Abstract

The Shell Group has experience of marketing commercial quantities of high quality Fischer-Tropsch Gasto-Liquids ("GTL") products from its 12,000 bbl/day plant at Bintulu since 1993 with considerable success in exploiting the unique properties of SMDS products in a variety of applications. Shell's announced plan for a number of world-scale SMDS plants of 70,000 bbl/day opens up exciting new marketing opportunities since such quantities are now of interest to bulk users of distillates products.

Some of the most interesting applications will be in the automotive transportation area. This paper will describe how GTL products available at this scale can make a real difference to local air quality in specific areas, the advantages of GTL fuels as compared to alternatives, and the projects Shell is currently engaged on around the world to prove and demonstrate the use of its products.

The paper will also describe how large-scale GTL production is likely to impact markets, including those for more specialised products.

Introduction

Shell's experience with SMDS (Malaysia) in Bintulu The Shell Group's experience with marketing of GTL products goes back to 1993 with the start up of our 12,000 bbl/d unit in Bintulu Malaysia which makes a variety of distillate and speciality products. For many years, product from this unit has been successfully traded through a variety of channels in markets that include the Far East, United States and Europe. The support of the Shell Group, with leading positions in the fuels, lubricants and chemicals markets, plus its network of trading and marketing activities, has been of huge benefit in this effort.

The specialities product slate of SMDS Bintulu consists of normal paraffins and feedstock for base oils. As will be discussed later, production at Bintulu has allowed us to mature our understanding of the properties of these products and to create unique market opportunities - knowledge that will be applied to maximise returns from our next SMDS ventures.

Figure 1: Shell's SMDS (Malaysia) plant in Bintulu BLOCK 3 - - FORUM 18 337

PRODUCT MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES OF FISCHER-TROPSCH GTL

The availability of commercial quantities of products from SMDS Bintulu has allowed us to extensively characterise the properties of the product - not just on a laboratory scale, but firstly with extensive trials both in-house and with third parties, and then with commercial supply. It rapidly became apparent that the unique properties of the SMDS products required a marketing, rather than trading, approach to fully tap their potential. An example of this approach is the recent launch, in Thailand, of a specially formulated Gasoil containing SMDS material under the "Pura" brand name.

Figure 2: A Shell service station in Thailand selling Shell Pura Diesel Marketing The plans of Shell and others to invest in l

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