Article: GTL update: with oil costs rising and the ready availability worldwide of other sources of hydrocarbons, attention has begun to focus on ways of converting those hydrocarbons into a useable form. So-called gas to liquids (GTL) technologies have proliferated, with syngas often the key intermediate step. Nitrogen + Syngas looks at the state of commercialisation of the rival technologies.

There are several factors driving interest in GTL technologies, but the main three so far have been as follows:

* Dealing with stranded gas. A number of gas fields around the world--it is estimated up to 60% of gas--is 'stranded'--too remote from end-use markets to be easily transported in spite of steadily falling pipeline costs. If this gas can be converted into a liquid form it becomes more readily transportable and hence 'monetised' by the owning company. In some other cases there are also environmental concerns relating to associated gas dissolved in oilfields where flaring is becoming increasingly unacceptable, such as in west Africa.

* Rising oil ...

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