Interviews

Carl Mesters, Shell Chief Scientist Chemistry and Catalysis

02/09/2007

Hydrocarbon Processing

Oil and gas companies are facing increasing demands for their products and, at the same time, need to meet those demands in an environmentally responsible way.

Accelerating demand is one of the three hard truths that Jeroen van der Veer, Shell Group Chief Executive, has recently stated will generate turbulence in the global energy system in the decades ahead. Some analysts believe that energy use in 2050 may be twice as high as it is today, or even higher still. The main causes will be population growth, from the current six billion to more than nine billion people, and higher levels of prosperity.

The second hard truth is that the growth rate in supplies of “easy oil”, conventional oil and natural gas that are relatively easy to extract, will struggle to keep up with accelerating demand. Unconventional resources, such as oil shale and sands, may provide a solution; however, less than half of it can be recovered with existing technology.

The third truth is that increased coal use will cause higher carbon dioxide emissions, possibly to levels deemed unacceptable. The International Energy Agency predicts that coal use could grow by around 60% in the next 20 years. China and India will continue to exploit their domestic coal reserves so as to be less dependent on oil and gas imports, as will the USA, which even now generates more than half its electricity with coal.

Van de Veer emphasized the importance of energy efficiency and recommended that we should aim to become twice as efficient in our use of energy by the middle of the century. He also believes that we should broaden the global energy mix as quickly as we can by including more unconventional oil and gas, alternative energy sources, coal and nuclear energy.

For instance, the Shell Group (Shell) thinks that blending of synthetic fuels, such as those derived from biomass, gas or coal, will become more frequent. These sources can also be used to produce other fuels such as hydrogen for fuel cells. Shell is developing several alternative energy sources; it is the largest distributor of first-generation biofuels and one of the largest investors in wind energy. It is also investing in new technology such as second-generation biofuels, thin-film solar cells and hydrogen cells. 

Shell is one of several organizations that have developed low-temperature Fischer–Tropsch gas-to-liquids technology for producing synthetic fuels. Its proprietary GTL process uses a more active and selective catalyst than earlier processes, which enables the production of a range of finely tailored liquid fuels in a fully commercialized system. GTL Fuel can be used in conventional diesel engines and provides significantly lower emissions of local pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, even when compared with ultra low sulfur diesel.

Shell is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of its refineries and of those that it provides consultation to. The Shell Global Solutions carbon and energy management program is designed to help improve energy efficiency in large, energy-intensive operations. The program is a combination of structured management processes and monitoring tools linked to real-time plant data systems. It aims to continuously reduce energy costs, bottlenecks and emission levels.

Applying technology to accelerate carbon dioxide mineralization is another solution that may help to cut emissions. Mineralization, which occurs naturally over millions of years, involves chemical reactions between carbon dioxide and common silicates to produce silica and stable carbonates. Scientists at Shell Global Solutions have found a way of accelerating this – from millennia down to minutes – and making an industrial process technically feasible.

However, as Bill Spence, Shell’s Vice President CO₂, has recently commented, the carbon emission challenge cannot be met by one company or the energy industry alone. There will be a need for public and private partnerships and a strong policy framework in the creation of carbon capture and storage infrastructure. The period post-2012, when the current Kyoto protocol expires, will be critical in determining how the world responds to these opportunities.