NEW ZEALAND GAS TO GASOLINE PLANT

Abstract

In 1979 the New Zealand Government adopted a recommendation by the Liquid Fuels Trust Board to allocate 50-60 petajoules per year of the country's natural gas resources to manufacture synthetic gasoline using a process developed by Mobil Oil Corporation. Following a joint study, Government and Mobil concluded that the establishment of a plant to produce synthetic gasoline was economically, commercially and technologically feasible. Construction of the plant commenced on March 12, 1982 and is scheduled for completion third quarter 1985, with full production expected by the beginning of 1986. The plant will be owned and operated on a tolling basis by New Zealand Synthetic Fuels Corporation Limited with a shareholding of Government 75 percent, Mobil 25 percent. The conversion of natural gas to gasoline occurs in two stages: first gas-to-methanol (GTM) and second methanol-to-gasoline (MTG). The GTM facility has two methanol trains, each with the capacity of 2200 tonnes a day (on a pure methanol basis) and employs the ICI Low-Pressure Methanol Process sub-licensed from Davy McKee. The 4400 tonnes of methanol are then converted to 1654 tonnes a day of synthetic gasoline in the MTG plant which incorporates Mobil's fixed bed catalytic process using its proprietary zeolite catalyst, ZSM-5. The design has been scaled up from a four barrel a day pilot plant, and the New Zealand plant will be the first commercial application of the Mobil process. Its annual capacity of 570,000 tonnes of gasoline represents some 35 percent of New Zealand's requirements. The capital cost of the plant has been estimated at $1475 million dollars of the day which includes fees and start-up costs, inflation and interest capitalised during construction. This will be financed by shareholder equity of $275 million and a loan facility of $1200 million with a standby provision of $500 million.