State-owned energy giant Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) has announced it will spend around $9.8 billion (Ôé¼6.6 billion) on the construction of two petrochemical plants in Asia, according to a report by Bloomberg.
QPI will team up with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and a Chinese petrochemicals maker to build a $5.8 billion (Ôé¼3.9 billion) plant in ChinaÔÇÖs Hainan province.
Another plant, costing $4 billion (Ôé¼2.6 billion), is to be constructed in Vietnam.
Both plants, to be completed by 2015, will use Qatari liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a feedstock to produce chemicals.
The Hainan facility will have a processing capacity of around 3.8 million tons of LPG a year and may be approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, ChinaÔÇÖs economic planner, by the second half of next year.
The plant will be capable of producing chemicals such as polypropylene, a substance commonly used in tyres and plastic products.
To build the Vietnamese facility, Qatar may partner with Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, known as PetroVietnam, Itochu Corporation and selected Thai companies.
Qatar is currently seeking new markets for a national LPG output that may double to 12 million metric tons by 2010. Last week, QPI agreed the purchase of stakes in two Royal Dutch Shell petrochemical ventures in Singapore.
CNOOC agreed earlier this month to purchase an additional three million tons of Qatari liquefied natural gas per year.
Going forward, Asian energy demand is expected to grow at least as fast as in Europe or the US.
Next month, QPI is due to submit a bid to construct a gas-fired power plant in Oman, in partnership with Qatar Electricity & Water Co., Chubu Electric Power Co. and Marubeni Corporation.
Together, revenues from oil and natural gas amount to around 60 per cent of QatarÔÇÖs GDP.
Currently, QPI is the third largest oil company in the world by oil and gas reserves.
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