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TRH arrive in Qatar

22nd February 2007

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall flew in to Qatar today for the second leg of their tour of the Gulf.

Their Royal Highnesses were welcomed to the capital city, Doha, by Britain's Ambassador to the state, Simon Collis, and his partner, Sandra Kelly, as they stepped from the plane.

The Prince, who last visited the state in 1997, and The Duchess walked along a red carpet flanked by a guard of honour into the VIP terminal of Doha International Airport.

After the official welcome at the airport, The Prince travelled to the state-owned Ras Laffan Industrial City in the north of Qatar to officially launch a major natural gas plant.

The Prince joined Qatar's Crown Prince Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani at a ceremony to lay the first stone of the Pearl Gas to Liquid (GTL) complex.

Qatar has the world's third largest gas reserves located in an off-shore field which is expected to provide 20 per cent of the UK's gas needs when it is fully developed.

But new GTL technology converts liquefied natural gas into clear, colourless biodegradable fuels that can be used in normal diesel engines and also blended into conventional diesel fuels.

The Pearl plant is the world's largest GTL project and is a joint initiative between Royal Dutch Shell and Qatar Petroleum.

The project, which will start production at the end of the decade, will produce the eco-friendly fuel which contains no sulphur, aromatic compounds or metals - producing emissions far lower than conventional fuels.

The fuel will be targeted at the major cities of the world for use in public bus services or taxis to help reduce pollution.

Qatar's energy minister, Sheikh Al-Attiyah, told the delegates attending the launch: "Put simply, GTL fuel is cleaner. Vehicles that use it are also quieter than those using conventional diesel.

"In urban areas particularly, the use of GTL fuel can help improve people's quality of life and health."

Afterwards The Prince and The Duchess visited the Qatar Foundation in Education City to see first-hand Qatar’s attempts to build a world class centre of excellence in education and research.

The Qatar Foundation’s mission is to prepare the people of Qatar and the region to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world, and to make Qatar a leader in innovative education and research.

Education City is the Qatar Foundation’s flagship project and is envisioned as a centre of excellence in education and research that will help transform Qatar into a knowledge-based society.

It is based on a 2,500 acre campus on the outskirts of Doha which hosts branch campuses of several leading universities and well as other educational and research institutions.

The Prince and The Duchess then visited Al Udaid Airbase to meet British military personnel serving in Qatar.

Their Royal Highnesses are on a 10-day tour of the Gulf.