Sasol delays decision on $14 bln gas-to-liquids plant in USA

29-Jan-15

Sasol has delayed its decision on whether to build the U.S.’s first gas-to-liquids plant as the South African company announced plans to mitigate against lower oil prices. The facility, to be located next to an US$8 bln ethane cracker in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was estimated in 2013 to cost US$14 bln. The cracker that converts ethane into ethylene used to make chemicals that go into antifreeze and water bottles, was approved in October and the final decision on the GTL plant was expected to follow within two years, as per Bloomberg. “Albeit at a much slower pace, we will continue to progress the U.S. GTL facility,” Chief Executive Officer David Constable said in a statement Wednesday. “North America and our home base in southern Africa remain strategic investment destinations for Sasol.”