About $US20 billion ($A26 billion) has been invested in the Ras Laffan GTL projects by companies such as Royal Dutch/Shell Group, ChevronTexaco and Exxon Mobil.
The technology has been proven to work in smaller plants worldwide but the Qatar complex dwarfs any other project with its array of plants.
Ras Laffan is expected to produce 300,000 barrels of liquid fuels per day by 2011. The largest plant currently in existence produces 14,700 barrels a day.
GTL offers a moderate advantage in carbon emissions as natural gas is naturally lower in carbon than oil-based diesel, but its low sulphur emissions are seen as its biggest advantage as a diesel fuel.
Sulphur emissions are estimated to cause around 10,000 deaths a year in America alone and current filtering systems are inefficient when confronted with oil-based diesel. Switching to GTL diesel is estimated to be able to cut sulphur emissions up to 90%, a big win for developing nations aiming to cut emissions and enforce pollution-standards.
In addition to GTL fuel, the Qatari plants will produce a range of by-products such as naptha, lubricating oil and liquid petroleum gas.
It is expected that Ras Laffan's GTL fuel will be mixed with crude-oil diesel initially as the 300,000 barrels a day alone will make little dent in the global demand for 13 million barrels of diesel per day.
