Top GTL experts converge in Qatar
Doha: Qatar has faced severe odds in developing what is now a vibrant gas industry.
There were serious doubts in some quarters when the country began developing its massive gas resource about whether what was set out to be achieved, was actually possible, said the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a global GTL conference he opened here yesterday.
But we succeeded against all odds and proved to the world that what many thought was a utopia, was achievable, albeit with a vision, hard work and perseverance.
"We had a vision of the future and we pursued it," commented the minister. Qatar has today become an important world GTL destination.
By 2011, the country GTL capacity would have reached a whopping 400,000 barrels a day, he added.
"There is immense demand for GTL all over, especially as many European and Asian mega cities were switching to the cleaner and environment-friendly fuels," he said.
Meanwhile, Gas-to-liquids (GTL) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) products are not in competition with each other as some in the energy industry believe, said experts.
While GTL fuel is primarily suited to the transportation fuels market, LNG is basically suited for utility and major industrial markets, they added.
There is, on the contrary, a temptation to attempt integrated development, but this is likely to be a difficult option in the short-term.
Unlike LNG, GTL is not dependent on long-term contracts, though this dependency might be reduced for LNG as spot markets develop, remarked experts.
They were present in large numbers at a two-day 5th world GTL convention that began yesterday.
Welcome speech was delivered by Li Ming, from CMT, while speakers included John Filby, from Petro Canada, Jim Spry, from ExxonMobil, Pat Butcher, from SasolChevron, Ian Davison, from BP Exploration, Kary Kocher, from Marathon Oil, Chris Turner, from Oryx GTL, and Eduardo Falabella Sousa-Aguiar, from Petrobas, Brazil.
For producer countries, an encumbered GTL project is a faster route to market. The synergies of GTL and LNG can best be realised through a policy of 'separate' but 'together' development, said experts.
If GTL fuels are sold at parity with conventionally refined products, they can easily compete with the former as far as fuel properties are concerned since they are extremely environment-friendly.
GTL and LNG products between them cover both the transport market and the industrial energy market, which are key areas for any government looking to reduce emissions.
The Oryx GTL project that is to be commissioned early next year, said Al Attiya in his address at the conference.
"It is a very important event that will shape and influence the future of the GTL technology and industry as a whole," he said.
He also talked of Pearl GTL project (between Shell and Qatar) and that of ExxonMobil and Qatar.
Al Attiyah said that Qatar was prompted to slow down some developments and put some projects on hold in order to assess the most effective means of managing resources and logistics.
© The Peninsula 2005
