Pearl GTL is the largest gas to liquids (GTL) facility in the world. Established in 2006 by Shell and Qatar Petroleum about 50 miles north of Doha, Qatar, the facility is capable of producing 140,000 barrels of GTL products per day and 120,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas per day.
When the facility became fully operational in 2012, Shell and Qatar knew that it needed a robust software system to manage the constant stream of 34,000 content, volume, emissions and equipment measurements transmitted by the facility’s quality control equipment.
Shell selected Thermo Scientific’s SampleManager laboratory information management system (LIMS) and standardized the software across all of Pearl GTL’s laboratory equipment and production systems.
SampleManager is integrated with Shell’s operations management system (OTTER), process historian (PI), the oil movement and batch tracking system, laboratory instruments and other production systems.
As soon as test results are authorized in SampleManager, they are made available to relevant parties within the PI system. Lab data from Pearl GTL’s oil movement and batch tracking system are also transmitted in real time. Because lab data is automatically transmitted to the LIMS, the need for transcribed readings is eliminated, as well as the potential for human error associated with transcription.
The software helps Pearl GTL operators collect data from the field for analysis in the lab. The LIMS is fully integrated with OTTER, so the data collected in this system are instantly transferred from the field to SampleManager for analysis by managers or technicians in the lab, enabling fast, effective decision-making.
The LIMS also ensures that Pearl GTL in compliance with ISO 17025 and other standards at all times. The software guarantees that compliance can be proven in case of an audit.
Qatar Airways’ Doha International Airport, which opened in 2013, pumps airline fuel made from natural gas from the Pearl GTL facility.
