Nexant Announces New ChemSystems Topical Report on Stranded Gas Utilization.

Energy Editors/Business Editors

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2003

Nexant, Inc. (www.nexant.com), a leading provider of technology solutions and consulting services to the global energy industry, today announced the release of a prospectus for a new ChemSystems topical report on stranded gas utilization and commercialization.

The interest in technology for the conversion of large, remote natural gas reserves continues to grow, escalated by the renewed threat to global oil supplies. Substitute, cleaner-burning fuels are seen as a potential long-term solution to both supply and environmental concerns. Geopolitical conflict and civil strife threaten the supply of oil and cleaner fuel legislation demands cleaner burning fuels. For instance, much has been made recently about the future of mobile (e.g., automobiles) and stationary fuel cells. President Bush has announced a $1.2 billion FreedomFUEL Initiative to reverse America's growing dependence on foreign oil by developing the technology needed for commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells. The FreedomFUEL Initiative will invest $720 million in new funding over the next five years to develop the technologies and infrastructure needed to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen for use in fuel cell vehicles and electricity generation.

Remote or stranded gas conversion technologies continue to advance toward commercialization. Ongoing technical developments over the past few years include rapid advances in designs for mega-methanol facilities, with maximum capacity now approaching 10,000 metric tons per day. Several emerging gas-based technologies, such as methanol to olefins, remain to be commercialized, but are being actively evaluated. The number of announced or planned gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects now includes projects under consideration in locations such as the Middle East (e.g., Qatar, Iran), North Africa (e.g., Egypt), West Africa (e.g., Nigeria), Southeast Asia (e.g., Malaysia, Indonesia), and Australia. These new plants could add as much as 1 million barrels per day of high quality petroleum products within the next 10 to 15 years.

Remote or stranded gas reserves are recognized as a viable and potentially competitive and reliable source of fuel and commodity chemical feedstock material and, as the technology has and continues to mature, world-scale projects are expected in the near future.

For more information regarding GTL technologies, economics, and markets, go to www.chemsystems.com or www.nexant.com to view the prospectus for Stranded Gas Utilization: Steps to Commercialization, which will serve as an introduction and evaluation of the new technologies, products, and product applications in light of the growing global pressure for alternative, cleaner fuels, as well as the use of stranded gas as a viable feedstock for commodity chemicals and petrochemicals.