The Qatar government is targeting commercial production of gas-to-liquid (GTL) kerosene for 2012 as part of national carrier Qatar Airways' push to use the fuel as a partial substitute for regular, oil-based kerosene. The carrier last week completed its first revenue-generating flight-an Airbus A340-600 from London Gatwick to Doha-using a 50-50 blend of GTL and regular kerosene, dubbed GTL Jet Fuel. The environmental benefits of GTL are seen as mixed. Although the fuel would do little to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it should produce fewer particulates, industry officials say. Qatar Airways notes that one benefit is that GTL produces less sulfur dioxide. Natural-gas-rich Qatar has been pushing the GTL project in conjunction with other companies, including Airbus and Shell. Qatar plans to produce about 1 million metric tons of GTL kerosene beginning in 2012. The fuel will be produced by the Pearl GTL project, part of a joint venture of Shell and Qatar Petroleum.
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