Signature of an agreement to build the world’s largest ethane cracker in Qatar
Atofina, the chemicals branch of TotalFinaElf, and Qatar Petrochemical Company Limited (Qapco), in which the Group owns a 10% interest, have signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Qatar Petroleum and Chevron Phillips Chemical to build an ethane cracker train in Ras Laffan, Qatar. The final contract is expected to be signed by the end of the year.
The cracker should come onstream in the second half of 2006 with an initial capacity of one million tonnes per year. Plans call for increasing capacity to 1.5 million tonnes per year in a second phase, making the facility the largest of its kind in the world.
Initially, the cracker will produce feedstock for a new 400,000 tonne/year polyethylene plant in Messaied, in south-east Qatar, and will provide an additional supply line for the QVC complex opened last June, in which Atofina owns a 16% stake. In a second phase, currently under study, the excess ethylene will be used to consolidate the supply of polyethylene and chlorochemicals for both facilities.
The project is in line with the Group’s development strategy in the Middle East, in particular in the petrochemicals sector. It provides an opportunity to consolidate our presence across the gas chain and in related markets, especially in Asia.
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