Carbon Sciences says Shell's first successful shipment of gas-to-liquid base oil at Port of Houston proof of product's commercial viability; next step is to cut out foreign supply, focus on small- and medium-sized gas fields, CEO says

Tracy McDonald

Tracy McDonald

SANTA BARBARA, California , December 5, 2011 (press release) – Carbon Sciences Inc. (OTC.BB: CABN.OB), the developer of a breakthrough technology to make liquid transportation fuels from natural gas and carbon dioxide, today commented that Royal Dutch Shell's successful shipment of GTL products to the U.S. confirms the company's belief that its own GTL solution will be commercially viable.

On November 23, Shell announced the arrival of its first shipment of gas-to-liquid GTL base oil at the Port of Houston. The high-quality product, the first from the Qatar-based Pearl GTL plant to reach the Americas, will be stored at a hub in Houston and routed to Shell Lubricants' GTL-enabled blending facilities throughout the U.S.

"This is a very important milestone for our industry," said Byron Elton, CEO of Carbon Sciences. "Shell has clearly demonstrated the commercial viability of taking natural gas from the Middle East, using GTL technology to transform it into liquids and shipping those high value products to the U.S. The next step will be to cut out the foreign supply and use our vast reserves of natural gas here at home to make liquid transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel."

Mr. Elton continued, "Shell's Qatar operation is a real money maker and provides a road map for developing large GTL plants. At the scale that Shell operates, it must focus on very large fields, which account for only a small number of gas fields in the world. Its particular GTL technology does not scale down economically for small and medium sized gas fields. This is the market opportunity that we are addressing with our GTL solution."

Carbon Sciences is developing a proprietary catalyst for the dry reforming of methane into synthetic or syngas, the first step in making liquid transportation fuels from natural gas. The catalyst and process offer important advantages over existing catalysis and technologies. Firstly, CO2 is used as part of the carbon feed in lieu of natural gas, reducing feedstock cost. Secondly, the catalyst is comprised of inexpensive and abundant metals. Thirdly, it is anticipated that it will involve low steam usage, making it a less expensive, and more energy-efficient process. Fourthly, the overall process is expected to be closely CO2-neutral, making it much more environmentally friendly than current reforming/GTL technologies.

About Carbon Sciences Inc.

Carbon Sciences, based in Santa Barbara, California, has developed a breakthrough technology to make liquid transportation fuels from natural gas. We believe our technology will enable the world to reduce its dependence on petroleum by cost effectively using natural gas to produce cleaner and greener liquid fuels for immediate use in the existing transportation infrastructure. Although found in abundant supply at affordable prices in the U.S. and throughout the world, natural gas cannot be used directly in cars, trucks, trains and planes without a massive overhaul of the existing transportation infrastructure. Innovating at the forefront of chemical engineering, Carbon Sciences offers a highly scalable, clean-tech gas-to-liquids (GTL) process to transform natural gas into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The key to this cost-effective process is a breakthrough methane dry reforming catalyst that consumes carbon dioxide. Our proprietary catalyst is now undergoing rigorous commercial testing to meet the needs of the natural gas industry and will be available for use in pre-feasibility studies of new GTL plants.

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