Qatar Petroleum and Shell have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly study the development of a major petrochemicals complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.

The agreement was signed in Doha by His Excellency Abdulla bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar, and Peter Voser, Chief Executive Officer of Shell.

The scope under consideration would include a mono-ethylene glycol plant of up to 1.5 million tonnes per annum using Shell's proprietary OMEGA (Only MEG Advantaged) technology and other olefin derivatives to yield over 2 million tonnes of finished products.

HE Minister Al-Attiyah said, 'This agreement represents an important step towards implementing the vision of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, regarding the optimal utilisation of the country's natural gas resources and to expand the downstream industries in Qatar. Together with Shell we aim to study and develop a major petrochemical complex which aligns with our plans of increased petrochemical production and diversification of our product portfolio.'

Peter Voser said, 'I am delighted that we have the opportunity to further expand our partnership with Qatar Petroleum in petrochemicals. Shell has over 80 years of experience in the global chemicals industry, playing a major part in its growth worldwide and developing some of its key manufacturing processes. This new project will combine Shell's experience and technology with the ambition of the State of Qatar to create further value from its natural gas resources.'

In Qatar, Qatar Petroleum and Shell are together building Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) and Qatargas 4 LNG, two of the largest projects in the world in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

Tags: Qatar Petroleum International, Shell