Pearl Gas to Liquid Plant Starts First Wax Production from Train 2

Doha, December 03 (QNA) - Qatar Petroleum and Shell Saturday announced the first production of GTL wax from Train 2 of the Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) plant located in Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar. The Pearl Project second unmanned platform - positioned 60 kilometers offshore - has started to flow gas through a subsea pipeline into Train 2 of the giant onshore complex, Qatar Shell announced this in a media statement today. The gas processing plant has come on line delivering on-spec gas, condensate, LPG and sulphur. The first of the four world-scale Air Separation Units in Train 2 is also on-line producing on-spec oxygen. The gas and oxygen have been introduced into the GTL section of the plant, which is now producing GTL waxes from the first of Train 2 GTL reactors, the statement added. The ability to flawlessly start-up Train 2 in Pearl GTL is a significant achievement for the plant, building on the learning of Train 1 start-up earlier this year. HE Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, said, "Pearl GTL continues to make good progress, ramping up. The start-up of Train 2 is further major steps forward towards meeting the vision of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to establish Qatar as the GTL capital of the world. It is also a testament to the partnership we have forged between Shell and QP." Once in full production, Pearl GTL will convert 1.6 billion standard cubic feet per day of wellhead gas into 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) of products, comprising 140,000 bbl/d of GTL products and 120,000 bbl/d of condensate, LPG and ethane. Pearl GTL is the world's largest GTL project, the biggest energy project in Qatar and, at $18 -19 Billion, is Shell's largest investment in a single project. It captures the full value chain from offshore development through onshore gas processing to refining of finished products. It consists of two unmanned offshore platforms 60 kilometers off the Qatar coast, connected by pipeline to the world's most innovative GTL plant ever built. Offshore gas first flowed into Train 1 of the project in March 2011, and this was followed by export of first commercial cargo of gasoil in June 2011. The first cargo of naphtha was achieved in August and the first cargo of base oil left Ras Laffan in October 2011. In total 16 cargos of GTL products have already been dispatched. Shell CEO Peter Voser said, "Pearl GTL is a very important growth engine for Shell. It demonstrates the robustness of our technology, innovative solutions and global project delivery capabilities. I am proud that we are able to deploy our technology and experience to strengthen our partnership with Qatar Petroleum and deliver value to the State of Qatar and to Shell for decades to come." Shell Executive Vice President and Pearl GTL Managing Director Andy Brown, said, "The preparations for Train 2 start-up have been flawless, taking full benefit from lessons learnt in the successful start-up of Train 1. Over 50,000 people have been involved in designing and building Pearl GTL, and its continued successful start-up is a testament to their hard work, professionalism and dedication. Both trains of the plant will ramp up to full production by mid-2012." Gas-to-liquids products are high quality, cleaner-burning oil products such as gasoil and high-specification lubricant base oils and chemicals feedstock, the statement concluded. (QNA)