 The Shell research centre is located at the spectacular Qatar Science & Technology Park, a landmark in Doha that is a home for technology companies from around the world. The science park as a whole was inaugurated last month in the presence of His Highness The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, in a widely anticipated ceremony before 1,200 local and international guests. Stoner and Hayden’s more familiar experience of Shell is at the race track, where Shell’s scientists and technicians have worked closely alongside Ducati for ten years to provide race-winning fuels and lubricants for their renowned race bikes. Shell Advance race lubricants and Shell V-Power race fuels are tested under severe conditions on the race track through the MotoGP Championship, contributing to the development of new generations of oils and road fuels for the benefit of motorcyclists worldwide. Shell’s commitment to innovation through motorsport is an integral part of its extensive research and development programme that is key to making better fuels for its customers. The work at the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre has a similarly strong emphasis on innovation. Scientists at the Shell facility recently filed the first patent application by any company at the science park. The focus is on the development and implementation of technologies that support Qatar’s energy industry, particularly Qatar’s aspirations to be the globe’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter and the Gas to Liquids capital of the world. The research centre is vital in providing know-how to produce GTL fuels and lubricants on a large scale through the soon-to-be-complete Pearl GTL plant, with research work including a programme to test GTL catalyst that will be used in the new plant and in future develop new generations of catalyst. Once opened, Pearl GTL will produce enough fuel to fill over 160,000 cars a day and enough synthetic base oil each year to make lubricants for more than 225 million cars. The construction of Pearl continues apace at Ras Laffan, a vast industrial zone the size of Amsterdam, on Qatar’s coast 90 kilometres north of Doha. More than 40,000 workers from more than 50 nations currently work on a building site almost the size of New York’s Central Park, making it one of the world’s largest industrial developments. Casey Stoner commented: “We don’t usually get to see much away from the race circuits during the season, and it’s really opened my eyes coming here today. Obviously, innovation in MotoGP is important to win races, but today has shown me that Shell’s activities go way beyond producing premium fuels and lubricants.” Nicky Hayden, who enjoyed the event alongside his new team mate, was surprised at the scale of Shell’s activities in Qatar: “This is my first season with Ducati, so today has been an impressive introduction to working with Shell! It’s pretty different to what Shell does for us on the race track but it can only be a good thing to move in the direction of producing high quality fuels and lubricants for consumers.”
Andy Brown, Simon Buerk & Shell employees gather for group photo with the MotoGP World Champions: Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden 
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