Shell's Pearl GTL Plant Takes Next Step

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During the design and construction phase, the environment, which operates via Citrix, served approximately 200 users who connect via the Internet and have access to the instrumentation database 24/7. Since the inception of the project, engineering software solution company Intergraph has been responsible to design, implement and operate the hosted SmartPlant Instrumentation service for the duration of the design phase and now the time has come to hand it over to Shell.

World's Largest Gas–to–Liquid Plant...

Gerhard Sallinger, Intergraph Process, Power & Marine president, said: “Shell is one of the leading oil and gas companies in the world and is well-respected in the industries it serves. Its adoption of SmartPlant Instrumentation for one of its largest projects, in addition to the expanded use of Intergraph solutions, underscores the value these solutions bring to our customers and their clients.”

Pearl GTL, based in Ras Laffan, Qatar, is the world’s largest gas to liquids plant and was the largest construction site ever in the oil and gas industry during construction phase. The first commercial shipment from the Pearl GTL was achieved on June 13, 2011. The plant converts natural gas into high quality fuels and liquid products.

Additional Information

Gas–to–Liquids

What Liquefied Gas Can Do – Slate of Products

Gas-to-liquids technology enables major resource holders to monetise reserves of natural gas, through its conversion into higher value products normally derived from oil. Pearl GTL is the world’s largest source of gas-to-liquids products. It will produce 140,000 barrels of GTL products per day. Its slate of GTL products includes:

GTL Gasoil

A diesel-type fuel that will help diversify the supply of diesel fuels and can be blended easily with conventional, oil-based diesel and used in the existing diesel distribution system. GTL gasoil has a very high cetane number, is virtually free of sulphur and burns with lower sulphur dioxide, lower nitrogen oxides and particulate emissions than conventional oilbased diesel. Pearl GTL will produce around 50,000 barrels of GTL gasoil per day, enough to fill over 160,000 cars every day. Shell Chemicals will also market GTL gasoil into drilling fluids and other chemical applications globally.

GTL Kerosene

GTL kerosene can be used for heating and lighting but its main use will be for aviation fuel. Like GTL gasoil, it burns with lower local emissions than conventional oil-based kerosene.

GTL Base Oils

GTL base oils can be used for lubricants that keep vehicle engines and gearboxes operating smoothly. Pearl GTL will be one of the world’s largest sources of lubricant base oil with the capacity to produce about 30,000 barrels per day, enough to fill 225 million cars per year.

GTL Normal Parafin

Normal paraffin can be used in the production of detergent chemicals for washing powder and soaps. Traditionally, detergent manufacturers extract normal paraffin from oil-based kerosene. The GTL process elimin

GTL Naphtha

An alternative cracker feedstock to conventional naphtha. It has much higher paraffin content than conventional naphtha, which means each litre of GTL naphtha can yield more chemicals.

More in "Liquid Assets: Custom-Made Catalyst For The World’s Largest Gas-To-Liquid Plant"

...Converting 1.6 Billion Cubic Feet per Day

When operating at full capacity in mid-2012, Pearl GTL will convert 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas into 140 thousand barrels per day of GTL products (gasoil, kerosene, base oils Naphtha and Normal Paraffins) and 120,000 barrels of natural gas liquids and ethane. The plant will process approximately 3 billion barrels of oil-equivalent over its lifetime from the North field, which stretches from Qatar’s coast out into the Gulf and contains more than 900 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Natural gas is currently becoming more important, not only as a source of energy but also as a valuable feedstock and raw material for the chemical industry. Analysts already expect natural gas to replace crude oil in the future.

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