Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?

A number of high-profile projects and a wave of recent investments have focused attention on the global gas-to-liquid (GTL) industry, suggesting a latent potential for gas-to-liquid fuels to usher in a new conceptualization of oil product markets. The clean-burning, high-quality characteristics of G...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Brown, C
Format: Working paper
Language:English
Published: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies 2013
_version_ 1797106071699980288
author Brown, C
author_facet Brown, C
author_sort Brown, C
collection OXFORD
description A number of high-profile projects and a wave of recent investments have focused attention on the global gas-to-liquid (GTL) industry, suggesting a latent potential for gas-to-liquid fuels to usher in a new conceptualization of oil product markets. The clean-burning, high-quality characteristics of GTL diesel fuels lend support to this outlook, seemingly offering a viable substitute to oil-derived diesel in the global transport sector. However, doubts over the long-term viability of large-capacity GTL projects in the absence of heavily subsidized gas feedstock prices leads to an alternative narrative, suggesting that GTL products will have only a limited impact in the global transport sector by virtue of the industry’s unsustainable growth potential. Evidence of this is seen in Europe, where despite the favourable market conditions for diesel imports, GTL diesel remains a niche product with relatively narrow commercial applications. As such, the recent wave of GTL investments may not be totally justified by market context, and the potential for GTL fuels to impact oil product markets may be overstated.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T06:56:29Z
format Working paper
id oxford-uuid:fe4fc6fb-4bdb-424a-8b60-48b5fb3901de
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T06:56:29Z
publishDate 2013
publisher Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:fe4fc6fb-4bdb-424a-8b60-48b5fb3901de2022-03-27T13:35:24ZGas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?Working paperhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_8042uuid:fe4fc6fb-4bdb-424a-8b60-48b5fb3901deEnglishOxford University Research Archive - ValetOxford Institute for Energy Studies2013Brown, CA number of high-profile projects and a wave of recent investments have focused attention on the global gas-to-liquid (GTL) industry, suggesting a latent potential for gas-to-liquid fuels to usher in a new conceptualization of oil product markets. The clean-burning, high-quality characteristics of GTL diesel fuels lend support to this outlook, seemingly offering a viable substitute to oil-derived diesel in the global transport sector. However, doubts over the long-term viability of large-capacity GTL projects in the absence of heavily subsidized gas feedstock prices leads to an alternative narrative, suggesting that GTL products will have only a limited impact in the global transport sector by virtue of the industry’s unsustainable growth potential. Evidence of this is seen in Europe, where despite the favourable market conditions for diesel imports, GTL diesel remains a niche product with relatively narrow commercial applications. As such, the recent wave of GTL investments may not be totally justified by market context, and the potential for GTL fuels to impact oil product markets may be overstated.
spellingShingle Brown, C
Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?
title Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?
title_full Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?
title_fullStr Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?
title_full_unstemmed Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?
title_short Gas-to-Liquid – A Viable Alternative to Oil-Derived Transport Fuels?
title_sort gas to liquid a viable alternative to oil derived transport fuels
work_keys_str_mv AT brownc gastoliquidaviablealternativetooilderivedtransportfuels