Sasol abandons Indonesia CTL plan

South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation on Tuesday confirmed its decision not to continue with a Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) project in Indonesia.

The group said, as quoted by media, that it would instead, turn its focus to Gas-to-Liquids opportunities.

In December 2009, Sasol, with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which facilitated the commencement of a screening study into the viability of an integrated CTL project in Indonesia, using Sasol's proprietary technology.

On Tuesday however, Sasol said in a statement that it would turn its focus to Gas-to-Liquids opportunities. "Sasol has taken the decision to accelerate its focus on business development of new Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) opportunities and to limit its focus on the development of CTL opportunities beyond current opportunities (China and India) which are already at advanced stages of development.

"Sasol hopes to continue its partnership with the Indonesian government and to progress discussions on potential GTL opportunities in Indonesia," the group said.(*)