Speaking at the GTL (gas-to-liquids) and CTL (coal-to-liquids) conference in Perth last Friday, CSIRO business development manager James Puller said Australia had traditionally relied on research and technology developed by other countries, especially the United States.

“The size of the US’ coal reserves are bigger than the oil reserves in the Middle East, which explains why the country is spending so many dollars researching how to clean up coal,” Puller said.

“But commercialisation of Australia’s gas reserves will require a research and development focus on technology barriers that are unique to Australia.”

About 80% of Australia’s 115 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves are located in offshore areas where it is uneconomic or difficult to transport via a pipeline.

The CSIRO is currently investigating new and existing processes to convert this stranded gas, away from onshore processing centres, into transportable liquid fuels and chemicals.

With platforms accounting for about 46% of deep-sea working capital, one key area the CSIRO is investigating is ‘platform-free fields’, where all production would be conducted underwater.

CSIRO’s next challenge is to convert the unlocked natural gas into GTL products offshore on a deepwater, floating facility.

However, Puller is confident these two processes could be introduced to major offshore gas reserves project developments within the next four to nine years.

As the CSIRO investigates Australia’s GTL potential, US-based Syntroleum Corporation has partnered with Switzerland’s Sustec to focus on emerging CTL project opportunities in countries with large coal reserves, such as the US, China and Australia.

Syntroleum senior vice president Ken Roberts told delegates at the conference that the new business venture was currently initiating detailed feasibility studies with multiple potential ‘greenfield’ CTL projects.

“Clean coal technologies are going to make a very important contribution in future energy supplies,” he said.

“We’re focusing on designing and building modular plants that can produce about 20,000 barrels of CTL products per day, which appears to be a good size under current economic conditions.”