Gas-to-Liquid technology: Prospect for natural gas utilization in Nigeria

Since the inception of oil and gas exploitation and production in Nigeria, a significant amount of energy resources have been wasted through the continuous flaring of Natural gas. Subsequent to the Government directive of reducing flared gas by 2008, there has been a drastic reduction in the quantity of flared gas. This reduction resulted from a number of gas utilization projects embarked upon by the Government and oil operators, whose main targets are overseas gas markets. This article examines the prospect of Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) conversion technology as a sustainable natural gas utilization option. Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) Technology enables the chemical conversion of natural gas into clean diesel, naphtha, kerosene and light oils, which are ready-to-use marketable liquid products. These liquid alternatives can be distributed through the same channels existing for petroleum products. This conversion also contributes to the elimination of flared gas and reduces the country's overdependence on imported refined petroleum products. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.