HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry, Chairman and Managing Director of QP (second right) addressing the media as (from left) Patrick Pouyanne, member of the Executive Committee of Total, Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, Chairman of Qapco and Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Qapco, look on. (Syed Omar)
DOHA: The Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) joint venture project in Ras Laffan Industry City is scheduled for completion in 2018. With the launch of the $7bn project, Qatar would emerge as one of the top global exporters of petrochemical products, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman and Managing Director of QP H E Dr Mohammeed bin Saleh Al Sada, said here yesterday.
Talking on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Qapco’s low-density polyethylene plant -3 (LDPE 3), the Minister said the QP-Qapco joint project would be a key milestone in Qatar’s long journey to become a significant global petrochemicals producer from the region.
“It is a major project and will have world class cracker project to produce number one polyethylene, polypropylene and ethylene”, he said.
Qatar is set to join the exclusive club of major petrochemical producers and exporters. Today’s launch of LDPE 3 is an important milestone ahead of the completion of several major projects. Some of them are already in the engineering phase.
Dr Al Sada said the prolonging global economic slowdown has not weighed down on the market price of the petrochemical products. “Currently, the market is healthy. The future seems to be promising and the demand is increasing …. The price of LDP is picking up. Until August, its price has been very fair.”
For nearly three decades, Qapco has been at the forefront of Qatar’s industrial output. With the increase in production, Qapco is looking to expand its market to the US, South Africa and Eastern Europe, said Qapco Chairman Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi.
Patrick Pouyanne, President of Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee of Total said: “This inauguration marks a milestone in the development of Qapco that becomes one of the biggest single sites worldwide of low density polyethylene manufacturing.
Total remains committed to support the growth of Qapco, as well as the State of Qatar. The start-up of our LDPE 3 plant also symbolises a key step for Total’s refining and chemicals strategy to strengthen our position in the growing markets in the Middle East and Asia.”
The Peninsula
