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Tribune News Network
Doha
Half of the world’s population depends on fertilizer to have food on the table, Svein Tore Holsether, the President and CEO of Norwegian chemical company Yara International, has said in Doha.
Qatar Fertilizer Company’s contribution (QAFCO) to global food security has been very important, he added.
Holsether was addressing a banquet hosted to celebrate 50 years of partnership between Qatar and Norway.
The gala dinner was attended by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum HE Saad Sherida al Kaabi, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Torbj?rn R?e Isaksen and QAFCO CEO Abdulrahman M al Suwaidi.
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway said, “We celebrate 50 years of successful business cooperation between Qatar and Norway. Although our two countries are far apart geographically, it is great to see the extent to which our cooperation has expanded over the past 50 years.
It was also attended heads of Norwegian giants Norsk Hydro, Kongsberg and Equinor, besides Yara.
“We are committed to working towards sustainable mineral fertilizer production. Yara has taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and we work closely with partners throughout the whole food value chain to develop more climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions,” Holsether said.
After an abundance of gas resources were found in Qatar in the sixties, YARA, back then a part of Norsk Hydro, signed a joint-venture agreement with Qatar to build a production plant to produce ammonia and urea in Mesaieed, just south of Doha.
This led to the truly pioneering establishment of QAFCO.
Progressive to both nations, the formation of QAFCO was one of the first large-scale ventures into the petrochemical sector and was also the first major investment a Norwegian company had contracted abroad.
Today, QAFCO is a joint venture owned 25 percent by YARA and 75 percent by Industries Qatar (IQ).
QAFCO is operating six integrated ammonia-urea plants. With an annual capacity of 3.8 million MT of ammonia and 5.6 million MT of urea, QAFCO is a key player in the global fertilizer market and one of the largest exporters of urea.
Yara is a major off taker of high-quality urea from Muntajat, the company that markets, sells and distributes major volumes of fertilizer out of Qatar.
On Monday, Yara, Hassad Food and QAFCO opened the first high-tech greenhouse in Al Shahaniya to support efforts to increase food production in Qatar.
The partnership seeks to increase agricultural yields, in line with Qatar’s aim to achieve self-sufficiency in a reliable and sustainable manner, with a focus on vegetables.
Yara International was divested from Hydro in 2004, making it a sheer fertilizer business.
Hence Hydro’s ownership in QAFCO was passed on to Yara. In 1997 Hydro became part-owner in Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC), a petrochemicals company. Ten years later Hydro spun off its petrochemical activities and today Hydro no longer has any ownership stakes in QVC.
In 2004, Hydro was invited to participate in a joint venture, Qatar Aluminum Company (Qatalum) together with Qatar Petroleum, to produce aluminum metal.
A final agreement was signed in 2007 and the plant came into operation in 2010. Qatalum was developed as a 50/50 partnership between Hydro and Qatar Petroleum. In 2018, the Qatar Petroleum ownership in Qatalum was listed on the Qatar stock exchange as Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company (QAMCO). Qatar Petroleum holds a 51 percent stake in QAMCO.
Qatalum, with an annual production of over 600,000 tonnes of value-add products, became the largest primary aluminium plant ever built in one phase. A fully integrated plant, it consists of a smelter, cast house and carbon plant as well as a dedicated gas-fired power plant. Qatalum joined the four Norwegian companies to host the gala dinner.
Hydro’s CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim said, “Over the 50-year history in Qatar, Hydro has been the enabler of several world-class industrial projects and the first industrial partner to Qatar offering access to leading technologies as well as world-class competence and resources in engineering, construction, operation and commercial activities.”
Kongsberg is a global technology power house determined to create innovative solutions and technologies to make a difference for their partners and customers.
In 2017, together with Barzan Holdings, Kongsberg established a new company for technology development programmes.
The company, BK Systems, has its main office in Qatar Science & Technology Park, a leading international innovation hub, where KONGSBERG holds the CEO position.
Geir H??y, President and CEO of Kongsberg said, “Together with other Norwegian high-tech industry, KONGSBERG has for decades built up world-leading competence on system integration, decision support tools and digitalization solutions.
Equinor President and CEO Eldar Saetre said, “ We have been present in the Middle Eat for several decades. And now, Equinor is also establishing a local presence in Qatar, building on the long-lasting collaboration between Norwegian and Qatari industry.”
