Qafac looks into doubling its output

Taiwan’s state-owned refiner CPC Corp. and its partners in the methanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) venture in Qatar are studying a plan to double the venture’s output by setting up a new company and also adding other downstream products, CPC joint venture Business Division Director Quentin Yao said. CPC owns a 20% stake in Qatar Fuel Additives Co. (Qafac), Qatar Petroleum owns 50%, while Taiwan’s Lee Chang Yung Chemical Industry Corp. and Canada’s International Octane Ltd. own 15% each. Qafac’s current capacity in the Mesaieed Industrial Zone is 832,000 metric tons per year (MTPY) of methanol and 610,000 MTPY of MTBE. Yao said Qafac is currently conducting a feasibility study and may present the plan to its board in June. (May 8, 2010)