Sasol is set to invest up to $21bn in an integrated GTL and ethane plant.
The new complex, a gas-to-liquid (GTL) and ethane cracker sited in Westlake, Louisiana, is set to produce 96,000 barrels of GTL per day, is expected to create a significant number of direct and indirect jobs in addition to some 7,000 required for construction.
Sasol's board recently approved the project with front-end engineering and design (FEED) for what is set to be an historic project for both the company and the region, following successful feasibility studies for both the GTL and ethane cracker.
The capital investment is around double the size of the sum originally announced in September 2011. Recognising the enormous economic benefits of the project to Louisiana, the state has provided extensive incentive packages to Sasol.
With the GTL facility being the first of its kind in the US, Lousiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, commented: "It will produce high quality transportation fuels, including GTL diesel, as well as other value-adding chemical products. GTL diesel can be used in existing vehicles and fuel delivery infrastructure without modifications."
The GTL project will be delivered in two phases. The first phase is scheduled to begin operation in 2018, with the second a year later. Sasol is already completing a $175m capital investment to build the world's first ethylene tetramerization unit and also plans to construct a $7bn ethane cracker for downstream derivatives that is scheduled to come online in 2017.
The new plant is a further venture into the Gas-To-Liquids market for the South African company, having already successfully established ORYX GTL - a joint venture operation in Qatar with state-owned Qatar Petroleum.