QatarEnergy, Chevron Phillips Secure $4.4 Bln Financing for Petrochemicals Project

Ras Laffan Industrial City, north of Qatari capital, Doha. (Getty Images)
Ras Laffan Industrial City, north of Qatari capital, Doha. (Getty Images)
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QatarEnergy, Chevron Phillips Secure $4.4 Bln Financing for Petrochemicals Project

Ras Laffan Industrial City, north of Qatari capital, Doha. (Getty Images)
Ras Laffan Industrial City, north of Qatari capital, Doha. (Getty Images)

QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC announced on Monday that they have secured $4.4 billion financing for the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals project.

QatarEnergy revealed in a press release that the project is a world-scale integrated polymers complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.

The project financing comprises commercial and Islamic lenders and a group of export credit agencies.

Ras Laffan Petrochemicals is a joint venture company owned 30% by Chevron Phillips Chemical and 70% by QatarEnergy, the statement added.

The project is considered the largest petrochemical project in Qatar for which the Final Investment Decision was announced in January 2023.

“This oversubscribed financing package is an important testament to the financial community’s confidence in Qatar and in its energy and petrochemical industries,” said Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad bin Sherida al-Kaabi.

Al-Kaabi added: “This large-scale cornerstone investment represents a significant achievement and a major milestone for the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals project - the largest in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world. We are very pleased to enter this exciting stage of this project with our long-time partner Chevron Phillips Chemical.”

The complex, expected to begin production in late 2026, consists of an ethane cracker with a capacity of about 2.1 million tons of ethylene per annum.

It also includes two polyethylene trains with a combined output of 1.7 million tons per annum of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) polymer products, which are used in a wide range of applications, including packaging, construction, and consumer goods.

This complex will raise Qatar’s overall petrochemical production capacity to almost 14 million tons per annum.

The project is expected to generate significant economic benefits for the country, including increased tax revenue and foreign investment.

The two companies signed in January agreements to build the $6 billion complex.



UK Inflation Holds at 2.2% in August as BoE Considers Rates

Pedestrians walk across Oxford Street in London, Britain, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Pedestrians walk across Oxford Street in London, Britain, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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UK Inflation Holds at 2.2% in August as BoE Considers Rates

Pedestrians walk across Oxford Street in London, Britain, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Pedestrians walk across Oxford Street in London, Britain, September 17, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

British inflation stood at an annual rate of 2.2% in August, unchanged from July, but price growth in the services sector - closely watched by the Bank of England - picked up, official figures showed on Wednesday.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast annual consumer price inflation would remain at 2.2%.

The BoE, which cut interest rates to 5% on Aug. 1, had expected inflation of 2.4% in August before rising to around 2.75% by the end of this year.

The British central bank is due to announce its latest decision on interest rates on Thursday.
"Years of sky-high inflation have taken their toll; and prices are still much higher than four years ago," Darren Jones, a junior minister at the Treasury, said, adding that more manageable inflation was welcome.

Services inflation - an indicator of domestic price pressures - rose to 5.6% from 5.2% in July. The Reuters poll had pointed to a smaller rise to 5.5%.

Sterling strengthened against the dollar immediately after the inflation data was published.