Partner Article

Southern firm moves into Tees Valley

A specialist gas-to-liquids company that has developed a novel method to solve the problem of associated gas in remote and deepwater oilfield developments is transferring operations to the Tees Valley and creating new jobs.

Compact GTL is moving its research and development laboratory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire to join its other operations at its pilot plant in Wilton, Redcar supported by a £85,000 grant from One North East and the Tees Valley Industrial Programme (TVIP).

Grant support will help create 10 new jobs adding to the company’s 32-strong workforce and purchase new state-of-the-art equipment as the firm looks to step up the Wilton based testing capabilities of its process – due to go to market by 2013.

Founded in 2006, Compact GTL has chosen to focus its development and testing work in the North East thanks to the region’s growing oil and gas sector and robust supply chain opportunities.

Compact GTL Chief Executive Nicholas Gay, said: “We are delighted that we are able to consolidate our operations at the Wilton site which will provide highly skilled jobs in the area.”

The current issue with oilfield developments is that there is a variable release of natural gas when oil is produced, known as associated gas. The current solution to this issue is to either re-inject the gas back into the field or to simply flare the gas, which is becoming less acceptable from a political and environmental viewpoint due to its greenhouse gas emissions. It can also carry heavy financial penalties.

The disposal of associated gas can be a significant impediment to oilfield developments in remote and deepwater locations where there is no ready market for the gas.

Compact GTL’s new technology, however, will convert the associated gas through compact catalytic reactors into synthetic crude oil, or syncrude, which can then be used for fuel or refined for other uses.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .