Turkmenistan synthetic gasoline plant

A groundbreaking ceremony was held today in Ovandan-Depe near the capital of Ashgabad in Turkmenistan to launch the construction of  a major plant focused on the conversion of natural gas into synthetic gasoline. The plant will be based on Haldor Topsoe’s TIGAS^TM (Topsoe Improved Gas Synthesis) technology and will become the first full scale large commercial facility using this technology.

Bjerne S. Clausen, Chief Executive Officer and President at Haldor Topsoe A/S said: “TIGAS^TM makes it possible to produce high quality, high value gasoline from natural gas, shale gas, associated gas, coal, pet coke or even biomass. The plant in Turkmenistan is extremely important to is, because it is the first large scale project in the world where we can showcase how our technology can help a nation with huge natural gas reserves monetise their natural resources by diversifying beyond conventional gas markets into transportation fuels”.

“We believe TIGAS^TM is fully viable as a gas monetization option for Turkmenistan and others, and we also believe it represents a monetization alternative for other gas rich countries in the world. With this new reference, we have clearly demonstrated that Topsoe has added another strong technology to its gas monetization portfolio”.

The plant has been awarded by the national gas company Turkmengas. Topsoe will be working alongside the Japanese contractor Kawasaki Heavy Industry Ltd. and the Turkish contractor Ronesans Turkmen to engineer and construct the facility. The plant will become operational in approximately four years from now with a daily production capacity of 15 500 bbl synthetic gasoline.

Synthetic gasoline is a competitive alternative to refinery gasoline and new energy carriers. Unlike DME, methanol and ethanol, synthetic gasoline meets existing gasoline standards so it can be used as a ‘drop-in’ fuel. This means that production can take place far from refineries, the existing infrastructure can be used for distribution, and car engineers can use it as a fuel without modification.

Adapted from a press release by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/26082014/synthetic-gasoline-plant-1182/