QatarEnergy and CPChem to build $6bn Ras Laffan Petrochemicals complex
Agreement signed to create a joint venture company to implement the megaproject, which is expected to begin operations in 2026
QatarEnergy has announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPChem) to build the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals complex – a US $6bn integrated olefins and polyethylene facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City.
In a statement, QatarEnergy said that Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Bruce Chinn, the President and CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical, signed the agreement for a joint venture (JV) company to implement the project, in which QatarEnergy will own a 70% equity share, and CPChem will own a 30% share.
The signing ceremony was attended by Mark Lashier, the President and CEO of Phillips 66, and senior executives from QatarEnergy and CPChem.
Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: “This marks QatarEnergy’s largest investment ever in Qatar’s petrochemicals sector and the first direct investment in 12 years. It will double our ethylene production capacity and increase our local polymer production from 2.6 to more than four million tons per annum, and place the utmost emphasis on sustainable growth and the environment.”
In late September 2022, Qatar’s Umm Al Houl desalination plant achieved one millions hours without accident.
In addition, QatarEnergy also announced the award of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the ethylene plant to SCJV, a joint venture company between Samsung Engineering Company of South Korea and CTCI of Taiwan. The EPC contract for the polyethylene plant was awarded to Maire Tecnimont of Italy, while Emerson of the USA was awarded the main automation contract.
“There is no doubt that this cornerstone investment in Ras Laffan Industrial City marks an important milestone in QatarEnergy’s downstream expansion strategy. It will not only facilitate further expansion in the downstream and petrochemical sectors in Qatar but will also reinforce our integrated position as a major global player in the upstream, LNG, and downstream sectors,” Al Kaabi added.
He continued, “This will be further enhanced once the new world-scale petrochemical project in Orange, Texas, in the United States of America comes online in partnership with Chevron Phillips Chemical, executed by our JV Golden Triangle Polymers Company.”
The Ras Laffan Petrochemicals complex is expected to begin production in 2026, consists of an ethane cracker with a capacity of 2.1m tons of ethylene per annum, making it the largest in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world.
Later in September 2022, QatarEnergy and GE inked a deal to step up carbon capture in the energy sector.
It also includes two polyethylene trains with a combined output of 1.7m tons per annum of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) polymer products, raising Qatar’s overall petrochemical production capacity to almost 14m tons per annum.
“We are delighted to enter into this exciting new venture with Chevron Phillips Chemical – a leading and highly respected international petrochemicals company, and a long-term partner with whom we have achieved many successes together building and operating plants safely and efficiently for more than 20 years. Together, our large and diverse portfolio will not just help meet the world’s growing needs for advanced plastics and petrochemicals but will also enable balanced growth and facilitate human development in a responsible and sustainable manner,” remarked Al Kaabi.
“I would like to thank everyone who has worked to reach this milestone. We are also grateful to the leadership and guidance of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for his unwavering support to Qatar’s energy sector,” he concluded.
This final investment decision comes less than two months after QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical took the Final Investment Decision to execute the $8.5bn Golden Triangle Polymers Plant on the US Gulf Coast in Texas.
In mid October 2022, Bevan Farmer was elevated to Head of Qatar at Addleshaw Goddard.
