Tuesday, 19 April, 2005
Qatar and Technip France yesterday signed a Letter of Intent (LOL) to build a world-class Ethylene cracking plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry who is also Board Chairman of Qatar Petroleum, and Eng Hamad Rashid Al Muhannadi, the Director General of Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) signed on behalf of Qatar, while it was signed for Technip France by its Chief Executive Daniel Faloute and the participants in the project Jim Gallogly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron Phillips Chemical, and Jane Bernard , the Chief of Total Petrochemicals.
The plant will produce 1.3 mn metric tonnes a year of ethylene, HE the Second Deputy Premier and Energy and Industry Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said at a signing ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris.
The plant will cost about $800mn, said Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Emadi, Deputy General Manager of Qatar Chemical Company (Q-Chem).
The cracker will provide ethylene feedstock via pipeline to derivative units planned for development in Mesaieed. The cracker plant will be owned by Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) and Total Petrochemicals France through the Qatofin joint venture, and Qatar Petroleum with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company through Q-Chem II joint venture.
The Q-Chem II project and the ethylene cracker are expected to begin operation in late 2008.
Q-Chem II will include a 350,000 metric-tonnes-per-year Polyethylene plant and a 350,000 metric-tonnes-per-year Normal Alpha Olefin plant that will be located adjacent to existing Q-Chem complex. Both processes will utilise Chevron Phillips Chemical Company's proprietary technology.
Qatofin is involved in the construction of a new unit which will produce 450,000 tonnes of linear low density polyethylene each year using part of the ethylene produced by the Cracker, and the butane produced by the NAO plant. The new unit, one of the largest of its type in the world, is to go into service in 2008, and will be located in Mesaieed alongside the existing Qapco polyethylene units (LDPE).
The final signature and the start of the execution stage will take place next June, Al Muhannadi said and noted that the necessary legal details will be completed by June as well.
Meanwhile, H E Hamad bin Jahham Al Kuwari, Qatar's ambassador to France, who attended the signing ceremony, said such an economic and industrial agreement between Qatar and France will contribute to further enhancing the strategic relations between the two friendly countries. The Qatari-French visits, reciprocated at the highest levels, will give opportunity to exchange ideas for establishing more investment projects, he said.
-Ends-
© Press Release 2005
