Foundation stone laid for $800 million ethylene cracker plant
20 May '06
2 min read
Heir Apparent, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani laid the foundation stone for Ras Laffan Olefins Company's (RLOC)$800 million ethylene cracker project in Ras Laffan Industrial City yesterday.
It is a joint venture project between Qatar Chemical Company II (Q-Chem II) with 53.31 percent equity, Qatofin with 45.69 percent and Qatar Petroleum (QP) with one percent stake.
The project is expected to become operational by end of 2008.
A plant to process ethane crude to produce ethylene will be set up in Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC) by the company.
This plant will be one of the largest ethylene crackers in the world.
H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, while announcing the project said, that the ethylene cracker will process 1.3 million metric tons of ethylene per year.
Production capacity will be increased to 1.6 million metric tons per year, making it the world's biggest cracker, he said.
Construction funds for RLOC project will be garnered through equity and senior debt arranged through joint venture partners, Q-Chem II and Qatofin.
Finance aspect with consortium of commercial banks was successfully completed late last year, by both the sponsors of the project.
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