Foster Wheeler Ltd has announced that its South African subsidiary Foster Wheeler South Africa (Pty) Ltd, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been selected by Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd to perform a pre-feasibility study for a proposed new coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility, known as Project Mafutha in South Africa. The planned stand-alone greenfield coal-to-liquids facility would produce approximately 80,000bpd of synthetic fuel. A potential location for the facility will be evaluated as part of the study. Project Mafutha (“Mafutha” is a Zulu word for “oil”) will involve an integrated CTL process comprising three key process steps for the conversion of coal into primary fuel products (gasoline and diesel); gasification of coal to synthesis gas; Sasol’s proprietary low and/or high temperature Fischer-Tropsch processes; and refinery technology for converting the Fischer-Tropsch products into fuel products. The project will also include other processing units, utilities and offsite facilities necessary to support the development. Foster Wheeler’s scope for the study will also include the integration of other venture elements, such as the mining operation, into the overall venture scope.