Name and Location
Escravos gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant project, Niger Delta, Nigeria.

Client
The plant is jointly owned by the Nigerian state energy company NNPC and Chevron, which uses Sasol's GTL technology.

Project Description
The project entails the construction of a GTL plant that will have an output of 34 000 bbl/d of GTL diesel, naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for export.

The plant, located 100 km south-east of Lagos, will use the rich gas resources of the Escravos field, which is estimated to produce 340-million cubic metres of gas a day, along with 1 200 bbl of condensate and 8 500 bbl of liquefied natural gas.

The GTL plant will be located adjacent to the Escravos gas plant, which processes about 150-million cubic metres of gas a day and produces LPG for sale to international markets and pipeline gas for domestic use.

The facility will provide significant environmental benefits by converting natural gas to produce ultraclean GTL diesel.

The facility will use a leading application of GTL, Sasol’s state-of-the-art Slurry Phase Distillate Process, which consists of Haldor Topsoe’s proprietary autothermal reforming, Sasol’s proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology and Chevron Texaco’s proprietary Isocracking process.

The completion of the plant will add Nigeria to the list of countries leading the industry in the implementation of GTL production facilities. The plant will be built at a Chevron-owned reserve using Sasol technology.

Value
The cost of the project has escalated to an estimated $10-billion.

Sasol will provide partial financing for the project.

Duration
The Escravos GTL plant has been delayed to 2015. The project was initially expected to be completed in 2010.

Latest Developments
South African petrochemicals group Sasol expects full production at the Escravos GTL plant that it is developing with Chevron by mid-2015, industry experts say. It is expected to produce 33 200 bbl/d of fuel.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Sasol Chevron (design and development of plant, and management, operating and technical services to the project owners); and Team JKS (engineering and procurement contractor).

On Budget and on Time?
There have been multiple delays at the Escravos GTL plant, and its development cost has soared from an initial $2.5-billion to an estimated $10-billion.

Contact Details for Project Information
Chevron spokesperson Scott Walker, tel +1 713 372 4923 or email swlk@chevron.com.
Chevron Nigeria, tel +234 1 277 2222.
NNPC, tel +234 9 200 81133 or fax +234 9 234 0029.
Sasol Chevron, tel +44 20 3205 1800 or email info@sasolchevron.com.