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Very interesting news for CABN shareholders and watchers:

http://www.pennenergy.com/index/petroleum/display/5337287069/articles/pennenergy/petroleum/refining/2011/09/sasol-to_build_the.html?cmpid=EnlDailyPetroSeptember142011

Sasol to build the first gas-to-liquids plant in the US

September 13, 2011

By Phaedra Friend Troy

South African oil and gas company Sasol (NYSE:SSL) has chosen southwest Louisiana as the location of its planned gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility. The first GTL plant in the United States, the Sasol facility would produce GTL transportation fuels and other products.

“We believe Sasol’s proprietary GTL technology can help unlock the potential of Louisiana’s clean and abundant natural gas resources and contribute to an affordable, reliable and high quality fuel supply for the United States,” said Sasol Managing Director: New Business Development Ernst Oberholster at a press conference with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Over the next 18 months, Sasol will conduct a feasibility study to determine the possibility of building the GTL facility in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. The study will consider two development options. The first option includes a facility that would produce 2 million tons per year, and the second option would double that production rate.

In December 2010, Sasol revealed that the company will build the world’s first Ethylene Tetramerization Unit in Calcasieu Parish.

Clean-Burning Fuel Alternative

GTL transportation fuel is cleaner-burning than conventional diesel, but GTL has a comparable, or possibly lower, greenhouse gas profile. In addition to reducing emissions of particulates, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other pollutants that would improve air quality, GTL fuel is nearly free of sulfur and aromatic compounds.

“GTL fuels are an important part of the energy mix because they can advance energy independence in a way that is both cost-efficient and environmentally friendly,” Oberholster said.

Unlike other clean fuel alternatives, GTL fuel can be used in existing vehicles and fuel delivery infrastructure without any modifications.

Additionally, a Pricewaterhouse Coopers study in 2005 revealed that a GTL facility provides air quality benefits in comparison to an oil refinery due to lower sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon emissions.

New Market for Shale Gas

The state of Louisiana has extensive natural gas resources both in the conventional form and in the prolific Haynesville Shale formation in the state.

Gas drilling, development and production is currently being limited because the increase of natural gas production across the US due to shale developments has glutted the domestic market, sending natural gas prices very low.

While a number of companies are working to build LNG liquefaction facilities or convert existing gasification plants along the Gulf Coast to export natural gas to international markets, Sasol’s GTL facility would create a domestic market for the natural gas production.

Sasol converts gas and coal into liquid fuels, fuel components and chemicals through its proprietary Fischer-Tropsch process. In 2007, the South African company started its first international GTL plant, Oryx GTL, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum. The company is also looking to build a GTL plant in Uzbekistan and has launched a feasibility study for another GTL plant in Western Canada to produce fuels from the Montney Shale.