2026-10-12
- Shell said on Thursday, 8 October 2026, that it had partially restarted its Pearl GTL (Gas-to-Liquids, 가스액화연료) plant in Qatar.
- The restart allows Shell to build a limited amount of product inventory in storage, while its ability to ship product remains subject to the regional security situation, according to Shell.
- Pearl was hit in March during the Iran war, damaging one of its two trains (processing lines); a Shell spokesperson said repairs to Train 2 are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
- It is reported by several traders that QatarEnergy has returned Pearl GTL naphtha cargoes to the spot market about six months after the facility was damaged, and has resumed some contract deliveries.
Shell has partially restarted its Pearl GTL (Gas-to-Liquids, 가스액화연료) plant in Qatar. Shell announced the restart on Thursday, 8 October 2026, roughly six months after the facility was damaged during the Iran war. According to Shell, the restart lets it build up a limited amount of product inventory in storage, although its ability to ship product depends on the regional security situation. Traders say QatarEnergy has begun offering cargoes that include Pearl GTL naphtha again, a sign that output from the plant is starting to reconnect with downstream supply chains. Full normalization still depends on two conditions: repair of the damaged train and safe passage of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pearl GTL is a gas-to-liquids plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, fed with natural gas from Qatar’s North Field. According to the latest report, Pearl is wholly owned by Shell. When it was inaugurated in 2011, it was described as a project developed jointly by Qatar Petroleum and Shell, and as a fully integrated upstream and downstream venture covering offshore development, onshore gas processing, refining and global distribution. The same 2011 report called it the largest GTL plant in the world and the largest energy project in Qatar.
GTL converts natural gas into synthesis gas and then into liquid hydrocarbon products. Pearl GTL uses Shell’s proprietary Shell Middle Distillates Synthesis (SMDS) technology, which is reported to be based on Shell’s first commercial GTL plant in Bintulu, Malaysia. The product slate is reported to include GTL gasoil (a diesel fuel), naphtha, kerosene, normal paraffins and Lube Base Oil (윤활기유). Gas processing also yields gas, condensate, LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas, 액화석유가스) and sulfur, according to the 2011 report.
The plant has two trains. According to the 2011 inauguration report, Train 1 started up in the first quarter of 2011, with the first commercial gasoil shipment exported in June 2011, and Train 2 started up in November 2011, processing sour gas from offshore wells. The latest report adds that Pearl’s output also feeds Shell’s downstream supply chain, including its lubricants business.
Numbers
At full capacity, Pearl can produce 140,000 boe/d (barrels of oil equivalent per day, 하루 석유환산배럴), according to the latest report. The 2011 report described full operation as 140,000 barrels per day of GTL products plus 120,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids (NGLs) and ethane, while a project profile from Offshore Technology describes two GTL trains of 70,000 barrels per day each. The same profile says the plant draws about 1.6 billion cubic feet per day of wellhead gas from the North Field, with offshore platforms linked to the onshore plant by a 60 km pipeline.
On investment, Offshore Technology reports that Shell provided 100% of the funding under a development and production sharing agreement with the State of Qatar, estimated at $18 billion to $19 billion. The 2011 report said construction peaked with 52,000 workers from 60 countries and that design and construction took 500 million hours.
Timeline
- 2011-01 to 2011-03 — Pearl GTL Train 1 starts up (first quarter of 2011)
- 2011-06 — First commercial gasoil shipment exported
- 2011-11 — Train 2 starts up
- 2011-11-22 — Pearl GTL project reported as officially inaugurated by the Emir of Qatar
- 2026-03 — Pearl hit during the Iran war; one of two trains damaged; Shell estimated at the time that full repairs would take one year
- 2026-10-08 — Shell announces partial restart of Pearl GTL
- 2026-11 — First LNG train of QatarEnergy’s North Field East expansion expected to be ready to start, according to two unnamed people familiar with the plans
- 2027 Q1 — Repairs to Train 2 expected to be completed, according to a Shell spokesperson
Note
- GTL (Gas-to-Liquids, 가스액화연료): technology that chemically converts natural gas into liquid products such as diesel, naphtha and Lube Base Oil.
- boe/d (barrels of oil equivalent per day, 하루 석유환산배럴): a unit that converts different energy products, such as natural gas liquids, into crude oil barrels so they can be added together.