Qatar in talks with Total, Shell on Ras Laffan petchems project

30 November 2010 10:54  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Qatar is in talks with Belgium-based Total Petrochemicals and oil major Shell to develop the Ras Laffan petrochemical complex, the Qatari energy minister said on Tuesday.

“We are in talks with Total, and we are talking to Shell,” Abdullah al-Attiyah was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The minister, speaking at a gas forum in Doha, added that the value of the project, which has been estimated at $6bn (€4.6bn), would be reviewed.

"The final cost of the project will be revealed once the tendering is over," he was quoted as saying.

Graeme Burnett, Total Petrochemicals’ senior vice president for Asia and the Middle East, told ICIS last week that the company was in early discussions about a cracker project in the Gulf state.

The exit of US-based ExxonMobil from its proposed joint-venture cracker project with Qatar Petroleum, according to industry sources familiar with the matter, has improved prospects for participating in a new cracker project in Qatar.

“ExxonMobil has exited the cracker project in Qatar, and we’ve always told the media that we are interested in doing another project in Qatar,” said Burnett.

Total Petrochemicals holds 22.2% of Ras Laffan Olefins through its participation in Qatar Petrochemical Co (QAPCO) and Qatofin.

($1 = €0.76)

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By: Hilde Ovrebekk
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