PetroSA Proposes $4 Billion Gas-to-Liquid Plant in Mozambique

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resource (Sugar Land, Texas)--The recent major gas finds in Mozambique herald a new development phase in the country's economy, which is growing at a fast pace from a very low base. Mozambique is seeing reconstruction and rehabilitation after a long and bitter colonial war, followed by a civil war in the latter part of the last century.

The growth being experienced is increasing demand for energy and energy feeds, and the growth is driving diesel consumption, according to Gareth Shaw, PetroSA's (Cape Town, South Africa) business development manager for gas-to-liquids (GTL), who spoke at a mining and energy conference in the capital city of Maputo. The country has a population of more than 23 million.

State-owned PetroSA is in talks with the Mozambique government on the development of a GTL plant to feed the demand for diesel and other fuels. The plant could feed the demand for fuels in the Southern African region, in addition to Mozambique's domestic needs. Currently, the country is a net importer of fuel, with about 900,000 tons of fuel products coming in annually.

The company was proposing the construction of 40,000-barrel-per-day plant with an investment of $4 billion. The plant could utilize PetroSA's new, low-temperature, Fischer-Tropsch-based technology, which would boost the share of diesel produced.

There was scope for a GTL plant in the country, which could follow the LNG plants that are currently being planned. The country's recoverable gas resources are estimated at more than 100 trillion cubic feet, according to industry analysts, and new discoveries are likely. International energy consortiums recently have confirmed major discoveries in the Rovuma offshore basin.

Petro SA was a global pioneer in GTL production, opening the first plant at Mossel Bay on the south Cape coast in 1992. The plant has a crude oil-equivalent production capacity of about 45,000 barrels per day.

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