Qatar Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has laid the foundation stone for the petrochemical complex of QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. L.L.C. (CPChem) in Ras Laffan Industrial City, a project expected to raise Qatar’s petrochemical production to aboutp 14 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) by 2026.
“The Ras Laffan Petrochemical Complex is being built at a cost of USD 6 billion, making it the largest investment in history of QatarEnergy in Qatar’s petrochemicals sector”, QatarEnergy president and chief executive Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, who is also the country’s energy affairs minister, told the groundbreaking ceremony, according to a news release by state-owned QatarEnergy. “There is no doubt that this is an important landmark in QatarEnergy’s downstream expansion strategy as it will reinforce our integrated position as a global energy player and generate significant economic benefits for the country”.
The 435-acre complex is planned to have an ethane cracker that can produce 2.1 MMtpa of ethylene, making it the biggest ethylene plant in the Middle East and one of the world’s largest, according to the owners. This would increase Qatar’s ethylene output capacity by over 40%, QatarEnergy said.
The project also includes two polyethylene trains with a combined production of 1.7 MMtpa of high-density polyethylene polymer products, which would raise Qatar’s production of such products by about 50%, according to the owners.
“This project advances CPChem’s long-held strategy to expand its operations in regions where feedstock is reliable and abundant and will help meet the global demand for polyethylene products”, outgoing CPChem president and CEO Bruce Chinn said in a separate press release. The bulk of the high-density polyethylene polymer products from the Ras Laffan complex is planned for export to other countries, CPChem said.
Polyethylene is a plastic used in packaging for a variety of products from personal care products to food, as well as in the production of durable goods.
CPChem said the project will use energy-saving technology and employ other measures that result in lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to similar global facilities.
QatarEnergy holds a 70% equity share while Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. L.L.C. owns the remaining 30%.
The partners earlier began construction for an integrated polymers production facility in Orange, Texas. The 1,600-acre Golden Triangle Polymers project has a planned capacity of 2.1 MMtpa for its ethylene unit and a combined 2.0 MMtpa for two polyethylene units.
Qatar’s “prominent standing in the petrochemical industry will be further strengthened when we commence production of the Golden Triangle Polymers Plant in 2026, which we are developing in the US state of Texas at a cost of $8.5 billion in partnership with Chevron Phillips Chemical, and which is considered the biggest in the world”, Al Kaabi told the groundbreaking ceremony in Qatar. The ceremony was attended by executives from QatarEnergy, CPChem and the latter’s owners—Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Phillips 66 Co.
CPChem holds a 51% equity share in the project being built near an already operational polyethylene facility it owns. QatarEnergy has the remaining 49 percent.
Both the United States and Qatar projects are expected to start production 2026.