Doha
Half of the world’s population depends on fertilizer to have food on the table, Svein Tore Holsether, the President and CEO of Norwegian chemical company Yara International, has said in Doha.
Qatar Fertilizer Company’s contribution (QAFCO) to global food security has been very important, he added.
Holsether was addressing a banquet hosted to celebrate 50 years of partnership between Qatar and Norway.
The gala dinner was attended by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum HE Saad Sherida al Kaabi, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Torbj?rn R?e Isaksen and QAFCO CEO Abdulrahman M al Suwaidi.
Crown Prince Haakon of Norway said, “We celebrate 50 years of successful business cooperation between Qatar and Norway. Although our two countries are far apart geographically, it is great to see the extent to which our cooperation has expanded over the past 50 years.
It was also attended heads of Norwegian giants Norsk Hydro, Kongsberg and Equinor, besides Yara.
“We are committed to working towards sustainable mineral fertilizer production. Yara has taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and we work closely with partners throughout the whole food value chain to develop more climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions,” Holsether said.
After an abundance of gas resources were found in Qatar in the sixties, YARA, back then a part of Norsk Hydro, signed a joint-venture agreement with Qatar to build a production plant to produce ammonia and urea in Mesaieed, just south of Doha.
This led to the truly pioneering establishment of QAFCO.
Progressive to both nations, the formation of QAFCO was one of the first large-scale ventures into the petrochemical sector and was also the first major investment a Norwegian company had contracted abroad.
Today, QAFCO is a joint venture owned 25 percent by YARA and 75 percent by Industries Qatar (IQ).
QAFCO is operating six integrated ammonia-urea plants. With an annual capacity of 3.8 million MT of ammonia and 5.6 million MT of urea, QAFCO is a key player in the global fertilizer market and one of the largest exporters of urea.
Yara is a major off taker of high-quality urea from Muntajat, the company that markets, sells and distributes major volumes of fertilizer out of Qatar.
On Monday, Yara, Hassad Food and QAFCO opened the first high-tech greenhouse in Al Shahaniya to support efforts to increase food production in Qatar.
The partnership seeks to increase agricultural yields, in line with Qatar’s aim to achieve self-sufficiency in a reliable and sustainable manner, with a focus on vegetables.
Yara International was divested from Hydro in 2004, making it a sheer fertilizer business.
Hence Hydro’s ownership in QAFCO was passed on to Yara. In 1997 Hydro became part-owner in Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC), a petrochemicals company. Ten years later Hydro spun off its petrochemical activities and today Hydro no longer has any ownership stakes in QVC.
In 2004, Hydro was invited to participate in a joint venture, Qatar Aluminum Company (Qatalum) together with Qatar Petroleum, to produce aluminum metal.
A final agreement was signed in 2007 and the plant came into operation in 2010. Qatalum was developed as a 50/50 partnership between Hydro and Qatar Petroleum. In 2018, the Qatar Petroleum ownership in Qatalum was listed on the Qatar stock exchange as Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company (QAMCO). Qatar Petroleum holds a 51 percent stake in QAMCO.
Qatalum, with an annual production of over 600,000 tonnes of value-add products, became the largest primary aluminium plant ever built in one phase. A fully integrated plant, it consists of a smelter, cast house and carbon plant as well as a dedicated gas-fired power plant. Qatalum joined the four Norwegian companies to host the gala dinner.
Hydro’s CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim said, “Over the 50-year history in Qatar, Hydro has been the enabler of several world-class industrial projects and the first industrial partner to Qatar offering access to leading technologies as well as world-class competence and resources in engineering, construction, operation and commercial activities.”
Kongsberg is a global technology power house determined to create innovative solutions and technologies to make a difference for their partners and customers.
In 2017, together with Barzan Holdings, Kongsberg established a new company for technology development programmes.
The company, BK Systems, has its main office in Qatar Science & Technology Park, a leading international innovation hub, where KONGSBERG holds the CEO position.
Geir H??y, President and CEO of Kongsberg said, “Together with other Norwegian high-tech industry, KONGSBERG has for decades built up world-leading competence on system integration, decision support tools and digitalization solutions.
Equinor President and CEO Eldar Saetre said, “ We have been present in the Middle Eat for several decades. And now, Equinor is also establishing a local presence in Qatar, building on the long-lasting collaboration between Norwegian and Qatari industry.”
