Technical problems at a $1-billion gas-to-liquids refinery in Qatar are “just about’’ solved, a report said.

Sasol, the world’s largest coal-to-gasoline producer, is spending $50 million to resolve the issues at the Oryx plant, chief executive officer Pat Davies was quoted as saying during a presentation in Johannesburg.

Oryx is Sasol’s first fuel-refining venture outside South Africa, where it uses technology developed more than half a century ago to convert coal and gas into liquid fuel.

Production at the plant, owned 51 per cent by state-run Qatar Petroleum and 49 per cent by Sasol, was originally scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2006.