SYNTROLEUM TO CERTIFY GE GAS TURBINES FOR GAS-TO-LIQUID PROCESSING
Gas turbines provide compression and electrical power needed in the Syntroleum Process, which converts natural gas into synthetic liquid fuels and specialty products.
The Syntroleum Process simplifies traditional gas-to-liquid technologies by using air rather than pure oxygen and by integrating the conversion process with gas turbines, which substantially reduces both the capital cost and the minimum economical size of a gas-to-liquid plant. The use of air eliminates the need for costly and complicated cryogenic air separation plants to generate oxygen. The technology has the potential to significantly enlarge the world's readily available fuel supply, allowing oil and gas companies to economically convert remote, untapped reserves of natural gas into marketable liquid fuels.
"This agreement opens an attractive source for state-of-the-art turbines and provides a broader range of turbine sizes to our licensees. The use of turbines has been, and will continue to be, key to reducing the overall cost of Syntroleum Process plant designs," stated Mark Agee, Syntroleum president and chief operating officer. "We believe that our joint development plans with GE will enhance our efforts to deliver future designs that will be lower in cost and more flexible than current designs."
GE Power Systems is one of GE's major businesses and is the world's leading supplier of power generation technology (including gas turbines and compressors), energy services and energy management systems, serving customers globally through a network of local offices and services centers.
Oklahoma-based Syntroleum Corporation licenses the Syntroleum Process for conversion of natural gas into synthetic crude oil and transportation fuels. Current licensees of the process include Texaco, ARCO, Marathon, YPF, Kerr-McGee and Enron.
(R) "Syntroleum" is registered as a trademark and service mark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical
information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements relating to the Syntroleum Process and related
technologies (including turbines and low Btu turbine combustion
technologies), GTL plants based on the Syntroleum Process (including
the development of planned plants), the economic use of such plants and
the continued development of the Syntroleum Process. When used in this
document, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect,"
"intent," "may," "project," "plan" "should," and similar expressions
are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking
statements. Although Syntroleum believes that its expectations
reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such
statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be
given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking
statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
from these forward-looking statements include the potential that
commercial-scale GTL plants will not achieve the same results as those
demonstrated on a laboratory or pilot basis or that such plants will
experience technological and mechanical problems, the potential that
improvements to the Syntroleum Process currently under development may
not be successful, the impact on plant economics of operating
conditions (including energy prices), competition, intellectual
property risks, Syntroleum's ability to obtain financing and other
risks described in the company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Syntroleum Corporation
01/25/99 /CONTACT: John Ford of Syntroleum Corporation, 918-592-7900; or Ken Darling of Masto Public Relations, 518-786-6488, for GE Power Systems/
/Web site: http://www.syntroleum.com/ (SYNM)
CO: Syntroleum Corporation; GE Power Systems ST: Oklahoma IN: OIL
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