Qatar Petroleum (QP) has signed a US$1.5bn joint venture agreement for the launch of the Laffan Refinery 2 (LR2) project in Ras Laffan to further optimise its condensate processing and enhance Qatar’s refining and export capacities
The agreement for the new project was signed with Total, Idemitsu, Cosmo, Marubeni and Mitsui.
With a condensate processing capacity of 146,000 barrels per day, the LR2 is the second of its kind to be built in Qatar since Laffan Refinery 1 (LR1) was inaugurated in 2009. The LR1 and LR2 together are expected to be capable of delivering 40 per cent of Qatar’s total condensate production.
HE Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Qatari minister of energy and industry, said that the construction of LR2 was expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.
Operated by Qatargas, the refinery will have a daily production capacity of 60,000 barrels of naphtha, 53,000 barrels of jet fuel, 24,000 barrels of gasoil, and 9,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
LR2 is expected to give Ras Laffan a total installed condensate refining capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day, making it one of the largest single facilities of its kind in the world.
Al Sada added that a diesel hydrotreater (DHT), currently under-construction, is expected to be commissioned in the Q2 of 2014, and would have enough capacity to process all the light gasoil from both LR1 and LR2 into ultra-low-sulphur diesel.
Patrick Pouyanne, a member of Total’s executive committee, said, “A key link in this chain is the downstream activity of the refining of Qatar’s condensates. Total, as a founding member of the existing Laffan Refinery, is pleased to maintain its role in this next phase of condensate refining growth in Qatar, which provides support for Qatar’s National Vision 2030.”
Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, CEO of Qatargas, said, “The new refinery will be built according to state-of-the-art technology with high energy efficiency and environmental protection standards.”
According to the agreement, QP will have 84 per cent stake in the project, Total will own 10 per cent stake, Idemitsu and Cosmo will have two per cent stake each, and Marubeni and Mitsui will own one per cent each in the new joint venture.
