Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 1 -- Qatar's Crown Prince Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani laid the foundation stone Feb. 26 for the Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility, reportedly the country's largest energy project.
The complex will have two 70,000 b/d GTL trains and associated facilities. Production from the first train is expected to begin in 2009-10, with start-up of the second train due a year later (OGJ, Aug. 7, 2006, Newsletter).
Pearl GTL, 100% funded by Royal Dutch Shell PLC, is being developed under a development and production-sharing agreement with Qatar; it covers offshore as well as onshore project development and operations.
In a statement, Shell said upstream some 1.6 bcfd of wellhead gas will be produced, transported, and processed to produce 120,000 boe/d of condensate, LPG, and ethane.
Downstream, dry gas will be used as feedstock to produce 140,000 b/d of clean, high-quality GTL fuels and products.
Shell said Pearl GTL is expected to produce 3 billion boe of wellhead gas over the agreement period.
A total of $10 billion in contracts for the project has been awarded, Shell said, including major engineering, procurement, and construction contracts. Construction began in third quarter 2006.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
