Conoco to build $75 million gas-to-liquids demonstration plant
Converting natural gas into liquids will enable the economic development of stranded gas reserves, which are estimated at more than 4,000 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and account for about 80 percent of all known gas reserves worldwide.
``One of the greatest challenges we face today is how to ensure adequate, dependable and environmentally sound energy sources are available to meet the needs of our citizens,'' said Gary Edwards, Conoco senior executive vice president, corporate strategy and development. ``The Bush Administration will address these issues in its soon-to-be-introduced National Energy Policy. Part of the long-term solution will be to find more energy supplies that can be brought to market easily and cost-effectively, and we think gas to liquids technology can be a significant part of that solution, not only on a national scale, but globally.''
``Stranded reserves represent a tremendous business opportunity for a company with commercial gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology,'' said Jim Rockwell, Conoco manager, gas to liquids. ``Conoco's GTL technology has advanced to the point where a full-scale plant is economical. Building the demonstration plant will enable us to gather the engineering data required to design a much larger commercial plant.''
A Conoco team of about 80 scientists and engineers have been researching gas-conversion technologies since 1997. The team has designed, manufactured and tested a wide variety of reactor configurations and more than 4,500 catalysts. From this research, the company achieved major breakthroughs in syngas technology and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, a process that converts carbon monoxide and hydrogen into synthetic hydrocarbons.
Conoco is one of only a handful of companies to offer GTL technology. A recent benchmarking study, published this past January in Chem System's ``Stranded Gas Utilization: Methane Refineries of the Future,'' ranked Conoco's technology the most efficient in the industry. Further, the U.S. Department of Energy will include Conoco's work on gas to liquids as part of a R & D funding program to promote cleaner fuels.
Gas to liquids technology has the potential for widespread environmental benefit as it produces fuels like methanol and ultra-clean, sulfur-free diesel that could displace less efficient, higher emission fuels in the transportation industry.
``With GTL technology, stranded gas reserves can be converted into readily-marketable, high quality fuels and specialty products for domestic use and export,'' said Rockwell. ``In most areas, the economics of GTL are better than those of converting gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG). Plus, the large and growing markets for middle distillates will speed the development of GTL projects ahead of LNG.''
Scheduled for completion in September 2002, the demonstration plant will convert natural gas into 400 barrels per day (bpd) of sulfur-free diesel, jet fuel and other products. After proving its low-cost GTL technology, Conoco will continue to use the demonstration plant to test new gas-conversion and petrochemical technologies under development.
The company expects to begin construction of its first commercial plant by 2004. Currently, there are no commercial plants in operation anywhere in the world.
With its strong history of partnering with host governments and resource partners, Conoco currently is promoting its GTL technology to a number of large gas owners worldwide. The superior technology, combined with the company's expertise in exploration and production, gas processing, refining and marketing, and power generation, positions the company as a provider of choice, Rockwell added.
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