Escravos GTL is a

gas to liquids Gas to liquids (GTL) is a refinery process to convert natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons into longer-chain hydrocarbons, such as gasoline or diesel fuel. Methane-rich gases are converted into liquid synthetic fuels. Two general strategies ...

(GTL) project based in Escravos region,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. It is located in the Niger Delta about southeast of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

. The plant converts

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

into liquid

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

products.

History

A pre-feasibility study of Escravos GTL was conducted in April 1998, followed by an engineering feasibility study. The Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) was completed in 2002. At the same year, agreements between

Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...

, Chevron Corporation and Nigerian National Petroleum Company were signed. The construction contract was awarded in April 2005 to a consortium of JGC, KBR and

Snamprogetti Saipem S.p.A. (Società Anonima Italiana Perforazioni E Montaggi lit. ''Drilling and Assembly Italian Public Limited Company'') is an Italian multinational oilfield services company and one of the largest in the world. Until 2016 it was a subsi ...

Description

The GTL plant cost US$10 billion and started up in summer 2014; its original cost started out at US$1.9 billion in 2005, rising to US$5.9 billion in 2009 but continued to escalate. It has an initial capacity of of synfuel. The plant uses the

Fischer–Tropsch process The Fischer–Tropsch process is a collection of chemical reactions that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, known as syngas, into liquid hydrocarbons. These reactions occur in the presence of metal catalysts, typically at temperatu ...

technology and Chevron's ISOCRACKING technology.

Partners

The project was developed by Chevron Nigeria Limited (75%) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (15%). Sasol gained interest in the project early on, acquiring half of Chevron Nigeria's stake; however, due to increased cost and delays, Sasol reduced its stake to 10% in late 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escravos Gtl Natural gas plants Petroleum production Energy infrastructure in Nigeria Petroleum industry in Nigeria Natural gas in Nigeria Chevron Corporation Synthetic fuel facilities