Chevron Sighs A Deal To Build $6Bn Gas-To-Plastics Plant: Qatar

The deal is to build a plant that includes the biggest ethane cracker in the Middle East, converting natural gas into polyethylene and other plastics.

According to the media, the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Complex, which will produce 2.1 million tonnes of ethylene per year as well as 1.7 million tonnes of polyethylene derivatives, will be operational in 2026.

"The complex will have lower waste and greenhouse gas emissions than similar facilities around the world," said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's energy minister and CEO of QatarEnergy.

Qatar Energy has a 70 percent equity share in the joint venture, with Texas-based Chevron Phillips taking the other 30 percent.

"This marks QatarEnergy’s largest investment ever in Qatar’s petrochemicals sector and the first direct investment in 12 years," Al-Kaabi said at a signing ceremony in Doha.

According to him, "Ras Laffan will double Qatar’s ethylene production capacity and increase its polymer output from 2.6 million tonnes to more than 4 million tonnes a year." Overall, he believes Qatar’s petrochemical production capacity will rise to almost 14 million tonnes a year.

The investment "marks an important milestone in QatarEnergy’s downstream expansion strategy," Al-Kaabi commented.

"It will not only facilitate further expansion in the downstream and petrochemical sectors in Qatar but will also reinforce our integrated position as a major global player in the upstream, LNG, and downstream sectors,"  mentioned the report.

According to the report, ethylene crackers, which convert gas into ethylene, have been targeted by environmental activists for their emissions, while ethylene and polyethylene are used in a swath of plastic products, from piping to water bottles and food packaging.

Qatar has large reserves of natural gas, including the North Field, which contains the world’s biggest deposits and stretches under the Gulf Sea into Iranian territory.

 By Sumita Pawar