Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell is targeting the start-up of commercial production at its 140,000-b/d Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant by end-December, according to Qatar’s energy minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, who told Reuters that the project “is almost complete and will be commissioned by the end of this year, and by the end of next year, the second phase will also be commissioned”.
The Pearl GTL project—the world’s largest GTL plant by far—has come with a massive price tag of US$18-19 billion, with Shell still claiming that the facility will pay for itself within five-to-seven years through its production of clean transportation fuels from natural gas.
Samuel Ciszuk, Middle East energy analyst at IHS Global Insight reveals the significance:
“Shell initially budgeted the development costs for the plant at around US$5 billion, although at a US$40/b average oil price. Other market actors have, however, been more sceptical, resulting in most other planned GTL projects in the MENA region having been scrapped as construction prices started to rocket around 2006.
The fuels from the GTL venture might nevertheless become very popular in developed markets around the world, lowering emissions further.
Shell has carried out extensive testing with marketing GTL fuels in some of the world’s major cities over the past few years in an effort to target those clients—and governments—that might be most interested in paying a slight premium for a cleaner fuel to be used in their cars and public transport and for city councils to perhaps encourage their use.
Tests have also been done using GTL-produced jet fuel in aeroplanes, lowering their emissions.”
