| HH the Emir laying the foundation stone for Laffan Refinery 2 at a ceremony yesterday. |
Qatar’s condensate refining capacity will be effectively doubled to 300,000 barrels per day with the expected completion of Laffan Refinery 2 (LR2) at Ras Laffan in 2016.
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani formally laid the foundation stone for LR2 at a ceremony held at the Qatar National Convention Centre yesterday.
LR2 is a joint venture among Qatar Petroleum (QP), Total, Idemitsu, Cosmo, Marubeni and Mitsui.
QP will have an 84% stake and Total 10%. Idemitsu and Cosmo will hold 2% each and Marubeni and Mitsui 1% each.
As in the case of LR1, LR2 will be operated by Qatargas. LR2 will process 146,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) of condensate feedstock.
LR1 and LR2 combined will make the Laffan facility the largest condensate refinery in the world. Upon completion of LR2, Qatar will have the capacity to process nearly 40% of the condensate from the North Field into high quality products.
The Laffan Refinery processes condensate, an associated product of natural gas production that is refined into a number of high-quality products, which can be used as lower emission fuels and feedstock for petrochemical production.
Products obtained from the refinery, which include jet fuel, diesel fuel, propane, butane, and naphtha have considerable demand worldwide.
LR2 has been designed to meet the “most stringent” environmental standards. It will have reduced emissions in terms of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides and zero flaring during normal operations.
It has been designed for “zero water” disposal and will not deposit waste water in the sea.
All products will be hydro-treated to reduce the content of sulphur, meeting the most stringent quality standards.
The LR2 project will add to Qatargas’ integrated value chain and generate revenue from supplying the refined products into domestic and export markets.
Upon completion of LR2, Qatar will have the capacity to process a significant amount of the condensate derived from the North Field.
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for LR2 was awarded in April last year to a joint venture of Chiyoda Corporation and CTCI Corporation and are expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016.
HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada and Qatargas CEO Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani were among the dignitaries present.
