Shell unit seeks one-year shipping deal for Qatar GTL base oils

19 April 2011 04:48  [Source: ICIS news]

(adds background on Shell's Pearl GTL plant in Qatar, with recasts throughout)

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Shell International Trading Middle East (SITME) is seeking a one-year contract for the shipment of gas-to-liquid (GTL) base oils from Qatar from August 2011, a tender document showed on Tuesday.

SITME, a trading and shipping affiliate of petrochemical giant Shell, hopes to secure a contract of affreightment (COA) to ship the GTL base oils from Ras Laffan, Qatar, to Europe, the Americas and southeast Asia, based on the document.

COA refers to a fixed period contract at fixed freights and port range between the ship charterer and owner.

Shell, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum, owns and operates a Pearl GTL plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City. The plant is expected to produce 1.6bn cubic feet of gas a day when it becomes fully operational, which will then be processed to generate 120,000 bbl/day of GTL gasoil, kerosene, base oils, n-paraffins and naphtha.

According to the SITME tender document, each shipment under the COA will have a minimum volume of 5,000 tonnes of GTL base oils, with the maximum set at 35,000-40,000 tonnes, with no volume commitment from the charterer.

The shipments will be made to Hamburg, Antwerp and Rotterdam in Europe; Houston and Freeport Bahamas in the Americas; and Singapore, Port Klang in Peninsular Malaysia and Hong Kong in southeast Asia, the document stated.

By: Lester Teo

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