Advances in GTL Requires Effective De-Risking

With the realisation and start-up of Pearl GTL in Qatar - the largest Gas to Liquids plant in the world, a memorable milestone has been reached for both Qatar and Shell. For Shell, the journey started with a vision and ambition in the 1970’s to develop GTL technology, commercializing stranded gas and converting it to high quality hydrocarbon products as an alternative and differentiator to LNG. Following a successful commercial scale 14,000 barrels per day GTL plant application in Bintulu, Malaysia, the GTL technology and product marketing was well-matured for further scale up and was matched with the vision of Qatar to not only become the LNG capital but also the GTL capital of the world. The Shell GTL journey has been extensive with an ongoing evolution in applied technologies in syngas production, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and product refining besides continuous development of new products and markets. Effective deployment of new technologies in highly complex and capital intensive GTL operations requires efficient and thorough de-risking processes for markets, technology and its operations. The commercial operations in Bintulu, along with additional dedicated industrial scale test units, continue to play a crucial role to test and develop new technologies and prepare products for market developments. This paper will cover elements of the development journey, with particular focus on the process of de-risking for new GTL technologies, operations and products. The Shell Gasification Process for syngas production is an example of a technology that evolved with considerable scale-up and could be effectively de-risked and subsequently successfully applied. An example of a new product development is the “clean burning and high energy” GTL Jet Fuel now used in commercial flights by Qatar Airways.