Transformation Process Gas-to-Liquids - Essay Example

Engineers all around the world are working to come up with new and direct methods of converting natural gas into the liquid. Recently, Texas A&M University’s research team has found the direct conversion method. It has three reaction steps and two separation steps (Hall, 2005.). This all-new process will reduce the cost of production greatly and make this fuel economical for consumers as well.

What are some of the production or operational barriers that shell must overcome in order to make GTL successful?
The shell had in the past suffered from a production stoppage due to the fire eruption at their Bintulu, Malaysian plant in 1997. This resulted in the discontinuity of the Gas to Liquid process because at that time only one plant of the Shell was operational. But now they have developed a new GLT plant that is ten times more in its production capacity, as compared to the Malaysian plant, in Doha, Qatar. By the way, it is the world’s largest GLT plant, Shell’s forty years of research have paid back to them in an impressive manner. Qatar has the largest reserves of natural gas in the world as well.

The second thing is that Shell should use cheap transportation methods in order to make it (fuel) affordable for people globally. Natural gas is mostly available in remote areas and it costs a lot to transport the final product from those areas to the reach of the people.

The Shell should also switch to the direct production method for GLT. This will help them to reduce their production cost greatly. This reduction in production cost would be then transferred to the ultimate consumers.

These measures will help them a lot to make their GLT product successful. Shell is a pioneer in this technology and has more than two thousand patents for different stages of GLT production.

Should shell continue the GTL project if it fails to pay off in five years?
Over the last forty years, Shell has poured billions of dollars into their new GLT technology in order to provide efficient and cost-effective fuel alternatives to the people. Five year time to judge the success or failure of this project is like a pinch of salt in the flour. These sorts of projects require some time to reach breakeven and also in reaping profits. GLT will be really fruitful for Shell because of the price hike of petroleum products globally. Moreover, they know that they will harvest success as more and more people are becoming conscious to minimize their footprints on the planet earth. Read More