Turning Natural Gas Into Oil
DECEMBER 15, 2014
How do you turn natural gas into a liquid, much less a motor oil?
Making motor oil from natural gas may sound like magic. It certainly is not easy and is a highly complex process with many stages. But it can be done thanks to some brilliant minds, innovative technologies, and because Shell had the confidence to invest in the vision of revolutionizing lubricant performance.
In the 1970s, Shell began to look at other sources of energy besides crude oil. And based on an abundant worldwide supply of natural gas, Shell began studying it for the many opportunities natural gas presents to develop a full synthetic motor oil. Watch our scientists discuss the origins below.
Evolution of PurePlus™ Technology Gas-to-Liquid Process
PENNZOIL Transcript—United States/Latest/Dec 15, 2014: Turning Natural Gas Into Oil
[Title] Evolution of PurePlus™ Technology Gas-to-Liquid Process
Description: Various scientists and technicians talk about the history of PurePlus and its superiority to regular motor oil.
[Background music] Soft horns and then up-tempo violins
[Super]
MOTOR OIL
[PENNZOIL LOGO]
REIMAGINED™
[In vision]
Shots of a Shell refinery. Shell flags flying. A man begins to speak and is then on-camera.
[Super]
AREND HOEK
REGIONAL MANAGER, NETHERLANDS
Arend: In the 1970s, we started to look at sources of energy other than just crude oil, and one of those was natural gas.
[In vision]
As another man speaks, shots of lab equipment. A lab technician experiments with liquids.
[Super]
PAUL BOGERS
GENERAL MANAGER – LUBRICANTS TECHNOLOGY AT SHELL OIL
Paul: The process of turning a natural gas into a liquid has many applications in terms of developing full synthetic motor oils with unique properties.
[In vision]
Continued shots of lab equipment and meters.
Arend: Natural gas is a very interesting source of energy because it’s very clean.
[In vision]
Another lab technician works with liquids and equipment.
[Super]
BOB SUTHERLAND
Technology Manager, Global
Bob: Essentially free of all the contaminants that come in crude oil, so when you start more pure, you end up more pure.
[In vision]
Shots of lab techs continuing to work with liquids and equipment.
Bob: Shell PurePlus Technology truly is a revolutionary process for making motor oils. By creating these high-tier lubricants, we enable the engine manufacturers to push their hardware further, to really function at its optimum.
[In vision]
Shots of Arend Hoek walking through the lab, checking on a refrigerated liquid.
Arend: When I walk through these labs, I see that our initial effort 40 years ago has led to something that’s really big.
[In vision]
As Arend puts the bottle back and closes the door, the music ends. Two containers of Pennzoil appear, Ultra Platinum and Platinum.
[Animated super]
[Pennzoil logo]
MOTOROILREIMAGINED.com
Natural gas is also very clean and essentially free of many of the contaminants found in crude oil. When you start with pure natural gas, you end up with a base oil that is purer than a base oil made from crude oil. We call this PurePlus® base oil, and the process by which we create this pure base oil is called PurePlus® Technology. The revolutionary process of taking natural gas to build the exact motor oils we want is the biggest breakthrough in synthetic oils in 40 years.
PurePlus® Technology turns the process of creating Full Synthetic motor oils upside down. Rather than refining long-chain molecules from crude oil, PurePlus® Technology builds bigger molecules from much smaller ones. Doing so gives us a base oil that is 99.5% pure. When combined with our high-performance additives, we get Pennzoil Platinum® and Pennzoil Ultra Platinum™ with PurePlus® Technology, Full Synthetic motor oils designed for complete protection without compromising any one area. Watch the full story below.
How Does Shell Make PurePlus™ Gas-to-Liquid Technology for Pennzoil?
PENNZOIL Transcript—United States/Latest/Dec 15, 2014: Turning Natural Gas Into Oil
[Title] How does Shell make PurePlus Gas-To-Liquid Technology for Pennzoil?
Description: Industry experts from Pennzoil and auto racing describe the unique benefits of PurePlus technology.
[Background music] Synthesizer and guitar sounds
[Super]
THE SCIENCE
BEHIND
PUREPLUS™ TECHNOLOGY
[In vision]
A man begins to speak on-camera while holding up a small clear cube containing a small sample.
