Qatar Petroleum (QP) has successfully completed the integration of Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC) into Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), six months before the deadline of this year end.

The unification of QVC, a subsidiary of Mesaieed Petrochemical Company (MPHC), into Qapco, a subsidiary of Industries Qatar (IQ) that already operates Qatofin, has been done through the integration of all operations under a single operating company, Qapco. Both IQ and MPHC are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange.

As of July 1, the resulting new single operating organisation, Qapco, will fully operate the facilities of all three companies. This integration will bring no change to the respective shareholdings of Qapco, Qatofin and QVC, whose brands will remain fully in place, QP said.

Qapco – which is 80% owned by IQ and 20% by France’s Total Petrochemicals – is engaged in the production and sale of ethylene, polyethylene, hexane and other petrochemical products; whereas QVC – which is jointly controlled by QP, MPHC and Qapco – is into sale of petrochemical products as caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer.

"This successful integration is another testament to our commitment to increasing the efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness of all our operations," QP president and chief executive Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said.

The combined distinctive resources and capabilities of the three companies would further enhance the value for customers as well as for the companies’ respective shareholders, he said.

QP had announced in February 2017 the integration of Qapco and QVC, which started from March this year, with an objective to enhance the competitiveness, financial performance, and resilience of both companies by creating a single world-class petrochemical operator achieving synergies in size, service and reliability.

"I am proud of the achievement of all those who completed this elaborate exercise, which was originally planned to be completed by year end for only Qapco and QVC," al-Kaabi said.

The new operating company, Qapco, would deliver higher performance through the sharing of leadership, talent, resources and capabilities, realising significant synergies across multiple business and functional areas, a QP spokesman said.

The integration of QVC into Qapco comes close on the heels of Qatar going ahead with its project to merge its two giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers Qatargas and RasGas to create a world-scale 'Qatargas' with a combined annual LNG production capacity of about 79mn tonnes.

Recently, al-Kaabi said QP is aiming at further reduction to its operating costs to improve efficiency as the hydrocarbon industry redefines itself in the wake of low oil economic order.

QP remains fully committed to delivering on its strategic objective of enhancing and growing the financial performance and competitive position of its business portfolio, and to support the continued and sustainable economic growth of Qatar, according to a statement.