A Qatar Airways Airbus A340-600 is fuelled with Gas-to-Liquids jet fuel ahead of the departure of flight QR001 from Doha to London Heathrow

Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Airways and Shell have celebrated the first commercial introduction of a new aviation jet fuel – the first to be approved globally in over two decades.

The innovative GTL Jet Fuel blended with Synthetic Parafinic Kerosene from the world’s largest Gas to Liquids plant - Pearl GTL in Qatar - is now flowing into aeroplane tanks at Doha International Airport.

An Airbus A340-600, flight QR001 will make history by being the first to fly outbound from Doha International Airport, en route to London Heathrow using GTL Jet Fuel.

This is a significant milestone for the giant onshore Pearl GTL complex, which is jointly developed by QP and Shell and is the largest energy project in Qatar.

Fully approved for use as an aviation fuel, GTL Jet Fuel is a blend of up to 50 per cent GTL Synthetic Parafinic Kerosene meeting the stringent requirements of ASTM-D-7566 and conventional crude oil-derived standard jet fuel.

Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar minister of energy and industry, said: “The production of GTL Jet Fuel is a great achievement for Pearl GTL and the State of Qatar. GTL Jet Fuel will be supplied into the wider jet fuel pool at Doha International Airport enabling the State of Qatar to enjoy the benefits of this product.

“It is indeed an historic moment for Qatar that the first aviation fuel to be approved globally in the last 20 years originates in Qatar.”

As an alternative to conventional crude oil-derived jet fuel, GTL Jet Fuel can help diversify the aviation fuel supply chain and offers a number of attractive benefits for airlines and airports.

The synthetic blend component - GTL kerosene – contains virtually zero Sulphur and has been shown to produce lower particulate emissions (very fine soot particles) than conventional crude oil-derived jet fuel. This means that once blended with conventional jet fuel to create GTL Jet Fuel, it can be attractive to airlines and airport authorities keen to improve local air quality at busy airports by reducing local emissions.

GTL kerosene also has a higher energy density than conventional oil-based kerosene.

This has the potential to reduce the engine maintenance requirements and the required fuel payload and aircraft may be able to better optimise the weight of fuel to cover the same distance.

GTL Jet Fuel from Pearl GTL plant is marketed by “Tasweeq” for use solely within Qatar.

The first production cargo of GTL Jet Fuel left the Pearl GTL Plant on December 17th 2012 and will be first used in this inaugural flight departing Doha International Airport later today.