Gas2 begins testing at lab

AN INDEPENDENT Scottish company developing next-generation technologies to maximise gas recovery from previously uneconomic reserves has reached a major milestone.

Aberdeen-based Gas2 said yesterday that it had commenced testing at its new £5 million laboratory based within the specialist Wilton petrochemical research centre in Teeside.

The company said the new plant had been built on time and on budget, and an extensive test programme of its natural gas to liquids technology would continue for the rest of the year.

It now expects to begin the process of full-scale commercialisation of its technology by the end of this year, opening up potentially lucrative income streams across a number of sectors.

Gas2, which has links with the Robert Gordon University stretching back to 2005, said the purpose of the new lab was to validate five years of testing work already carried out by the company and to progress with advanced computer-based fluid dynamic modelling.

The firm’s gas-to-liquids (GTL) process differs significantly from conventional refining techniques and the company claims it is less expensive and more environmentally friendly than other systems.

Potential applications for its GTL technology include the recovery of stranded gas reserves, including from shale deposits and unconventional reservoirs, and the harnessing of associated gas, such as that which is flared off from platforms.

Gas2 is the only gas reforming company to have developed a complete stand-alone GTL solution on such a scale.