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.



Russia’s Inflation Reaches 9.5% This Year, Weekly Data Shows

 Pedestrians walk to an underground passage at Manezhnaya Square decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities with the Historical Museum and the Kremlin Wall in the background in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP)
Pedestrians walk to an underground passage at Manezhnaya Square decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities with the Historical Museum and the Kremlin Wall in the background in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP)
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Russia’s Inflation Reaches 9.5% This Year, Weekly Data Shows

 Pedestrians walk to an underground passage at Manezhnaya Square decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities with the Historical Museum and the Kremlin Wall in the background in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP)
Pedestrians walk to an underground passage at Manezhnaya Square decorated for Christmas and the New Year festivities with the Historical Museum and the Kremlin Wall in the background in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP)

Russia's inflation has reached 9.5% this year, according to new weekly data showing that the consumer price index rose by 0.33% in the week leading up to Dec. 23, the statistical agency Rosstat reported on Wednesday.

This data follows the central bank's unexpected decision last week to maintain its key interest rate at 21%. The regulator said recent tightening has created conditions conducive to reducing inflation towards its target of 4%.

The agency indicated that seasonally volatile prices for fruit and vegetables contributed significantly to the overall increase, with cucumber prices rising by 8.3% and tomato prices by 1.9% in just one week.

Among less seasonally sensitive foods, the price of eggs increased by 1.7%, and frozen fish by 1.4%. The central bank had initially estimated this year's inflation at a maximum of 8.5%.

The central bank's monetary policy department's head Andrei Gangan told the Interfax news agency on Dec. 24 that full-year inflation will be between 9.6% and 9.8%.

Inflationary expectations among households for the coming year also reached 13.9% in December, the highest level since the beginning of the year.

In a report on its inflationary expectations survey, the central bank said respondents were most concerned about rising prices for milk, dairy products, eggs, meat, and fish.

It also said respondents have begun to notice increases in the prices of home appliances and electronic devices.