Qatar Petroleum has signed an agreement with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company to develop a new world-scale petrochemical project in the Gulf Coast region of the United States of America.
The signing took place at the White House, in the presence of Skeikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar, and President Donald Trump.
The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and by Mark E. Lashier, President and CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
With an estimated cost of around $8 billion, the US Gulf Coast II Petrochemical Project will include an ethylene cracker with a capacity of two million tonnes per annum, making it the largest cracker in the world, and two high-density polyethylene units with a capacity of one million tonnes per annum each.
The complex will be located in the US Gulf Coast region, where there is direct access to significant ethane quantities produced by US shale basins, including the prolific Permian Basin.
Qatar Petroleum will own a 49 per cent share in the USGC II project, while Chevron Phillips Chemical will own the remaining 51 per cent share and provide project management and oversight and will be responsible for the operation and management of the facility.
Mr Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: “This is the second agreement of its kind in as many weeks, with our trusted partner, Chevron Phillips Commercial, to further cement the strong partnership between our two companies and to complement Qatar Petroleum’s international portfolio in the United States, which is a core growth area for us as we believe it has great prospects and growth opportunities.”
“This important project will help meet increasing global demand for petrochemicals. It also showcases the momentum of Qatar Petroleum’s international growth strategy, which has taken robust steps in various upstream and downstream activities in many parts of the world.”
Mark Lashier said: “Qatar Petroleun is already a terrific partner of Chevron Phillips Chemical on petrochemical ventures in Qatar and we look forward to expanding our relationship in the United States as we jointly seek to develop a new petrochemical facility along the US Gulf Coast.”
“Qatar Petroleum’s financial strength, its commitment to safety as a core value, and shared belief in our strategy to build facilities located close to competitive feedstocks makes this an ideal relationship.”