$5bn diesel plant could usher in long-awaited clean-fuel revolution for Europe
Shell plans to announce a $5bn (£3bn) scheme to build a "green" diesel plant in the Middle East that it hopes will help trigger a fuel revolution in Britain and mainland Europe.
The world's second largest oil company wants the huge gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar to be capable of producing 140,000 barrels a day of cleaner energy for cars and buses.
Rival ExxonMobil is also believed ready to announce today plans for an $8bn scheme in Qatar to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) that could be shipped to the US and possibly Britain.
The Shell refinery will be fed from the North Field, which holds 900 trillion cubic feet of gas, making it the largest single source of gas in the world.
The move is understood to be the second biggest project investment to have been made by Shell, topped only by the $10bn recently announced for Russia's Sakhalin gas scheme. It represents a change in direction for the Anglo-Dutch firm, which pulled out of Qatar 10 years ago, but is also a further indication of Shell's renewed interest in the Middle East.
In January the company will start to explore for oil in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia while building its production profile in Iran and keeping a watch over events in Iraq.
GTL is a pioneering fuel which Shell, Exxon and BP have all been looking at for more than 10 years but had written off as too expensive. The latest Shell move suggests smart technology and rising world gas prices have made GTL viable. The plant in Qatar would run alongside a small prototype facility the company has operated for many years in Malaysia.
Last summer Shell signed an agreement with German car company Volkswagen to do trials with GTL brought from its Bintulu site in south-east Asia. GTL - dubbed "white crude" - is claimed to be significantly cleaner than traditional petrol or diesel but the refining process produces considerable carbon dioxide emissions which are deemed responsible for global warming.
This means the total impact of GTL's introduction is likely to be carbon neutral for the planet although the new fuel would make a significant impact on Europe's fight to reduce its output of greenhouse gases. Shell was unwilling to comment on the project, which is expected to be given a public launch next week.
"We are still in negotiations and are hopeful that we can conclude a deal," a spokesman said last night.
Revelations about its plans have surfaced as Exxon seals a deal to produce 15.6m tonnes a year of LNG, while BP today announces details of its push into Russia through its new merger with TNK.
BP chief executive Lord Browne will hold a briefing for analysts at the InterContinental Hotel in Mayfair, London, and disclose that annual production growth for TNK-BP will outstrip a target of 10% for this year and could be as high as 14%. The long-term average is expected to remain fixed at about 5% a year.
Shell plans to announce a $5bn (£3bn) scheme to build a "green" diesel plant in the Middle East that it hopes will help trigger a fuel revolution in Britain and mainland Europe.
The world's second largest oil company wants the huge gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar to be capable of producing 140,000 barrels a day of cleaner energy for cars and buses.
Rival ExxonMobil is also believed ready to announce today plans for an $8bn scheme in Qatar to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) that could be shipped to the US and possibly Britain.
The Shell refinery will be fed from the North Field, which holds 900 trillion cubic feet of gas, making it the largest single source of gas in the world.
The move is understood to be the second biggest project investment to have been made by Shell, topped only by the $10bn recently announced for Russia's Sakhalin gas scheme. It represents a change in direction for the Anglo-Dutch firm, which pulled out of Qatar 10 years ago, but is also a further indication of Shell's renewed interest in the Middle East.
In January the company will start to explore for oil in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia while building its production profile in Iran and keeping a watch over events in Iraq.
GTL is a pioneering fuel which Shell, Exxon and BP have all been looking at for more than 10 years but had written off as too expensive. The latest Shell move suggests smart technology and rising world gas prices have made GTL viable. The plant in Qatar would run alongside a small prototype facility the company has operated for many years in Malaysia.
Last summer Shell signed an agreement with German car company Volkswagen to do trials with GTL brought from its Bintulu site in south-east Asia. GTL - dubbed "white crude" - is claimed to be significantly cleaner than traditional petrol or diesel but the refining process produces considerable carbon dioxide emissions which are deemed responsible for global warming.
This means the total impact of GTL's introduction is likely to be carbon neutral for the planet although the new fuel would make a significant impact on Europe's fight to reduce its output of greenhouse gases. Shell was unwilling to comment on the project, which is expected to be given a public launch next week.
"We are still in negotiations and are hopeful that we can conclude a deal," a spokesman said last night.
Revelations about its plans have surfaced as Exxon seals a deal to produce 15.6m tonnes a year of LNG, while BP today announces details of its push into Russia through its new merger with TNK.
BP chief executive Lord Browne will hold a briefing for analysts at the InterContinental Hotel in Mayfair, London, and disclose that annual production growth for TNK-BP will outstrip a target of 10% for this year and could be as high as 14%. The long-term average is expected to remain fixed at about 5% a year.
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