Improve economics with GTL integration into oil sands operations

E. Salehi, S. Save, W. Nel and G. Almquist, Hatch Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada At the beginning of the last decade, a wave of interest in GTL was driven by environmental awareness and peak oil predictions. As a result, many GTL projects were announced worldwide, of which three were finally constructed and are operating in Qatar (Shell’s Pearl GTL and Qatar Petroleum and Sasol’s Oryx GTL), and one in Nigeria (Chevron’s Escravos GTL). At present, GTL once again looks promising. Renewed interest in GTL is due mainly to new developments in shale gas production and the spread between oil and natural gas prices, particularly in North America (NA). Fig. 1 depicts the historical trend of WTI cru