Qatar’s Pearl GTL plant to begin operations in early 2011

The world’s largest gas-to-liquids (GTL) project, Shell’s 140,000 barrel per day Pearl GTL plant in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, will begin operations in early 2011, a senior Qatar Petroleum official said. He gave no other details and it was not clear if the project was behind schedule. Shell said early last year that the project was broadly in line with its original schedule and was on target to begin first phase operations in 2010. The Pearl GTL project includes the development of offshore natural gas resources in Qatar’s North Field, transporting and processing the gas to extract natural gas liquids and ethane, and the conversion of the remaining gas into clean liquid hydrocarbon products through the construction of the world’s largest integrated GTL complex. (January 26, 2010)