page_title: Natural gas in Qatar
section_title: Gas-to-liquids
hierarchical_section_title: Natural gas in Qatar / Gas-to-liquids
caption_attribution_description: English: The ORYX GTL plant, located in Qatar.
context_page_description: The natural gas in Qatar covers a large portion of the world supply of natural gas. According to the Oil & Gas Journal, as of January 1, 2011, reserves of natural gas in Qatar were measured at approximately 896 trillion cubic feet; this measurement means that the state contains 14% of all known natural-gas reserves, as the world's third-largest reserves, behind Russia and Iran. The majority of Qatar's natural gas is located in the massive offshore North Field, which spans an area roughly equivalent to Qatar itself. A part of the world's largest non-associated, natural-gas field, the North Field, is a geological extension of Iran's South Pars / North Dome Gas-Condensate field, which holds an additional 450 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural-gas reserves.
  While Qatar is a member of the OPEC and is a significant oil producer, the government has devoted more resources to the development of natural gas in the contemporary era, particularly for export as liquefied natural gas. In 2006, Qatar reportedly surpassed Indonesia to become the largest exporter of LNG in the world. Together, revenues from the oil and natural-gas sectors amount to 60% of the country's GDP.
context_section_description: Gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology uses a refining process to turn natural gas into liquid fuels, such as low sulfur diesel and naphtha, among other products. GTL projects have received significant attention in Qatar over the last several years, and Qatar's government had originally set a target of developing 400,000 bbl/d (64,000 m³/d) of GTL capacity by 2012. However, project cancellations and delays since the North Field reserve assessment, has substantially lowered this target. There were 3 big GTL projects at hand:
  Barzan Gas project and Palm GTL: The Palm project was originally slated to produce 154,000 barrels per day (24,500 m³/d) of liquids for export, although estimated costs spiraled from $7 billion to $15 billion according to industry estimates. And so in February 2007, ExxonMobil announced that it had cancelled its planned Palm GTL project due to rising costs. The company will instead develop the Barzan gas project in the North Field, which is scheduled to supply 1.5 billion cubic feet (42 million cubic metres) of natural gas to Qatar’s domestic market. The Barzan field is expected to come online 2016.
  Oryx GTL: a joint-venture of QP (51%) and Sasol-Chevron GTL (49%), and has the capacity to produce 34,000 barrels per day (5,400 m³/d) of liquid fuels. The plant was formally commissioned in June 2006, but technical problems prevented the consortium from loading the first export cargo until April 2007. The Oryx project uses about 330 million cubic feet (9.3 million cubic metres) per day of natural gas feedstock from the Al Khaleej field. Depending on the outcome of the North Field reservoir study, Oryx GTL may choose to expand production capacity of the plant in the future.
  Pearl GTL: In February 2007, the same week that ExxonMobil decided to cancel its GTL plans, Shell held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Pearl GTL project. The Pearl plant is 51% owned by QP, though Shell will act as the operator of the project with a 49% stake. The facility is expected to use 1.6 billion cubic feet (45 million cubic metres) of natural gas feedstock per day to produce 140,000 barrels per day (22,000 m³/d) of GTL products as well as 120,000 barrels per day (19,000 m³/d) of associated condensate and LPG. Pearl GTL will be developed in phases, with 70,000 barrels per day (11,000 m³/d) of GTL product capacity expected by 2010 and a second phase expected in 2011. Like the Palm GTL Shell's Pearl GTL has experienced significant cost escalation. Originally estimated at $4 billion, industry sources believe Pearl GTL will now cost between $12 and $18 billion. Pearl GTL will be the first integrated GTL operation in the world, meaning it will have upstream natural gas production integrated with the onshore conversion plant.
  By 2012, Qatar is likely to have 177,000 barrels per day (28,100 m³/d) of GTL capacity from Oryx GTL and Pearl GTL.
caption: Oryx GTL plant
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