QatarEnergy prepares for chemicals growth

QatarEnergy plans to more than double its capacity for plastics raw materials globally as it anticipates growth in the chemical industry, CEO Saad Al-Kaabi said on Wednesday.

The state-owned company expects its US ethane cracker project to start production in the first quarter of 2027, Al-Kaabi told the World Gas Conference.

The project, a joint venture with Chevron Phillips Chemical, had been expected to begin operations in 2026, according to the US company’s website. It will include a 2.08 million metric tonnes per year (tpy) ethane cracker and a pair of one-million-tpy high-density polyethylene units.

Ethane is a byproduct of shale gas production. More petrochemical producers globally are building ethane crackers or reconfiguring their plants to process more ethane.

This helps the companies reduce costs and capitalise on rising US supplies as they face thin margins and global oversupply.

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Qatar, one of the world’s three largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), expects its North Field East natural gas expansion project to begin production in mid-2026.

Gas is needed for industry, for power, for chemicals, for food, Al-Kaabi said, adding that gas is going to be the backbone for the next century for all societies around the world.

“Anyone who’s burning fuel oil or diesel for power can easily make the conversion from a cost perspective to gas,” he said.