Pennzoil GTL Process

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i was surprised to read a while ago that this "super" oil needed hydrocracking similar to other crude products, but it said less processing was needed. better than typical crude but still behind PAO + Ester base oils, but a LOT cheaper + surely good enough for most applications
 
I'm sure there is an unlimited amount/supply of natural gas in the ground just waiting to be tapped. But,
what get's me is, why did the other major oil companies abandon the idea/use of GTL, but SHELL ran with it?
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Originally Posted By: benjy
i was surprised to read a while ago that this "super" oil needed hydrocracking similar to other crude products, but it said less processing was needed. better than typical crude but still behind PAO + Ester base oils, but a LOT cheaper + surely good enough for most applications



The idea of converting 'free' stranded gas to make fuel & lube base oil sounds a wizard idea until you factor in the cost of the processing plant necessary to make this a reality. The final capital cost for the Shell Pearl GTL plant is supposedly $US 24 BILLION !! Even by oil industry standards, this is eye-wateringly high. As I understand things, this cost is borne entirely by Shell as Qatar's commitment to the project is simply to provide gas to the plant free-of-charge.

Also remember that this plant primarily exists to make fuels; GTL base oil is really just 'the heavy bit that's left over'. With oil at around $US 50/barrel, fuel product prices are also correspondingly low and it makes no sense whatsoever to splash out mega bucks to do the gas conversion. I'm sure internally Shell allocate a PAO-competitive transfer value to GTL base oil but make no mistake, if normal economic rules applied, this stuff would never have seen the light of day.

Oh, and I might take issue with the 'less wear' claim for GTL base oils. At equivalent base oil viscosity, I suspect GTL would very likely give much the same level of wear as any other base oil.
 
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