South African petrochemical company Sasol is delaying a decision on whether to move forward with a proposed $14 billion gas-to-liquids facility outside of Lake Charles, the company said on January 28.
Sasol said the plans are being put on hold as the company saves cash in response to falling oil prices. The company first announced plans in late 2012 for the Lake Charles, La., GTL plant.
"Albeit at a much slower pace, we will continue to progress the U.S. GTL facility," Sasol president and CEO David Constable said in a news release. "This will allow us to evaluate the possibility of phasing in the project in the most pragmatic and effective manner. North America and our home base in Southern Africa remain strategic investment destinations for Sasol."
The proposed gas-to-liquids facility would convert natural gas into diesel fuel and other liquids, producing 96,000 barrels per day. It was estimated to cost $11 billion to $14 billion and open in 2019.
The Port Charles plant would be second largest in size worldwide among other operating GTL plants, behind only the Pearl GTL project, a joint venture of Shell and Qatar Petroleum, which can produce 140,000 barrels per day of liquid fuels. Pearl GTLs base oil capacity is 28,000 barrels per day. The overall Pearl refinery, opened in 2011, at a cost of nearly $20 billion.
Shell abandoned plans in 2013 to build a $20 billion GTL plant in Louisiana, which would have had a capacity to produce 140,000 barrels per day of liquid fuels.
Sasol is moving forward with the first phase of its Westlake complex, an $8 billion ethane cracker, which breaks down the molecules of ethane -- found in natural gas -- and creates ethylene, a key ingredient for the petrochemnical industry. It is slated to begin operating in 2018.
