BP and Davy Process Technology today announce collaborations with three EPC contractors to promote the commercialisation of the BP/Davy Fischer Tropsch Process. CB&I Lummus UK Limited (NYSE:CBI), Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE:JEC) and The Shaw Group (NYSE:SHAW) have signed agreements to work individually with BP/Davy to seek deployment opportunities for the proven BP/Davy Fischer Tropsch (FT) process that transforms syngas into liquid hydrocarbons.
The BP/Davy fixed-bed FT process is a low technology risk option to producing diesel, jet fuel (JP8) and naphtha from natural gas, bio-mass or coal derived syngas. This technology has been successfully demonstrated in Nikiski, Alaska, with full scale fixed-bed reaction tubes where the nominal 300 barrel per day complex met or exceeded all of its performance targets. This process is now available for license to third parties, and BP’s and Davy’s continuing development is focussed on retrofit enhancements.
BP’s Vice President for Conversion Technology, Mark Howard, said: “We are very pleased to have gained the collaboration of these three leading contractors in our efforts to commercialise our FT process. Their involvement will help with the early identification and evaluation of opportunities, and ensure the availability of first class engineering resources familiar with our process to support potential licensees.”
Dr David Tomlinson, President of Davy Process Technology comments: “We are pleased to see this technology move forward into the market place after extensive development and demonstration at a semi commercial scale. We believe the time is ripe for the conversion of stranded natural gas or coal reserves into liquid fuels especially with demand for liquid fuels at an all time high and the price of crude oil again rising on the international market.”
The EPC contractors were chosen after conducting a competitive bidding and ranking process.