Gordon Copeland Press Release
For Immediate Release
Thursday, 7th August 2008
Gas to gasoline?
Independent MP and ex-oilman Gordon Copeland MP today said that the gas reserve upgrades for the Pohokura field might
support a return to the use of “gas to gasoline” technology as a way of bringing down the price of petrol in New
Zealand.
“I understand that the Motunui gas to gasoline plant, the first of its kind in the world when it was opened several
years ago, has now been demolished,” said Mr Copeland. “Nevertheless, that now proven technology and the upgrade in the
Pohokura reserves to almost 1,000 petajoules of gas could provide an opportunity for New Zealanders to have at least a
proportion of their petrol supplied at a much lower cost.”
“Personally I don’t buy into the view that gasoline produced through a process such as that previously used at Motunui
would have to be sold into the New Zealand market at its world price. It may be possible for an entrepreneurial company
to buy Pohokura gas at about $6.50 a gigajoule, convert it into gasoline, and supply it to the NZ market at below its
world value, while still making a healthy return on investment.”
“The idea of converting gas to gasoline is again being talked up in the United States, given the present very high
international price for oil, so this could represent an opportunity for New Zealand also.”
ENDS