Qatar Petroleum said the Pearl gas to liquids plant set up in partnership with energy giant Shell at Ras Laffan Industrial City has sold its first commercial shipment of GTL Gasoil.

Qatar Petroleum said that the sale marks the start of production of GTL products when Qatar and Shell, the operator of the Pearl GTL plant, begin to receive revenue from the project. Over the coming months, production will ramp up from the first production unit of the Pearl GTL project. The second train is expected to start up before the end of 2011. The plant is expected to reach full production capacity by the middle of 2012 and is the largest energy project ever launched in Qatar.

Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada minister of energy and industry of Qatar said that “The Pearl GTL project will play an important role in enhancing our diversification of North Field gas utilization and will support the optimization of Qatar’s competitive position in the world markets by supplying high quality GTL products.”

Mr Peter Voser CEO of Royal Dutch Shell said that “Today’s milestone provides further evidence that innovative technology and strong partnerships can help meet the world’s growing need for energy. Once fully operational, Pearl GTL is expected to produce 1.6 billion cubic feet of gas per day from the North Field. This will be processed to deliver an expected 120,000 barrels per day of condensate, LPG and ethane and an expected 140,000 barrels per day of gas to liquids products using Shell’s unique technological and project management capabilities.”

(Sourced from Trade Arabia)