By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 27 -- Qatar Petroleum Co. (QP) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC have launched the Pearl gas to liquids (GTL) project in Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Shell will fund 100% of the project, which is now estimated to cost $18 billion—triple the original estimate.
The award of various engineering, procurement, construction, and management contracts for execution of the world-scale project has begun, Shell said.
The Pearl GTL complex will have two 70,000 b/d GTL trains and associated facilities. Products will include naphtha, diesel-like GTL fuel, normal paraffins, kerosine, and lubricant base oils.
The GTL plant will receive dry gas from a processing plant that will extract about 120,000 boe/d of condensate, LPG, and ethane from 1.6 bcfd of production from offshore North field.
Production from the first train is expected to begin in 2009-10, with start-up of the second train due a year later.
