Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Petrochemical Company yesterday signed technology licence contracts for the multibillion dollar Al Sejeel petrochemical complex with Univation Technologies for the polyethylene technology and The Dow Chemical Company for polypropylene technology.
The contracts were signed at a ceremony attended by HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada.
QP and Qapco had signed the Heads of Agreement (HoA) to jointly develop the mega-petrochemical complex in Ras Laffan in February 2012.
QP and Qapco hold 80% and 20% equity interest respectively in the project.
The Al Sejeel Petrochemical Project is scheduled for completion in 2018 and will feature a world-scale mixed-feed steam cracker, with the original mixed feedstock of ethane, butane, and naphtha, thus allowing extra flexibility and diversity in terms of products.
QP and Qapco said the selection of the licensors was a highly strategic landmark and highlights the evolution of the project.
With the signing of the technology agreements, the Al Sejeel plants will be designed to produce 2.2mn tonnes per year (tpy) of polymers, including polyethylene and polypropylene resins.
Al-Sada said: “An occasion like this is very reassuring for us, as it epitomises the realisation of the wise vision of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who has advocated harnessing our resources in a manner that meets the economic needs of today, while safeguarding the requirements of future generations.
“We firmly believe that the development of the downstream petrochemical sector will create countless opportunities for the production of new intermediate and derivative products.”
The Al Sejeel project is part of Qatar’s large-scale expansion of the petrochemicals sector to support diversification and growth of the Qatari economy as the country has announced that it will raise its petrochemical output to 23mn tpy by 2020.
The petrochemical complex will produce ethylene, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene, butadiene and py-gasoline.
Qapco chairman Hamad Rashid al-Mohannadi said, “The Al Sejeel Petrochemical Project represents a pioneering initiative as it is the first time that two Qatari entities will build and develop together a petrochemical complex of this scale. Over the past years, Qatar and the country’s petrochemical sector in particular have built tremendous capabilities, developed a talented national workforce, and acquired strong technical and operational expertise to develop and implement strategic projects such as Al Sejeel.”
The development of the Al Sejeel project is moving ahead. Following the signing of the HoA in 2012, a Project Executive Committee (EXCOM) was formed consisting of representatives from both QP and Qapco to oversee and direct the advancement of activities of the project.
