Qatar Petroleum to build a world-scale petrochemicals complex

Qatar Petroleum is planning to build a new world-scale petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan Industrial City. It will include an ethane cracker with a capacity of more than 1.6mn t/y of ethylene, making it the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East, and one of the largest in the world. The complex, which will also include world-class derivative plants, is expected to start-up in 2025.

Feedstock will be ethane, supplied primarily from the new North Field LNG expansion project that will produce an additional 23mn t/y of LNG, as well as from existing gas projects producing ethane.

Qatar Petroleum has invited a group of leading international companies, with extensive experience in the petrochemicals industry, to submit proposals for partnering with it to develop the new facility.

Commenting on the announcement, Wood Mackenzie's Principal Analyst, Patrick Kirby, says: ‘The global ethylene market continues to demonstrate robust growth and new supply is needed to meet future demand. Beyond existing, firm and likely ethylene capacity, we see a further 65mn tonnes of new capacity is needed by 2035 just to meet base demand. This equates to around four to five world-scale steam crackers being brought online every year. This project, if commenced, would take Qatar’s total nameplate ethylene capacity to over 4.5mn tonnes – a more than 50% increase from the current level.’