[Super]
ISTVAN KAPITANY
PRESIDENT SHELL OILS AMERICAS
Istvan: This is Motor Oil Reimagined.
[Super]
BREE SANDLIN
GLOBAL PENNZOIL BRAND MANAGER
Bree: There’s no motor oil that’s ever been made like this before.
[Super]
ANDREW HEPHER
GENERAL MANAGER FOR CONSUMER MARKETING
Andrew: The initial reaction is just kind of, “Get out of here!” It’s like, “You can’t do that!”
[Animated super]
WHAT IS
PUREPLUS™ TECHNOLOGY?
[Super]
RUSTY BARRON
V.P. MARKETING, SHELL LUBRICANTS
Rusty: So, what’s most exciting about this for me is that, I mean, PurePlus technology is starting with natural gas, instead of like other motor oils that would start with crude.
[Super]
SHANNA SIMMONS
RESEARCH ENGINEER
[In vision]
As Shanna speaks, she demonstrates how water can be like crude oil versus clear base oil.
Shanna: Imagine crude oil to be like a muddy river. Now, imagine natural gas to be like a clear water vapor. So, if I go to a muddy river, and I take a cup of water from that river and I filter the water, it will still have impurities left in the water. However, if I condense water vapor or steam into a cup of water, that water would be much clearer and purer than the water that I got from the muddy river. In the same way, base oil made from natural gas is purer than base oil which has only been refined from crude oil.
[Super]
DR. PAUL BOGERS
GENERAL MANAGER, LUBRICANTS TECHNOLOGY, US
[In vision]
As Paul speaks, a complex dynamic diagram of long-chain molecules.
Paul: So, if you think about traditional refining, traditional creation of base oils, you’re starting off with big, long-chain molecules, and you keep trying to sift out the longer chains from the impurities, and you arrive at a pretty satisfactory base oil. If you turn that process on its head, and you start building up these bigger molecules from much smaller ones, you arrive at a base oil that is 99.5 percent pure.
[Animated super]
FIRST OF ITS KIND
MOTOR OIL
MADE FROM NATURAL GAS
[Super]
DR. SELDA GUNSEL
VICE PRESIDENT - SHELL TECHNOLOGY
[In vision]
An animated graphic of molecules combining appears when Selda talks about liquid hydrocarbons:
METHANE + OXYGEN
RESIDUAL HEAT
HYDROGEN + CARBON MONOXIDE
SYNGAS
METHANE + OXYGEN
RESIDUAL HEAT
HYDROGEN + CARBON MONOXIDE
SYNGAS
Selda: We have been working on new ways of developing next-generation lubricant base oils for a very long time. We started our original research in gas-to-liquids technology, that is PurePlus technology, about 40 years ago. Our first research started in the 1970s in response to the oil crisis in the Middle East. During this time, we have developed a way of turning natural gas into liquid hydrocarbons, such as lubricant base oils or fuels.
[Super]
DR. RICHARD DIXON
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
Richard: So, I think Shell has a tremendous heritage in base oils manufacture. We really understand how to manufacture base oils, but we haven’t been satisfied with conventional refining. The way I see it is we’ve kind of deconstructed base oil. We’ve gone right back to understanding what a base oil should do, in its most fundamental properties, its most fundamental performance.
[Super]
DR. ALLIE FALENDER
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
[In vision]
As Allie speaks, graphic of a thermometer with falling and rising extreme temperatures.
Allie: I think that one of things that’s really exciting about PurePlus base oil is that it’s really the best of both worlds. So, it helps you in cold temperature climates because of its really excellent cold properties, but it also helps you in hotter temperatures because it has very low volatility.
[Animated super]
[Pennzoil logo]
PLATINUM®
FULL SYNTHETIC MOTOR OILS
with PUREPLUS™ TECHNOLOGY
COMPLETE PROTECTION FOR YOUR ENGINE
[In vision]
Richard continues. Shots of technicians working in a lab. Hands raise up a container of Pennzoil Platinum.
Richard: The PurePlus technology, the base oil, has to be supplemented with some additives, some performance chemicals, in order to give it the features that we look for in a modern motor oil.
[In vision]
Shanna, in lab gear, holds two large cylinders, one containing a murky brown liquid and the other a clear liquid. She performs tests on the liquids.
[In vision]
Allie speaks again.
