Qatar Petroleum signs joint venture with Total to build refinery
Qatar Petroleum has signed a joint venture agreement with a consortium led by France’s Total SA to build a US$1.5 billion refinery in Ras Laffan Industrial City. Qatar Petroleum will own 84% and Total will own 10%. The remaining share will be owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan, Cosmo Oil, Marubeni Corp. and Mitsui.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Al – Sada said that the new refinery will give Ras Laffan a total installed condensate refining capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day, making it one of the largest single site facilities of its kind in the world.
This joint venture, coupled with Pearl GTL’s introduction of its jet fuel in airports, will open new markets for Qatar. The Qatar government has undertaken various initiatives to develop its natural gas reserves and increase exports of LNG.
(May 27, 2013)