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Qatar’s QP integrates petchem venture
QataR
QATAR Petroleum (QP) has integrated petro- chemicals firm SEEF into its operations, in order to bolster the competitiveness of its downstream business, it said on April 19.
SEEF is a joint venture between QP and UDC, a Qatari public shareholding company. It operates a 100,000 tonne per year (tpy) linear alkyl benzene (LAB) plant, located adjacent to QP’s crude and condensate refinery in Mesaieed.
State-owned petroleum marketer Muntajat markets the LAB, which is used as feedstock to produce detergents. QP said integrating SEEF into the rest of its business would not result in a change in SEEF’s branding. The SEEF complex can also turn out up to 80,000 tpy of n-paraffin and 36,000 tpy of benzene.
Petrochemical firms in Qatar have been consolidating in recent years to trim costs and become more competitive internationally, at a time when prices are low and the market is crowded with suppliers.
Among the major deals, state-owned Qatar
Vinyl merged its operations with Qapco in 2017. QP values petrochemicals as an alternative source of revenues to its main product LNG. It is looking to expand its petrochemicals capac- ity, having signed a deal last year with US-based Chevron Phillips Chemical to develop a 1.9mn
tpy ethane cracker in Ras Laffan.
The project features two high-density pol-
yethylene units with a combined capacity of 1.68mn tpy. They are slated for launch in 2025.
Despite moving into petrochemicals, QP is still forging ahead with an expansion of its LNG production capacity.
This month it began drilling at the North Field East project, aimed at boosting its lique- faction capacity from 77mn to 110mn tpy.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Middle Eastern oil and gas exporters are also seeking to branch out into petrochemicals.
Saudi Aramco plans to gain the edge in export markets by merging its petrochemical business with that of state-owned SABIC.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 16 22•April•2020