HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada has hailed the success of Oryx GTL and the role it has played in establishing Qatar as the “gas-to-liquids capital” of the world.He was speaking after chairing the quarterly board meeting of Oryx GTL in South Africa. Oryx GTL is a joint venture between South Africa’s Sasol and Qatar Petroleum and is one of the largest commercial GTL operations in the world with a capacity of 32,400 barrels of oil equivalent a day.Al-Sada held talks with Sasol chief executive officer David Constable and discussed ways of further capitalising on the success of Sasol’s GTL technology and its implementation in Qatar.Al-Sada said, “I am very pleased with the success of Oryx GTL and the role it has played in establishing Qatar as the GTL capital of the world. We are pleased to have Sasol as a partner and look forward to our ongoing journey together, as Oryx GTL continues its success.”The Oryx GTL plant is Sasol’s flagship world-scale facility that uses Sasol proprietary GTL technology to convert natural gas into high-value product streams, including liquid fuels, chemicals and lower-carbon electricity.
“Under the vision of HH the Emir, the development of Oryx GTL has been a game-changer in the global energy sector. This groundbreaking venture shows how, with strong government support, abundant natural gas resources, and innovative technologies, we can work together to deliver world-class products to benefit millions of customers. Sasol looks forward to an exciting future ahead with its partner, Qatar Petroleum, in advancing further opportunities,” Constable said. Al-Sada and Constable also recognised Oryx GTL’s two significant milestones. The company achieved a world-class safety performance of 0.00 TRIR, which represents 365 days without a single recordable incident. In addition, Oryx GTL also maintained 100% plant availability and outstanding production performances with an average production rate above design capacity for the last six months.During his visit to South Africa, al-Sada visited Sasol Secunda facilities, where the company showcased its proprietary technology. With a capacity of 160,000 bpd, the Secunda facility in South Africa is Sasol’s largest operation and spans 13 sq km. He also visited Sasol Research Facilities at Sasolburg. While in South Africa, al-Sada also held talks with South African Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters.