Pearl GTL project is on track for 2010 completion: Brown
Published: Tuesday, 21 February, 2006, 09:13 AM Doha Time
gulf-times.com
Business Reporter
DOHA: Andy Brown, country chairman and managing director of Pearl GTL, the second gas-to-liquids project being set up in Qatar, has said the 140,000bpd plant was well on track for a 2010 start-up.
Making a presentation on the project, for which a development and production sharing agreement (DPSA) has already been signed by QP and Shell, he said Pearl GTL had achieved sustained progress in many areas and resources were in place to ensure this is maintained till the completion of the project.
Pearl GTL would be a world-scale plant, Brown said during a session at the 11th Middle East Gas Summit at the InterContinental yesterday.
The fully integrated upstream/downstream project, with a production capacity of 140,000bpd, covers all aspects of the value chain – from the reservoir in the North Field to the marketing of products, he said.
The project also includes the development of an area in North Field to produce some 1.6bn cu ft of gas daily.
Shell, he said, planned to invest in offshore facilities and an offshore plant that produces some 140,000bpd of GTL products, primarily naphtha and transport fuels with similar quantities of normal paraffin and lubricant base oils and associated condensate and LPG.
The construction of Pearl GTL at Ras Laffan will involve two 70,000bpd phases. They will be built back-to-back and completed within about a year of each other.
The project’s DPSA applies to both upstream and downstream facilities. Shell is the 100% investor in the project. Pearl GTL will employ the proprietary Shell Middle Distillates Synthesis (SMDS) technology.
Brown said already progress was made offshore with seismic acquisition of the vast North Field and two appraisal wells have been drilled to confirm gas compositions.
The onshore front-end engineering and design (Feed) phase, requiring almost half a million man-hours, is also complete. The plant covers area equivalent to 450 football fields.
Brown said with its establishment, the project would provide an attractive route for Qatar to monetise its vast gas reserves and create an entirely new and sustainable long-term industry. It will also create a lot of job opportunities for Qataris. |
