TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Composition: The catalyst comprises (wt.%) Ni (0.5-15); Ce2O3 (0.5-10); La2O3 (0.5-5); Pt (0.1-2); ZrO2 (0.5-3); Rh (0.1-2), and Re (0.1-2). The refractory support is aluminum oxide spheres having a diameter of 2-4 millimeters.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The gas hour space velocity is 35000-50000 h-1. The pre-heating temperature is 410-420 degrees C. The heat generated from the exothermic combustion reaction is neutralized and compensated for by the endothermic reaction on the same catalyst bed. The reaction is carried out in the absence of externally supplied heat. Coke formation is avoided. The catalyst can reform feedstocks containing sulfur (less than 200 ppm). The syngas produced from the process is further purified to produce highly pure hydrogen using a hydrogen purification technology selected from water gas shift and preferential oxidation, methanation and membrane technologies, and pressure-swing adsorption (PSA). The surface area of the support is 25-125 m2/g. Preferred Components: The liquid hydrocarbon fuel is a petroleum-based fuel. The liquid petroleum-based fuel liquid is selected from iso-octane, light naphtha, heavy-naphtha, kerosene and diesel. EXAMPLE - A seven component catalyst (C1) comprising (wt.%) nickel (Ni) (8), cerium oxide (Ce2O3) (5), lanthanum oxide (La2O3) (2.5), platinum (Pt) (0.5), zirconium oxide (ZrO2) (2), rhodium (Rh) (0.5), and rhenium (Re) (1.2) was prepared. The catalyst (6 ml) was loaded into the Haynes reactor tube. The catalyst bed was positioned at the center of the reactor tube, between layers of inert silicon carbide. The top portion of silicon carbide layer also served as a preheating zone. The feed mixture was heated up to 350 degrees C in the preheating zone. The reactor was heated up to the starting temperature of 410 degrees C under nitrogen flow of 20 l/hour. Water was pumped into the pre-heater and vaporized, and steam was sent in at a flow rate corresponding to a steam-to-hydrocarbon feed (H2O/C) molar ratio of 2:1. The hydrocarbon feed was then started after a sufficient amount of water had collected in the product tank. Various oxygen/carbon (O2/C) ratios were 0.479. The temperature in the reactor rose to 800-900 degrees C in a few seconds. The experiment was run for two hours, after a steady state of 840 degrees C reached. A gas sample was collected and analyzed. The percent conversion and product gas composition were calculated. The process showed 97.2% hydrocarbon conversion and 22.6% H2O conversion and the product gas composition was H2 (58.3 mol.%), carbon monoxide (19.8 mol.%), carbon dioxide (21.3 mol.%) and methane (0.67 mol.%).