Wiki explains gas-to-liquids (GTL) is a refinery process that converts shorter gas molecules into the longer-chained hydrocarbons of gasoline and diesel fuel. There are several processes to produce his synthetic petroleum such as Fischer-Tropsch and the Mobil process.
Pearl GTL describes the world's largest GTL plant, using the Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (SMDS) process. It will produce up to 140,000 barrels of liquid transportation fuel a day, in addition to 120,000 barrels of natural gas liquids and ethane. The huge plant in Qatar began construction in June 2006 and will being deliveries at the end of this year.
Shell Aims for ‘New Nigeria’ as Qatari Plant Starts explains the plant cost three times its original estimate, all the way to $19B. It is very energy intensive and expensive to convert gas into petroleum, but the current and projected reserves of natural gas, make this a capitalist's dream, and an environmentalist's nightmare. Shell should make $6B a year from this facility.
Chevron is building a smaller facility in Nigeria that will convert 320 million cubic feet of natural gas into 34,000 barrels of liquids a day, primarily diesel fuel.
The Department of Energy's website describes the benefits of GTL. The primary benefit is that maintains the world's transportation infrastructure which is heavily dependent upon liquid petroleum fuels. (A secondary benefit is that the liquid transportation fuels are 'cleaner' and do not have nitrogen oxide and sulfur in their emissions.) Considered an 'alternative' fuel by the U.S., it also has the benefit that the U.S. has large natural gas reserves, making GTL an important strategic energy diversification.
Mmm. The World Resources Institute explains that 45 percent of the input natural gas energy content is used to perform the chemistry of GTL. The complete lifecycle of GTL-created transportation fuel results in 25 percent greater greenhouse gas emissions than conventional petroleum.
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