DOHA, Qatar, November 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Royal Dutch Shell plc
(Shell) (NYSE: RDS.A) (NYSE: RDS.B) reconfirmed good progress of the Pearl
GTL and the Qatargas 4 projects for a group of its shareholders and
investment analysts.
Shell is partnering in both Pearl GTL and Qatargas 4 with Qatar Petroleum.
Pearl GTL will use Shell's proprietary Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) technology to
convert some 1.6 billion cubic feet (bcf/d) of gas per day into high quality,
clean-burning oil products such as gasoil, high specification lubricants base
oils, and chemicals feedstock. These products are usually produced by oil
refineries. Shell will use its leading brand, technology, global supply chain
and marketing capabilities to maximise the value of these products in global
markets.
Pearl GTL is designed to produce 120,000 barrels per day (b/d) of natural
gas liquids (NGLs) and ethane, and 140,000 b/d of GTL products. Pearl will be
the world's largest GTL plant, building on over 30 years of Shell experience
with these technologies. Shell is funding 100% of the development costs for
Pearl GTL, under a profit sharing agreement with the State of Qatar.
Shell has now entered into the testing phase at Pearl GTL, having
inaugurated the massive plant's control room, which is the nerve centre of
one of the largest and most sophisticated process control systems in the oil
and gas industry. The control room comprises of almost 1,000 control cabinets
hosting 179 servers which are programmed with 12 million lines of software
code. The system is linked to every part of the plant by about 5,850
kilometres of control cables, which would stretch from Doha to London if laid
end-to-end.
While testing begins on many thousands of pieces of equipment that have
already been installed at the plant, construction on the rest of the plant
continues. Some 2 million tonnes of equipment and materials have been
imported to the site and there are some 48,000 workers on the project. At the
peak of construction, Pearl GTL installed enough steel and pipe to make 2.5
Eiffel Towers every month.
Qatargas 4 is designed to convert some 1.4 bcf/d of natural gas into
liquefied natural gas (LNG) and NGLs. Qatargas 4 will add to Shell's current
worldwide LNG capacity of 18.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa), and sustain
Shell's industry leadership in LNG.
Qatargas 4 will have a capacity of 7.8 mtpa of LNG and some 70,000 boe/d
of NGLs. Shell has a 30% stake in Qatargas 4, with partner Qatar Petroleum,
under a tax-and-royalty structure. Clean-burning LNG will be sold to
customers in China, Dubai and the United States, with further new markets
currently being developed.
Pearl is a unique project in the global oil & gas industry, with
unprecedented scale and technology. Construction is progressing well at
Pearl, with both schedule and budget in line with Shell's expectations. Major
construction at both Pearl GTL and Qatargas 4 is scheduled to be completed by
the end of 2010, with production ramp-up from late 2010 and into 2011. Pearl
GTL upstream production is expected to reach 320,000 boe/d. Qatargas 4 is
expected to reach 280,000 boe/d.
Shell's annual outlay on these two Qatar projects peaked in 2008. Once
Pearl GTL and Qatargas 4 come on stream, Qatar has the potential to
contribute some 350,000 boe/d of upstream production for Shell, and
significant cash flows for the State of Qatar and the company.
HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Energy and Industry said: "Shell has only been back in Qatar a few years and
over that time through the realization of Pearl GTL and Qatargas 4 projects
they have established a significant position in Qatar's energy sector. We
appreciate our partnership with Shell and we believe this relationship will
be a source of long term prosperity and growth."
Shell Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser commented: "I am very pleased
with the progress that we are making with Pearl GTL and Qatargas 4. We have
enjoyed tremendous support from our partner Qatar Petroleum and we are
pleased to play our part to establish Qatar as the number one LNG and GTL
producer in the world. On today's basis these two projects alone would
represent over 10% of our world-wide production. Qatar underpins Shell's
growth plans to 2012 and will be a heartland for decades to come."
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns
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group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where
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and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved
reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive
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that SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the
SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form
20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website http://www.sec.gov. You
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SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc
