QatarEnergy announced on Sunday the final investment decision on the $6 billion Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Complex that it will build with partner Chevron Pillips Chemical.
The plant, which is expected to be the largest of its kind in the Middle East, will begin production in 2026, and includes an ethane cracker with a capacity of 2.1 million tons of ethylene per year.
QatarEnergy also announced an EPC contract for the ethylene plant to SCJV, a joint venture company between Samsung Engineering Co. of South Korea and CTCI of Taiwan. The EPC contract for the polyethylene plant was awarded to Maire Tecnimont of Italy, while Emerson was awarded the main automation contract.
Originally announced in 2019, the project highlights how Middle East oil producers are expanding further into petrochemicals, used in the production of plastics and packaging materials, to move into new markets and find new sources of income beyond exporting crude oil and natural gas.
State-run QatarEnergy will hold a 70% stake in the venture with Chevron Phillips Chemicals holding 30% under the agreement signed on Sunday.
“This marks QatarEnergy’s largest investment ever in Qatar’s petrochemical sector,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister, who is also the president and CEO of QatarEnergy.
The complex, located in Ras Laffan industrial city, is an “important milestone” in Qatar’s downstream expansion strategy, he said.
