquired a strategic energy technology and the knowledge transfer and skilled jobs that accompany it.
Uzbekistan – domestic enabler
A joint venture between Uzbekneftegaz, Petronas and Sasol is in the final stages of planning a facility that will convert part of Uzbekistan's gas reserves into transport fuel. Currently the country has to import fuel of a lesser quality. The new plant will transform energy production, improve quality and secure supply. The benefit of reduced emissions will be immediate.
The Uzbekistan project underpins the versatility of GTL technology and its project-specific nature in terms of economics and opportunity. Uzbekistan is one of only two double-landlocked countries in the world and was not an obvious prospect for an industry which held the belief that GTL projects were only commercially viable with export access to the sea. Sasol's experience in Qatar and Nigeria has been critical to developing a project in this formidably demanding location.
North America – unlocking value
In North America, the shale gas phenomenon presents exciting opportunities for GTL. As improved technology practices continue to drive down the cost of extracting shale, the price differential between natural gas and oil has widened considerably.
GTL is able to take advantage of this differential by producing oil equivalent fuels from a natural gas feedstock that unlock the full value of natural gas. Sasol is actively looking at the feasibility of establishing GTL project opportunities in Louisiana in the USA and Alberta in Canada through projects that will continue to contribute to energy security and economic growth.