Process to prepare Fischer-Tropsch derived middle distillates and base oils

Process to prepare middle distillates and base oils from a Fischer-Tropsch product, by

• (a) subjecting the Fischer-Tropsch product to a hydroprocessing step in the presence of a catalyst comprising a molecular sieve with a pore size between 5 and 7 angstrom and a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of at least 25 and a group VIII metal to obtain a mixture comprising one or more middle distillate fractions and a first residual fraction and a naphtha fraction;
• wherein the Fischer-Tropsch product is a paraffinic feedstock that comprises at least 50 wt. % of compounds boiling above 370° C. and which has a paraffin content of at least 60 wt. %, an aromatics content of below 1 wt. %, a naphthenic content of below 2 wt. %, a nitrogen content of below 0.1 wt. %, and a sulphur content of below 0.1 wt. %;
• (b) separating the mixture as obtained in step (a) by means of atmospheric distillation into one or more middle distillate fractions, a first residual fraction and a naphtha fraction;
• (c) separating the first residual fraction by means of vacuum distillation into at least a distillate base oil fraction and a second residual fraction,
• wherein the distillate base oil obtained in step (c) enables production of base oils without additional dewaxing.