Royal Dutch Shell plc updated today that the Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, in Qatar has entered planned maintenance in February 2015.
Pearl GTL comprises two identical GTL `trains’, with a total capacity of 140,000 barrels per day of GTL products plus 120,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and ethane.
One train, representing half the facility, has recently begun a planned `turnaround’ maintenance programme, which will continue for a period of some 2 months.
The Pearl GTL project was developed in two phases. The first phase started up in early 2011 and exported the first commercial shipment of gas oil in June 2011.
The whole plant ramped up to full production at the end of 2012. According to Shell, the plant produces cleaner-burning diesel and aviation fuel, oils for advanced lubricants, naphtha used to make plastics and paraffin for detergents.
It makes enough diesel to fill over 160,000 cars a day and enough synthetic oil each year to make lubricants for more than 225 million cars.