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

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, said a statement from Qatar Petroleum.

Over the coming months, production will ramp up from the first production unit (‘train’) of the Pearl GTL project. The second train is expected to start up before the end of 2011, it added.

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, Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry said: 'The Pearl GTL project will play an important role in enhancing our diversification of North Field gas utilisation and will support the optimisation of Qatar’s competitive position in the world markets by supplying high quality GTL products.'

Peter Voser, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell said: “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 (GTL) products using Shell’s unique technological and project management capabilities, he added.-TradeArabia News Service