Allie: What my team has really done is studied how additives react to PurePlus base oil, and it’s been quite exciting because additives that may work one way in a particular base oil really blossom in PurePlus.
[Animated super]
[Pennzoil logo]
PLATINUM®
with PUREPLUS™ TECHNOLOGY
IS DESIGNED FOR COMPLETE PROTECTION
[In vision]
As Shanna speaks again, visuals appear for every point she makes.
[Supers]
CLEANER PISTONS
Based on ILSAC GF-5 and Sequence IIIG piston deposit test using SAE 5W-30.
BETTER FUEL ECONOMY
Fuel economy measurements made using CAFE cycle under FTP75.
HORSEPOWER PROTECTION
UNSURPASSED WEAR PROTECTION
Based on Sequence IVA wear test using SAE 5W-30.
EXTREME TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE
Shanna: Complete protection includes cleaner pistons, better fuel economy, horsepower protection, unsurpassed wear protection, and extreme temperature performance.
[In vision]
As Paul speaks again, images of worn pistons.
Paul: If you think about a modern car engine, it’s a very complex system. And keeping all aspects of that system clean is really very important to keep it running as designed.
[In vision]
Pistons in an engine. Allie begins to speak again. A graphic appears of how Pennzoil compares to Mobil 1, Valvoline and Castrol for keeping pistons clean.
Allie: So, keeping the engine clean is incredibly important. And recently, one of things that we found is that a clean engine can get up to 550 more miles per year than a dirty engine. Specifically, using one of the standard industry tests, we’ve been able to show that Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is able to keep pistons up to 25 percent cleaner than Mobil 1, up to 35 percent cleaner than Valvoline’s SynPower, and up to 40 percent cleaner than Castrol EDGE with Syntec.
[Footnote]
Fuel economy measurements made using CAFE cycle under FTP75. Avg of 550 extra miles based on mixed city/highway miles and US avg of 13,476 miles driven per year with 4.1% better MPG vs dirty engine. Source fhwa.dot.gov, 2011. Follow OEM recommended oil drain intervals.
[Footnote]
Based on ASTM Sequence IIIG piston deposit test using SAE 5W-30. Does not apply to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum™ 0W-40 motor oil. Pennzoil Ultra Platinum™ keeps pistons up to 25% cleaner than Mobil 1; up to 35% cleaner than Valvoline® Synpower®; and up to 40% cleaner than Castrol® EDGE® with SYNTEC®.
[Animated super]
TRUSTED IN THE
MOST
ADVANCED ENGINES
[In vision]
A Penske race car in the shop with technicians performing tests.
Istvan: Pennzoil with PurePlus technology is designed for everyday driving. But, of course, it is tested under the most severe conditions. We tested this product with the Penske Racing Team, and we found that it helps to retain horsepower.
[Super]
PAUL BASTIEN
SENIOR RESEARCH ENGINEER
[In vision]
Technician works under the hood of a Pennzoil/Penske race car, with other techs working around the car.
Paul: When Shell Pennzoil made the decision to go with a sponsorship with Penske Racing, I was asked to work with their technical people at their shop to supply them candidate oils…they’d test them…we’d test them…and get to an oil that would really work well in their car.
[Super]
ROGER PENSKE
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, PENSKE CORPORATION
[In vision]
Roger speaks, Pennzoil logo displayed behind him; then footage of Penske vehicles in official races. The Penske/Pennzoil team celebrates a win at the end of the race.
Roger: I’ve been around cars my entire life, and this is the most exciting and innovative advancement in motor oils in decades. I trust Pennzoil Platinum technology to help my team win on the track. I trust Pennzoil Platinum to protect the cars that drive off our dealership service lots. And I trust Pennzoil Platinum in my own garage. It’s going to be a real game changer.
[Animated super]
MOTOR OIL
[PENNZOIL LOGO]
REIMAGINED™
[Animated super]
THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN MOTOR OIL
[PENNZOIL LOGO]
PLATINUM®
with PUREPLUS™ TECHNOLOGY
[Music ends]
After four decades of research and development, we can now offer first-of-its-kind Full Synthetic motor oils that start pure and are designed for complete protection. These are the best synthetic oils from Pennzoil, and they enable experts like Ferrari, Maserati, SRT® and Team Penske to push their engines to the limits of performance.