埃克森莫比尔公司宣布说，他们已经取消了在卡塔尔建立日产量为80000桶的气转液（GTL）工厂。该公司没有说明取消这项工程的原因，只是引用了公司一位发言人的话：“不再继续这个GTL工程，是符合我司严格控制的投资策略的”。然而，一直在广泛报道的是，快速增长的建筑成本，包括购买钢铁的成本、施工成本、人工成本等，都使工程建设的成本快速飞长了。
在埃克森莫比尔公司发布此报告的同一天，荷兰皇家壳牌公司在卡塔尔创办日产量为70000桶的气转液（GTL）工厂。有报道说，估计该项目的成本已经由最初的60亿美元，增长到了180亿美元了。壳牌公司也报道说，他们比其它潜在的气转液（GTL）有优势，因为他们在马来西亚已经有一家日产量为14000桶的气转液（GTL）工厂，并且该工厂在上一个世纪中叶就已经开始运转了。公司还报道说，要得到发展，在一定时期内的每一桶油类产品的成本必须要控制在4-6美元之间。
同时，奥瑞克斯公司（Oryx）---卡塔尔石油公司（51%）和沙索公司（49%）合资成立的一家公司---报道说，他们已经按照启动计划完成了第一次生产，产品正准备在3月底发往国际市场。当初建设该工厂估计花费了95千万美元，目前正在生产蜡类原材料、费-托加工用的中间产品等，并且是试验性生产。这是世界上第一个商业规模的气转液（GTL）工厂，采用沙索开发的低温浆态床FT的工艺流程(Slurry phase Distillate process，简称SPD)加工生产。工厂将来把天然气完全转换成产品的能力为每天68000桶，其中包括每天34000桶超低柴油燃料、每天24000桶柴油、每天9000桶超石油馏分、及每天1000桶液体石油液化气。
Exxonmobile Cancels Qatar GTL Plant-Shell Breaks Ground For Its 70000 BD GTL Plant In Qatar-Oryx Starts Up 68000 BD GTL Plant In Qatar
ExxonMobil Corp. announced that it has canceled plans to build a 80000bd Gas-To-Liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar. The company did not say why the project was canceled only citing that “deciding not to procede with GTL is in our line with our investment approach which is very disciplined” reported a company spokesperson. However, it had been widely reported that rapidly rising construction costs including the cost of steel, engineering, and labor have led to steep inflation in construction costs.
On the same day that Exxonmobil makes its announcement, Royal Dutch broke ground on the initial 70000bd GTL plant in Qatar. It has been reported that he initial cost estimates of $6 billion for the project has escalated to $18 billion. Shell also indicated that the company has an advantage over other potential GTL producers since it has experienced with its 14000bd GTL plant in Malaysia which as been operating since the mid 1990s. The company also stated that its development remained within its cost estimates of $4-$6 per oil-equivalent barrel of production over a period of time.
At the same time, Oryx GTL, a joint venture of Qatar Petroleum Co.(51%) and Sasol Ltd. (49%) reported that it had produced its first products under its start up plan and its products will be ready to ship to international markets by the end of March. The plant, estimated to have cost $ 950 million, is producing waxy synthetic crude, the intermediate product of the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process and it was testing the product work-up units. This is the world’s first GTL plant on a commercial scale using the low temperature Sasol slurry phase distillate process. The plant will eventually convert natural gas into 6800bd of products including 34000bd of ultra-low diesel fuels, 24000bd of diesel, 9000bd of naphtha and 1000bd of liquid petroleum gas. |
