Sasol study backs GTL

South Africa’s Sasol has not abandoned its hopes for building Canada’s first gas-to-liquids project, despite the loss of Talisman Energy as a 50-50 partner.

A company official has disclosed that a feasibility study made a “compelling argument” in favor of a GTL operation and will now go to Sasol’s board for a decision on whether to start front-end engineering and design, or FEED.

He said that if FEED work proceeds it will take up to 50 months from a final investment decision until the first product is “in the tank,” with a commercial business coming on stream by late this decade.

The initial phase of a GTL operation would yield 48,000 barrels per day of diesel fuel and naphtha, which would be sold as diluents for oil sands bitumen, with ultimate capacity targeted at 96,000 bpd.

Sasol’s Canadian unit has also obtained an option to buy 1,300 acres in the Alberta Heartland area near Edmonton from Total E&P Canada for a GTL plant.

Talisman has decided not to participate in the FEED phase, but Sasol has retained its 50 percent stake in Talisman’s Farrell Creek and Cypress natural gas assets in northeastern British Columbia that would likely be a key source of gas for a GTL operation.

—Gary Park