Diesel drives GTL growth

It has been a long time coming, but gas-to-liquids (GTL) ventures are starting to gain critical mass, with most of the development activity focused on the Middle East. James Gavin reports

GTL'S GREAT leap forward is largely the result of Qatar's decision to brand itself as the world's GTL capital, aiming for output of some 0.8m barrels a day (b/d) by 2010. Sasol Chevron's late-March agreement with Qatar Petroleum (QP) to triple the capacity of its planned GTL plant in the Gulf state to 100,000 b/d and to back a feasibility plan on a separate, 130,000 b/d, integrated GTL venture confirms growing interest in the clean-fuel technology. Shell projects that at least 10 large-scale GTL plants will be in operation by 2020, producing enough diesel to supply about 10% of forecast demand in OECD Europe or the entire demand of the US west coast. Industry executives expect global GTL pro