Qatar’s position among the world’s leading petrochemicals producers will get consolidated with the establishment of a multi-billion dollar world-scale ethane cracker at Ras Laffan, which is slated for start-up in 2025.
The 70:30 joint venture company between Qatar Petroleum and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company will be the biggest facility in the entire Middle East and one of the largest in the world for processing ethane – or “cracking” it, in industry parlance – into ethylene.
The petrochemical complex will have a nameplate capacity of 1.9mn tonnes of ethylene per year, which means Qatar’s polyethylene production will rise to 4,300 tonnes a year when the plant is completed in 2025, from 2,300 tones currently.
The engineering design of the Ras Laffan petrochemicals project should commence shortly, leading to a planned start-up in late 2025, according to Qatar Petroleum.
Ethylene is used to make polyethylene; the most commonly used plastic and has wide applications globally.
Energy producers view these compounds increasingly as crucial to unlocking more profit from each barrel of crude they pump, and demand for these chemicals is growing faster than for oil and gas.
Petrochemicals are the building blocks of the society and used extensively from sports shoes to computer keyboards. They are created when oil and natural gas molecules are split, or cracked, to produce ethylene, propylene and other chemicals.
Announcing the key project in Doha recently, HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi said the project would be built to the highest standards, deploying state-of-the-art technologies and placing utmost importance on safety, reliability and the environment.
The minister highlighted that the project will optimise the utilisation of ethane produced from the North Field LNG expansion project as well as from existing ethane producing projects.
It will also consolidate Qatar’s position among the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, and complement our efforts to further expand our footprint in the global petrochemicals markets.
Initially, Qatar Petroleum had planned a petrochemical complex with a production target of 1.6mn tonnes a year.
But, as the minister put it, QP had seen “better results than expected” from the North Field, and was able to have more ethane available for extraction, which can be used as the feedstock. So, Qatar Petroleum increased the venture’s ethylene target.
Undoubtedly, the conclusion of the joint venture agreement constitutes an important milestone for Qatar Petroleum as petrochemicals represent a major pillar of QP’s growth strategy to achieve its vision of becoming one of the best national oil and gas companies in the world.
For Qatar’s private sector, the ethane cracker complex will provide tremendous opportunities to contribute to the development of the country’s energy sector, and will generate significant revenues that will support the further development of national economy.
Qatar expects its private sector to play even a greater role in nation building and achieving self-sufficiency in key areas of the economy in line with QNV 2030.
But in order to do that the private sector must further enhance its capabilities and put a stronger emphasis on quality and efficiency.
