2012.03.29
INPEX CORPORATIONJX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., LtdCosmo Oil Co., LtdNippon Steel Engineering Co., LtdChiyoda CorporationNippon GTL Technology Research Association

The JAPAN-GTL Demonstration Test Project Completed- Established a GTL*1 technology made-in-Japan applicable to commercial plants INPEX CORPORATION, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, Japan Petroleum Exploration
Co., Ltd, Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd, Nippon Steel Engineering Co., Ltd, Chiyoda Corporation(referred to as “six (6) private-sector companies”) established the Nippon GTL Technology
Research Association in October 2006, and have conducted a six (6)- year “JAPAN-GTL
Demonstration Test Project” in cooperation with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corporation in order to establish a JAPAN-GTL process *2 applicable to commercial plants.
We are pleased to announce that we have achieved all of R&D goals concerning theJAPAN-GTL Demonstration Test project and successfully established a JAPAN-GTL process
as an applicable technology to commercial plants.
In this project, the construction of a GTL demonstration plant with the capacity of 500 barrels
per day (80 kilo-liters) took around a year and a half since September 2007 in Niigata city. The
demonstration test operations were conducted from April 2009 until December 2011, and weverified high-grade performances of both GTL processes and catalysts for each process throughmore than 11,000 hours of demonstration operations, and achieved stable continuous operationｓ
for more than 3,000 hours as operation target.
At the same time, we conducted supplementary R&D activities including further improvementof catalysts and processes and a technical establishment of scale-up methods to a largecommercial scale, and performance evaluation of JAPAN-GTL products and demonstration test
runs using 100% JAPAN-GTL Diesel by city buses of Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo
Metropolitan Government for around three (3) months. As a result of the demonstration test runs,
we verified that the JAPAN-GTL Products can be used for actual services, without any

problems, as a clean fuel.
Besides we evaluated the costs of the GTL plant, and conducted market studies of GTL
products; studies on its applicability to gas fields and economic evaluation in preliminary
feasibility studies, before the JAPAN-GTL process established itself as economically applicable,
competitive and emerging gas utilization technologies.
The JAPAN-GTL process is a groundbreaking technology that would for the first time everallow for the natural gas containing carbon dioxide to be directly used. Since it can convert
natural gas, shale gas and so on as a raw material, which should be potential resources spread in
the world, into petroleum products such as clean naphtha, kerosene and diesel, which include nosulfur or aroma. It will open a window for securing liquid fuel resources and contributing toenergy security in Japan.
We have deployed PR activities to the governments of gas producing counties, national oil
companies and gas asset holders and so on as part of our efforts for commercializing GTL
projects, and conducted preliminary feasibility studies with some governmental bodies andinternational companies.
We will continue to achieve a stable energy supply for Japan in harmony with the globalenvironment.
*1

GTL：Gas to Liquids*2

A proprietary process of GTL technologies developed by six (6) private-sector companies,
JOGMEC and the Nippon GTL Technology Research Association.

＜Media Contact＞
Nippon GTL Technology Research Association

Administration Dept.

03-3539-5115

Public Relations Group

03-5572-0233

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation Research & Development Planning Dept.

03-6275-5227

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd

Media & Investor Relations Dept.

03-6268-7110

Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd

Corporate Communication Dept.

03-3798-3101

General Administration Dept．Public Relations Section

03-6665-2366

IR & Public Relations Office045-506-7538

INPEX CORPORATION

Nippon Steel Engineering Co., Ltd
Chiyoda Corporation