Qatargas to Begin Expansion of Ras Laffan Condensate Refinery

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Qatargas (Doha, Qatar), a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum (Doha), is planning to begin an expansion later this year of the condensate refinery in Ras Laffan Industrial City, near Al Khawr, Qatar. The refinery, which began operations in 2009, is one of two refineries in Qatar and has a current capacity of 146,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). Qatar was considering building an additional 250,000-BBL/d refinery to process Al Shaheen crude instead, but this project has been delayed and could be placed on indefinite hold.

A consortium of investors, including several Japanese companies, controls the Ras Laffan condensate refinery. These companies include Idemitsu Kosan Company Limited (TYO:5019) (Tokyo), Cosmo Oil Company Limited (TYO:5007) (Tokyo), Mitsui Group (Tokyo), and Marubeni Corporation (TYO:8002) (Tokyo). Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas), and Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Courbevoie, France) are also in the consortium.

Qatargas plans to double the refinery's capacity in the coming years in order to increase its presence in the Southeast Asian and European markets. Part of the expansion will begin with the addition of a new diesel hydrotreater unit and a sulfur recovery unit. Construction, to be supervised by Initec Tecnicas Reunidas S.A. (Madrid), is scheduled to begin this fourth quarter. The $350 million hydrotreater will boost diesel capacity by 50,000 BBL/d, and the subsequent sulfur recovery unit will reduce sulfur content to less than 10 parts per million. Qatargas expects the new units to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2012.

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