Qatar Petroleum has invited a group of leading international companies to submit proposals to develop and operate a new world-scale petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

The petrochemicals complex will include an ethane cracker with a capacity of more than 1.6 million tons per annum (MTPA) of ethylene, making it the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East, and one of the largest in the world.

The complex will also include world-class derivative plants, which will consolidate Qatar’s position among the leading petrochemicals producers in the world markets. The engineering design of the petrochemicals complex should commence shortly, leading to a planned start-up in 2025.

Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said: “This development is a first step towards the launch of a new world-scale petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan, marking another important milestone for Qatar Petroleum.”

Al-Kaabi added: “Petrochemicals represent a major pillar of our growth strategy to achieve our vision of becoming one of the best national oil companies in the world. This project will complement our efforts to implement our strategy, and will enable Qatar Petroleum to further expand its footprint in the global petrochemicals markets.”

The feedstock for the petrochemical complex will be ethane produced primarily from the new North Field LNG expansion project that will produce an additional 23 MTPA of LNG, as well as from existing gas projects producing ethane. – TradeArabia News Service