Qatar Petroleum (QP) and PetroWorld of South Africa have signed a Heads of Agreement for the development of a Large Scale Fuel Grade Methanol Project. The targeted output of the Ras Laffan-based project to be will be 12,000 to 15,000 tons of methanol per day, stated a press release.
The State of Qatar will be represented by QP, holding a 51 percent stake in the venture and the South African Government will be represented by PetroWorld, with a 49 percent share.
QP, a state-owned corporation, is responsible for all phases of the oil and gas industry in Qatar while PetroWorld is a joint venture owned by Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa and TransWorld Group of Companies.
This Large Scale Fuel Grade Methanol Project will use natural gas from Qatar’s North Field to produce primarily fuel grade methanol as a clean fuel for electric power generation plants in areas where pipeline gas or LNG are not economically viable and further use of distillates and HFO is more costly or environmentally unacceptable.
The Heads of Agreement calls for PetroWorld to conduct a feasibility study which is expected to confirm the technical configuration, economics of the project and the market opportunities already identified, as well as a plan for the process selection and project implementation. The feasibility study is to be completed prior to the end of 2003. The partners expect the proposed plant to come on steam by 2008.
PetroWorld has identified geographical areas with high potential and targeted utilities for a marketing effort, which will be implemented concurrent with the signing of this Heads of Agreement.
Large Scale Fuel Grade Methanol is a process, which converts natural gas into a ready to use liquid transportable under normal temperature and pressure. By expanding the size of conventional chemical grade methanol plants fro 5,000 tons to 15,000 tons of output per day, unit capital and operating costs are lowered significantly and fuel grade methanol becomes a competitive alternative fuel for electric power generation.
Recent developments by the major methanol process licensors have proven the technical feasibility of a new generation of Large Scale Methanol Plants. Correspondingly, component costs have to become better definable and EPC contractors continue to gain experience in lowering costs and completing construction within budget while providing the appropriate guarantees.
Fuel grade methanol is safe to handle and environmentally benign and can be transported in conventional double hull produce tankers. Power generators do not require special handling or expensive regasification at the receiving end. Over the past few years major turbine manufacturers and electric utilities have investigated and approved the use of methanol for power generation. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
