Mar 2 2005
Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Shell Chemicals Limited (Shell) today signed in Doha a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the development of a world-scale ethane based cracker and derivatives complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Qatar Petroleum by His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar and Linda Cook, Executive Director Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies during the 5th Doha Conference on Natural Gas. Also present at the signing were a number of senior executives of Qatar Petroleum and the Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
H.E. Al-Attiyah commented, “the signing of the LOI marks an important milestone for Qatar in its efforts to diversify its economic base and further monetise its considerable hydrocarbon resources. This is the realisation of the directives of His Highness, the Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani who has a vision to place Qatar among the leading petrochemical producers in the world. The project clearly provides Qatar with another viable alternative to optimise the use of the country’s natural gas resources.”
H.E. Al-Attiyah also stated: “We are pleased to have Shell, one of the leaders in this field, enter the petrochemical industry in Qatar, and to witness our relationship take another important step forward. This project represents an alignment of interests and objectives between the two parties and we are confident in its success.”
Through this agreement, QP and Shell will define the technical and commercial aspects of the petrochemical complex and determine the derivatives scope. The complex will produce cost competitive petrochemicals products to be marketed into primarily Asian growth markets, with a start-up date early in the next decade. This project strengthens Shell’s commitment to building a strong partnership with Qatar to deliver large-scale projects.
Linda Cook commented, “Shell is very pleased to partner with QP on the development of this world-scale ethane cracker project. The signing of this LOI is indeed an important milestone and marks the further development of the strong partnership between QP and Shell, building on the Pearl GTL project and the recently announced QatarGas 4 project. This project clearly combines the strengths of both QP and Shell in the petrochemical industry and represents the basis for delivering long-term value to both Qatar and Shell.”