QatarEnergy breaks ground on $6bn ethylene complex

QatarEnergy

QatarEnergy has broken ground on the $6 billion Ras Laffan petrochemical complex as part of its downstream expansion strategy.

The state-owned Qatari energy firm had signed a final investment decision on the complex with its partner Chevron Phillips Chemical in January last year.

The complex will house an ethane cracker with a capacity of 2.1 million tonnes per annum of ethylene, making it the largest in the world, and raising the Gulf nation’s ethylene production capacity by more than 40 percent.

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The project includes two polyethylene trains with a combined annual output of 1.7 million tonnes of high-density polyethylene polymer products, raising overall production by about 50 percent.

QatarEnergy holds an equity share of 70 percent in the Ras Laffan petrochemical complex, with Chevron Phillips Chemical owning the remaining 30 percent.

The project’s construction, operation, and technology standards are all designed to ensure energy savings, and significantly reduce emissions and hydrocarbon waste compared with similar global facilities, said Saad Al-Kaabi, CEO of QatarEnergy.

Al-Kaabi said that the $8.5 billion Golden Triangle polymers plant in Texas, developed in partnership with Chevron Phillips Chemical, will become operational in 2026.

Earlier this month, QatarEnergy awarded contracts worth $6 billion for the third development phase at its largest oilfield, Al Shaheen.

Qatar, the world’s third-largest LNG exporter, is increasing its output from 77 million tonnes per year to 126 million by 2027.