Escravos GTL is a gas to liquids

Gas to liquids

Gas to liquids is a refinery process to convert natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons into longer-chain hydrocarbons such as gasoline or diesel fuel...

 (GTL) project based in Escravos region, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. It is located in the Niger Delta about 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) southeast of Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

. The plant will convert natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 into liquid petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 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

Sasol Ltd. is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synfuels. In particular, they produce petrol and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch process...

, Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...

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

Description

The GTL plant is expected to cost US$8.4 billion and to become operational by 2013. It will have an initial capacity of 34000 oilbbl/d of synfuel. Within ten years the capacity would be expanded to 120000 oilbbl/d. The plant will use Sasol's Fischer-Tropsch process

Fischer-Tropsch process

The Fischer–Tropsch process is a set of chemical reactions that convert a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons. The process, a key component of gas to liquids technology, produces a petroleum substitute, typically from coal, natural gas, or biomass for use as synthetic...

technology and Chevron's ISOCRACKING technology.

Partners

The project is being developed by Chevron Nigeria Limited (75%) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (25%). Originally there was a third partner, Sasol; however, due to increased cost and delays, Sasol withdrew from the project in 2009.