Gas to Liquids (GTL) fuel is a synthetic liquid fuel derived from natural gas that burns cleaner than conventional fuel.
The technology used to create GTL fuel was first developed in Germany in the 1920s and is known as the Fischer-Tropsch process. For many years most industry experts did not consider GTL fuel to be commercially viable – but Shell thought differently.
In the early 1980s we developed the revolutionary Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (SMDS). This uses a much more effective catalyst than earlier processes, enabling us to produce a whole range of finely tailored liquid fuels and products in a fully commercialised system.
Shell V-Power Diesel, a GTL Fuel/diesel blend, is already available across Europe and parts of the Far East, and our first world scale GTL plant is due to open in Qatar around the end of the decade.
Since GTL Fuel is compatible with most modern diesel engines, it is one of the most cost-effective ways of helping to reduce transport emissions, with the potential to help us breathe more easily in cities all around the world.
