Tulsa-based Syntroleum Corp. said Thursday that it plans to commercialize a small barge-mounted gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant for shallow water offshore and coastline stranded natural gas assets in the 1-3 Tcf range. The mobile facilities, said the company, would allow exploration and production companies to book reserves in regions where there currently is no infrastructure to produce and transport the gas.

COO Jack Holmes said the GTL barges would offer a “huge opportunity” to producers working offshore. According to Syntroleum, of the estimated 5,500 Tcf of gas reserves worldwide, nearly one-half are stranded, and more than 50% are offshore. Holmes, former COO of Zilkha Energy Co. until it merged into Sonat Inc., helped to develop early 3-D seismic technology for gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. He said the barge would allow producers to “book 1-3 Tcf with minimal geologic risk. Also, it enables producers to do this at projected full cycle finding, development and production costs comparable to industry average levels.” The offshore GTL plant, he said, could produce reserves over a 20-year life.

Syntroleum’s GTL barge, using its air-based system, would focus on fields too small to justify liquefied natural gas plants or large land-based GTL plants. With specific screening criteria, such as a field’s proximity to shore and its geographic location, Syntroleum has identified more than 40 uncontracted gas fields as initial targets for development, representing 8 billion boe. The actual GTL plant would sit on a 200-by-400-foot barge, weighing 35,000 metric tons. The company did not have a timeline on when the barges would be in operation.

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