Sinopec and Syntroleum Announce Joint Technology Development Plan for GTL/CTL in China
20 February 2007
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and Syntroleum Corporation (Syntroleum) announced more details on their recently-signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development and marketing of Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) and Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) technology in China. (Earlier post.)
The MoU establishes a joint technology development effort to advance GTL and CTL technologies, to cooperate in verifying Syntroleum GTL technologies on an industrial scale, to construct a 700,000 tonne per year (17,000 barrel per day) GTL plant and a 3,000 tonne per year (100 barrel per day) CTL pilot plant in China using Syntroleum’s technologies, and to market jointly SSTC technology (Sinopec Syntroleum technology) in China through the most effective means.
Syntroleum will provide Sinopec with access to its complete set of proprietary GTL technologies including catalyst technology and Fischer-Tropsch technologies related to CTL for use in China on an exclusive basis during the period of cooperation.
After signing a formal cooperation agreement, Sinopec agrees to provide Syntroleum with $20 million per year over the next five years to support development of the technology. Sinopec and Syntroleum have already commenced relevant work on a legally binding cooperation agreement “Research and Development Cooperation Agreement”.
Sinopec will start feasibility studies for the construction of the 700,000 tonne per year GTL plant in China and the 3,000 tonne per year CTL pilot plant upon the completion of the cooperation agreement. Both plants will be fully capitalized by Sinopec, with technological support from Syntroleum. The two projects will provide the basis for the two parties to jointly market the combined FT technology capabilities to third parties within China. This will give the parties a competitive position in providing engineering and technological capabilities to the China market.
Syntroleum is jointly developing a 50,000 barrel per day GTL project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Corporation (KUFPEC). Following a joint Sinopec/ Syntroleum visit to PNG, Sinopec has expressed its wish to become the main Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for this GTL project. Syntroleum has expressed its firm desire to cooperate with Sinopec in the project.
We have conducted many years of research and testing on Fischer-Tropsch technology. We are convinced that Syntroleum’s slurry column reactor technology is one of the most advanced in the world. We believe that Sinopec’s Fischer-Tropsch expertise combined with that of Syntroleum, will enable us to jointly provide world-class Fischer-Tropsch solutions to the marketplace and help meet the growing demand for this technology in China.
—Cao Xianghong, Chief Engineer of Sinopec
Sinopec is an integrated energy and chemical company, with its oil refining capacity ranking number 4 in the world.
very obviously to burn all the abundant chinese coal for the next 2-300 years...
what chinese techies & the general population cannot admit much less conceive is that this ain't the solution, this equals the end of the beginning of the end, the solution is to consume less, much, much less and still be happy;
where's the science for that ?
Posted by: da vinci | 25 February 2007 at 09:33 AM