Syntroleum and Marathon Announce first Shipment of Diesel Fuel from DOE Catoosa GTL Plant

ARCHIVED 2002–2016: Originally distributed via the eWire press wire service. Preserved as historical record.

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE |

Corporate Responsibility

Science & Technology

Syndication Partners

**************************************************************************

E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE

**************************************************************************

Syntroleum and Marathon Announce first Shipment of Diesel Fuel from DOE Catoosa GTL Plant

Producing Synthetic Diesel for U.S. Government Fleet Vehicle Demonstrations

TULSA, OKLAHOMA, Mar. 12 -/E-Wire/-- Syntroleum Corporation and Marathon Oil Company announced today the first shipment of diesel fuel from the newly constructed gas-to-liquids (GTL) demonstration plant at the Port of Catoosa, near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Once peak capacity is reached, the Catoosa GTL Demonstration Facility is expected to produce approximately 70 barrels per day of ultra-clean transportation fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Marathon and Syntroleum funded the design, construction and operation of the project, which cost approximately $60 million. The Catoosa GTL Demonstration Facility is Syntroleum's first green-field demonstration of the entire three step SyntroleumÂ® Process from syngas production, through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and Synfiningâ¢ for finished product production. It contains all of the components required for a commercial scale plant.

DOE Catoosa GTL Demonstration Plant, Catoosa, Oklahoma. This 70 barrel per day facility was designed and built under the Department of Energy's Ultra-Clean Fuels Program. The $60 million plant will produce fuel to be used by buses in Washington, D.C. and for park service vehicles in Denali National Park in Alaska.

This initial production run is fully dedicated to the DOE's Ultra-Clean Fuels Program, administered by the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL). The NETL is focused on pioneering a new generation of ultra-clean transportation fuels to significantly reduce tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and other heavy vehicles. Motivated by the DOE's Ultra-Clean Fuels program, the net benefit anticipated from ultra-clean fuels is a cost-effective, fuel savings solution for realizing environmental improvements. Integrated Concepts & Research Corporation (ICRC) is overseeing these testing programs for NETL.

The synthetic fuels will be delivered for use in long-term vehicle demonstrations by the Washington Area Mass Transit Authority (WAMTA) in Washington, DC and by Denali National Park Services in Alaska and other university and automobile testing facilities.

"This successful project culminates two years of hard work by Syntroleum's technical staff, working closely with Marathon's technical experts. We are very proud of this accomplishment and believe that it provides momentum to enable commercial development of several projects under consideration by Syntroleum and its licensees, including our recently announced GTL Barge concept," stated Syntroleum's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ken Agee.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said, "The work you (Syntroleum) are doing at the Catoosa GTL Demonstration Plant is an important step in the Department of Energy's goal of developing a new generation of ultra-clean transportation fuels to significantly reduce tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and other heavy vehicles. This is a perfect illustration of how Government and industry can work together to develop new technologies to meet the Nation's environmental objectives. I look forward to the Department of Energy's continued work with Syntroleum." Once the current DOE program is completed, Syntroleum expects to operate the Catoosa GTL Demonstration Facility during 2004 to support additional fuel testing programs (including for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Transportation), demonstrate GTL process technology and catalyst enhancements, and to provide training for Syntroleum licensees who are developing commercial projects.

"The Catoosa GTL Demonstration Facility is successfully producing ultra clean diesel fuel from natural gas. This is the first plant we have built that incorporates all three of Syntroleum's proprietary GTL process technologies on a single site. This is a significant milestone for us and we are pleased with the performance of our process. The Operating and Technical staff has done an outstanding job and I very much appreciate their efforts," stated Syntroleum's Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Jeff Bigger.

Marathon's General Manager of Technology, Tim Tipton, added, "The Catoosa GTL Demonstration Facility further supports the basis of design for our proposed GTL, condensate and liquefied petroleum gas project in Qatar. The experience we are gaining through our assigned technical and operations management staff will provide additional confidence for Marathon as we continue to evaluate commercial opportunities to apply GTL technology around the world."

Syntroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: SYNM) owns a proprietary GTL process for converting natural gas into synthetic liquid hydrocarbons. The company plans to use its technology, as well as other third party gas processing technologies, to develop and participate in gas monetization projects in a number of global locations. For more information about Syntroleum, please visit the company's website at www.syntroleum.com.

About Marathon Oil Company

Marathon Oil Company is a subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), an energy company engaged in worldwide exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Through its 62 percent ownership in Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, the company also refines, markets and transports petroleum products in the United States. For more information about Marathon, please visit the company's web site at www.marathon.com.

This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the testing, certification, characteristics and use of synthetic fuels and alternative fuels, the Syntroleum Process and related technologies and products, GTL plants based on the Syntroleum Process (including the development and operation of the Catoosa plant and other planned plants), the economic use of such plants and the continued development of the Syntroleum Process. When used in this document, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intent," "may," "project," "plan" "should," and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. Although Syntroleum believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that commercial-scale GTL plants will not achieve the same results as those demonstrated on a laboratory or pilot basis or that such plants will experience technological and mechanical problems, the potential that improvements to the Syntroleum Process currently under development may not be successful, the impact on plant economics of operating conditions (including energy prices), construction risks, risks associated with investments and operations in foreign countries, the ability to implement corporate strategies, competition, intellectual property risks, Syntroleum's ability to obtain financing and other risks described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Syntroleum" is registered as a trademark and service mark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Syntroleum Corporation

Syntroleum Corporation,

Marathon Oil Company

http://www.syntroleum.com

http://www.marathon.com

**************************************************************************

To Transmit Your News Over E-Wire, visit http://www.ewire.com or

call 1-[REDACTED-PHONE]. E-Wire Is Broadcast To Millions Of Readers Worldwide

**************************************************************************