Rosneft GTL Demo Plant to Include Oxford Reactors

RNS Number : 1332D

Oxford Catalysts Group PLC

11 May 2012

 



11^th May 2012

OXFORD CATALYSTS GROUP PLC

("Oxford Catalysts" or "the Group" or "the Company")

Rosneft GTL Demo Plant to Include Oxford Reactors

Oxford Catalysts Group PLC, the leading technology innovator for synthetic fuels production, is pleased to announce selection of the Group's technology for a small scale Gas-to-Liquids ("GTL") facility commissioned by Rosneft.

Rosneft, an integrated oil company majority owned by the Russian government, has announced a partnership with technology commercialisation firm Gazohim Techno ("Gazohim"), to design and construct a GTL demonstration plant using Oxford Catalysts' Fischer-Tropsch technology. This plant will have a capacity of some 10 million cubic metres per year of natural gas, equivalent to approximately 100 barrels per day of synthetic crude. It will be located at Rosneft's Angarsk Petrochemical Complex in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and is targeted to be complete by the end of 2014.

Rosneft has a stated objective and budget to reduce flaring and make better use of associated gas. This facility is envisioned as the first of many commercial GTL plants that will convert gas associated with oil production into synthetic crude or high quality downstream products, including synthetic diesel, waxes and naphtha (an important petrochemical feedstock).

Roy Lipski, CEO of Oxford Catalysts Group said:

"We're very pleased to have been selected for this project. With its vast reserves of natural gas and significant quantity of flared gas, Russia represents a major potential market for GTL. Rosneft and Gazohim should provide a solid entry point for us into this market."

Sergey Dolinskiy, CEO of Gazohim Techno said:

"After an extensive review of alternative Fischer-Tropsch offerings we decided to move forward with Oxford Catalysts' technology. We found it to be the most attractive in combination with our POx process for the mini-GTL market we're targeting. The potential in Russia for processing associated gas is over 30 billion cubic metres a year."

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For further information, please contact:

Oxford Catalysts Roy Lipski, CEO Susan Robertson, CFO	[phone] [phone]
Cenkos Securities (Nomad and Broker) Ken Fleming / Beth McKiernan	[phone] [phone]
FTI Consulting Billy Clegg / Alex Beagley	[phone]

Notes to Editors

Oxford Catalysts enables modular Gas-to-Liquids ("GTL") plants to convert unconventional, remote and problem gas into valuable liquid fuels. Systems based on the Group's technology (marketed under the brand name Velocys) are significantly smaller than those using conventional technology, enabling modular plants that can be deployed cost effectively in remote locations and on smaller fields than is possible with competing systems. Together with world-class partners, Oxford Catalysts provides complete modular GTL solutions that address an untapped market of up to 25 million barrels of fuel a day.

Oxford Catalysts Group PLC is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: OCG). The Group has some 85 employees with facilities near Oxford, UK and Columbus, Ohio, USA.

www.oxfordcatalysts.com

www.velocys.com

About Rosneft

Rosneft is a listed company majority owned by the Russian state with a market capitalisation of $68.7 billion. Rosneft is engaged in exploration and production of hydrocarbons, production of petroleum products and petrochemicals, and marketing of outputs across all key hydrocarbon regions in Russia: Western Siberia; Southern and Central Russia; Timan-Pechora; Eastern Siberia and the Far East. In addition, the company participates in several exploration projects in Kazakhstan and Algeria. Rosneft produced record levels of oil in 2011 with revenue exceeding US $92 billion.

www.rosneft.com

About Gazohim

Gazohim Techno is a technology commercialisation firm focused on providing modular mini-GTL plants to address the widespread problem of gas flaring in the Russian Federation and former CIS countries. Gazohim's mini-GTL plants are a combination of a proprietary partial oxidation ("POx") process with Oxford Catalysts' Fischer-Tropsch technology, that is expected to result in smaller footprint and lower capital and operating costs. These plants will target small and medium size remote oil fields and convert associated gas into synthetic crude. Gazohim Techno has secured several tens of millions of dollars from investors and state funds for the development and roll out of its mini-GTL plants.

 

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