Qatofin, a joint venture between Qatar Petroche-mical Company (Qapco) (63 per cent), Total Petrochemicals of France (36 per cent) and Qatar Petroleum (one per cent), is expected to make Qatar a world leader in the polyethylene industry through the construction of a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit to produce 450,000 metric tonnes per year at facilities adjacent to Qapco’s plant at MIC.

The Qatofin plant, one of the most important petrochemical ventures in Qatar, will process around 422,000 MTPA of ethylene and around 38,000 MTPA of butane.
The project, scheduled to be completed in the fourthquarter of 2008, will utilise ethane gas feedstock that will be made available as a result of further development of the country’s gas resources, combining the interests of the existing petrochemical investors in Qatar to develop synergies with other ventures at MIC.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar’s Heir Apparent, recently laid the foundation stone for Qatofin in an official ceremony at Mesaieed Industrial City (MIC).
The ceremony included a keynote address by Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Second Deputy Premier, and Minister of Energy and Industry, and speeches by other shareholders.
In his speech, Al Attiyah highlighted the significance of this project to Qatar’s comprehensive industrial prosperity in the oil and gas sector, “under the wise leadership of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Amir and the Heir Apparent”.
Al Attiyah also confirmed the contribution of this project to achieving “an economic boost in Qatar and to avail suitable opportunities for investment and to develop the country’s infrastructure in all industrial and commercial fields”.
Qatofin will partner with Q-Chem(II) in the construction of one of the largest ethane crackers in the world at Ras Laffan Industrial City, with an ethylene capacity of 1.3 million TPA, which may be increased up to 1.6 million TPA.
The cracker will be owned by Ras Laffan Olefins Company, a joint venture between Qatofin 45.7 per cent, Q-Chem(II) 53.3 per cent and QP one per cent. The ethylene will be shipped by a pipeline from RLIC to MIC.
The RLOC ethane cracker will work with the gas produced by Total from the North Field in the context of the Dolphin project. The total project cost of Qatofin is estimated at $1.2 billion.
The main EPC contractors for the LLDPE facilities are Snamprogetti of Italy and Archirodon of Greece. The EPC contract for the Ras Laffan ethane cracker was awarded to Technip of France.
Qatofin will export the ethylene surplus and LLDPE to world markets. Polyethylene is the raw material for manufacturing in different downstream thermoplastic industries.
Qapco, owned by Industries Qatar (IQ) (80 per cent) and Total Petrochemicals (20 per cent), is one of the leading producers of ethylene and low density polyethylene (LDPE) and the most successful petrochemical project in the Middle East. Total Petrochemicals has successfully worked together with Qapco for over 30 years and is one of the leading chemical and petrochemical companies in the world.
The Qatofin venture reflects the support given to the industrial development in Qatar by Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.