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One of the leading companies in the commercialization of synthetic fuel is Sasol , a company based in South Africa . Numerous US companies (TECO, Progress Energy, DTE, Marriott) have also taken advantage of Synfuel Tax Credits established in the 1970s , however some of the processes qualifying for the subsidy (for example slurries or briquettes) used are not true "synthetic fuels" since they do not produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The United States synthetic fuel industry was estimated to produce 73 million tons in 2002, and projected to expand to 117 million tons by 2005. At the present price of Crude petroleum, synthetic fuels are not competitive with petroleum-based fuels without subsidies. However, they offer the potential to replace petroleum-based fuels if oil prices continue to rise. Several factors make synthetic fuels attractive relative to competing technologies such as biofuels, ethanol/methanol or hydrogen:
While at present synthetic fuel are primarily produced because of subsidies, they are a proven technology that offers the potential to solve the Energy Crisis due to the depletion of oil ( Hubbert Peak ), at least for the next hundred years. SEE ALSO
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