hagar
Veteran Member
Sasol, China in landmark deal22/06/2006 10:08 AMCape Town - South African fuels and chemicals group Sasol Ltd. and China have signed an agreement for a second feasibility stage for two Chinese coal-to-liquids plants, the company said on Thursday.
Sasol has been conducting a feasibility study for two 80 000 barrels per day coal-to-liquids (CTL) facilities in Ningxia and Shaanxi in China.
The plants, each to cost more than $5bn, could come into operation as early as 2012 and Sasol said it saw the potential from 10 more such plants in China in the future.
"The initial pre-feasibility studies confirmed that all key drivers are in place for establishing a viable coal-to-liquids business in China," Sasol said in a statement.
The second stage feasibility studies are expected to last between 18 months and two years, a Sasol official said. Following this stage, the aim was to go into designing the plants, the official added.
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao witnessed the signing of the agreements by Sasol and two Chinese corporations.
Sasol was also in talks with Chinese officials to try to win incentives on tax, excise rebates, measures to guard against low oil prices and direct capital injections in the projects.
The two plants would produce about 6-8 million tonnes of fuel per year, Sasol said.
"China coal reserves exceed the total oil reserves of Saudi Arabia... for China to have energy security their solution would be to turn their coal reserves into liquid fuel," Andre de Ruyter, head of Sasol's China ventures told Reuters.
Sasol's technology, which converts coal or natural gas to liquid fuel, was developed in South Africa during apartheid rule to overcome sanctions and is now seen as a means to a develop a global footprint and expand its earnings.
Sasol has so far produced more than 1.5 billion barrels of CTL fuel, far ahead of rivals, he said, and it has a capacity of about 150 000 barrels per day of CTL. The group has previously said it would focus on China, the United States and India, which rank among the countries with the biggest reserves of coal for further CTL projects.
Sasol has been conducting a feasibility study for two 80 000 barrels per day coal-to-liquids (CTL) facilities in Ningxia and Shaanxi in China.
The plants, each to cost more than $5bn, could come into operation as early as 2012 and Sasol said it saw the potential from 10 more such plants in China in the future.
"The initial pre-feasibility studies confirmed that all key drivers are in place for establishing a viable coal-to-liquids business in China," Sasol said in a statement.
The second stage feasibility studies are expected to last between 18 months and two years, a Sasol official said. Following this stage, the aim was to go into designing the plants, the official added.
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao witnessed the signing of the agreements by Sasol and two Chinese corporations.
Sasol was also in talks with Chinese officials to try to win incentives on tax, excise rebates, measures to guard against low oil prices and direct capital injections in the projects.
The two plants would produce about 6-8 million tonnes of fuel per year, Sasol said.
"China coal reserves exceed the total oil reserves of Saudi Arabia... for China to have energy security their solution would be to turn their coal reserves into liquid fuel," Andre de Ruyter, head of Sasol's China ventures told Reuters.
Sasol's technology, which converts coal or natural gas to liquid fuel, was developed in South Africa during apartheid rule to overcome sanctions and is now seen as a means to a develop a global footprint and expand its earnings.
Sasol has so far produced more than 1.5 billion barrels of CTL fuel, far ahead of rivals, he said, and it has a capacity of about 150 000 barrels per day of CTL. The group has previously said it would focus on China, the United States and India, which rank among the countries with the biggest reserves of coal for further CTL projects.