Proceedings of the
Second International Energy 2030 Conference,
November 4-5, 2008, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
Stranded Natural Gas Utilization by Fisher Tropsch Technology
Saleh Al Hashimi
The Petroleum Institute, UAE
Ahmad Nafees
The Petroleum Institute, UAE
Abstract
Despite being one of the most abundant energy sources on the planet, more than third of the global
natural gas reserves are classified as stranded [1]. Stranded gas refers to the reserve that has been
discovered, but remains unusable for either physical or economical reasons. Remote location of gas
reserves (where building a pipeline is prohibitively expensive) and low demands in the region are two
economical constraints. Associated gas and stranded off shore gases are usually flared or re-injected to the
reservoir. These gases can be better utilized by converting it to high value hydrocarbons. Fischer Tropsch
technology has proven ability to convert low cost gases to high value hydrocarbon products (gasoline,
diesel, oxygenates and wax etc). High capital cost, high operation and maintenance cost were some of the
constraints that influenced the popularity and competitiveness of the F-T technology. But recent
advancement in reactor and catalyst design and significant reduction in capital requirement has made F-T
technology on par with other commercial technologies. Sasol has been operating commercial F-T plants
since early 1980s in South Africa to produce a variety of synthetic petroleum products. Shell is operating
F-T plant in Bintulu in Malaysia, where it produces low sulfur diesel and food grade wax. In addition, a
number of F-T plants and facilities are in advanced stages around the world. Oryx-GTL plant being built
by Sasol and Qatar Petroleum, CTL project by Rentech and Peabody Energy, Lube plant in Australia by
Syntroleum are some of the upcoming F-T facilities. The impetus of this poster is to demonstrate the
features of the F-T technology for production of liquid fuels that strengthens the environmental quality and
energy security by cutting the dependence on crude oil.
