[thackney]

As the article states, Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) has been attempted to be economical for a long time. Shell is doing it, but only in markets where the NatGas is really only sold as the more expensive LNG for export.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

There are massive fortunes to be made by the one(s) who can create the infrastructure to create more valuable ethylene or propane or any of number of valuable organic chemicals from Nat gas. This is as close as it gets to alchemy, and a plant located distant from nat gas pipelines, IOW, a source of “stranded” NG would get its feedstock even cheaper.