Oxford Catalysts Group PLC’s Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) demonstration plant has recently arrived in Fortaleza, Brazil following the completion of its construction in Asia. The integrated GTL demonstration plant incorporates the Group’s proprietary microchannel reactor and catalyst technologies for the key Steam Methane Reforming (“SMR”) and Fischer-Tropsch (“FT”) steps of the GTL process. The demonstration is fully funded and managed by the Group’s partners, Toyo Engineering Corporation and MODEC, Inc., in collaboration with Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) which is hosting the demonstration at its Lubnor refinery in Fortaleza, Brazil. The GTL plant will be reassembled at the demonstration site before progressing to the pre-commissioning and commissioning stages which are expected to be completed within four months. The demonstration plant is set to start up in September 2011, subject to successful commissioning and availability of the required utilities from Petrobras. Once the demonstration begins, it will operate for approximately nine months. This project is a significant early demonstration of the Group’s technology for GTL with one of the world’s biggest users of FPSOs.
