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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
Consolidating Qatar’s position among the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, Qatar Petroleum (QP) on Monday signed an agreement with US oil major Chevron Phillips Chemical Company to build a new petrochemical complex housing Middle East’s largest ethane cracker plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City.
The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QP President and CEO HE Saad Sherida al Kaabi and Chevron Phillips Chemical President and CEO Mark E Lashier, in Doha.
As per the agreement, QP will own 70 percent of the project and the Texas-based company will have 30 percent participating interest.
Kaabi said the joint venture would produce as much as 1.9 million tonnes of ethylene a year, making it the Middle East’s largest and one of the biggest in the world.
Expected to be operational in 2025, feedstock for the complex will be ethane produced primarily from QP’s new North Field expansion project.
The minister said it was too early to give an estimated cost for the project as the engineering study was not over yet. He, however, added that the complex’s cost would be in ‘billions of dollars’. “The engineering design of the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Project should commence shortly, leading to a planned start in late 2025,” he said.
Commenting on raising the production target from an initial plan for 1.6 million tonnes a year, Kaabi said, “We saw better results than expected from the North Field, and we were able to have more ethane available for extraction. So, we increased the venture’s ethylene target. We like them big in Qatar.”
The petrochemical complex will also include two high-density polyethylene derivative units, which will raise Qatar’s current polyethylene production capacity to 82 percent by the fourth quarter of 2025.
“Qatar produces about 2,300 tonnes of polyethylene, which is widely used in the packaging industry, a year and the plant will raise its output potential to about 4,300 tonnes,” Kaabi said.
“The project will be built to the highest standards, deploying state of the art technologies and placing utmost importance on safety, reliability and the environment,” he said.
Kaabi said, “The conclusion of these agreements constitutes an important milestone for Qatar Petroleum as petrochemicals represent a major pillar of our growth strategy to achieve our vision of becoming one of the best national oil and gas companies in the world.”
“This project will optimise the utilisation of ethane produced from the North Field LNG expansion project as well as from existing ethane producing projects. It will also consolidate Qatar’s position among the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, and complement our efforts to further expand our footprint in the global petrochemicals markets. This major project will provide excellent opportunities for Qatar’s private sector to contribute to the development of our oil and gas sector, and will generate significant revenues that will support the further development of our economy and the well-being of all people living in Qatar,” Kaabi said.
Kaabi said that expansion at the North Field is going according to plan, and Qatar will award engineering, procurement and construction contracts for onshore facilities this year.
He also revealed that the Barzan gas project, which is intended to supply the local market, is expected to start producing by the end of 2019.
Lashier, who also addressed the media, said, “Developing the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Project is a tremendous opportunity for our company to expand on our highly-successful joint ventures in Qatar. It will help us meet the growing global demand for petrochemical products that enrich lives around the world.”
“Petrochemicals are the building blocks of our daily stuff, from sports shoes to computer keyboards, created when oil and natural gas molecules are split, or cracked, to produce ethylene, propylene and other chemicals. Ethylene is used to make polyethylene, the most commonly used plastic,” he said.
Doha
Consolidating Qatar’s position among the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, Qatar Petroleum (QP) on Monday signed an agreement with US oil major Chevron Phillips Chemical Company to build a new petrochemical complex housing Middle East’s largest ethane cracker plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City.
The agreement was signed by Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QP President and CEO HE Saad Sherida al Kaabi and Chevron Phillips Chemical President and CEO Mark E Lashier, in Doha.
As per the agreement, QP will own 70 percent of the project and the Texas-based company will have 30 percent participating interest.
Kaabi said the joint venture would produce as much as 1.9 million tonnes of ethylene a year, making it the Middle East’s largest and one of the biggest in the world.
Expected to be operational in 2025, feedstock for the complex will be ethane produced primarily from QP’s new North Field expansion project.
The minister said it was too early to give an estimated cost for the project as the engineering study was not over yet. He, however, added that the complex’s cost would be in ‘billions of dollars’. “The engineering design of the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Project should commence shortly, leading to a planned start in late 2025,” he said.
Commenting on raising the production target from an initial plan for 1.6 million tonnes a year, Kaabi said, “We saw better results than expected from the North Field, and we were able to have more ethane available for extraction. So, we increased the venture’s ethylene target. We like them big in Qatar.”
The petrochemical complex will also include two high-density polyethylene derivative units, which will raise Qatar’s current polyethylene production capacity to 82 percent by the fourth quarter of 2025.
“Qatar produces about 2,300 tonnes of polyethylene, which is widely used in the packaging industry, a year and the plant will raise its output potential to about 4,300 tonnes,” Kaabi said.
“The project will be built to the highest standards, deploying state of the art technologies and placing utmost importance on safety, reliability and the environment,” he said.
Kaabi said, “The conclusion of these agreements constitutes an important milestone for Qatar Petroleum as petrochemicals represent a major pillar of our growth strategy to achieve our vision of becoming one of the best national oil and gas companies in the world.”
“This project will optimise the utilisation of ethane produced from the North Field LNG expansion project as well as from existing ethane producing projects. It will also consolidate Qatar’s position among the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, and complement our efforts to further expand our footprint in the global petrochemicals markets. This major project will provide excellent opportunities for Qatar’s private sector to contribute to the development of our oil and gas sector, and will generate significant revenues that will support the further development of our economy and the well-being of all people living in Qatar,” Kaabi said.
Kaabi said that expansion at the North Field is going according to plan, and Qatar will award engineering, procurement and construction contracts for onshore facilities this year.
He also revealed that the Barzan gas project, which is intended to supply the local market, is expected to start producing by the end of 2019.
Lashier, who also addressed the media, said, “Developing the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Project is a tremendous opportunity for our company to expand on our highly-successful joint ventures in Qatar. It will help us meet the growing global demand for petrochemical products that enrich lives around the world.”
“Petrochemicals are the building blocks of our daily stuff, from sports shoes to computer keyboards, created when oil and natural gas molecules are split, or cracked, to produce ethylene, propylene and other chemicals. Ethylene is used to make polyethylene, the most commonly used plastic,” he said.
