Exxon, Qatar agree deal on $6bn chemical plant
Exxon Mobil Corp and Qatar Petroleum have agreed to build a $6 billion plant in the Middle East country to produce chemicals for export to Asia.
The project will be completed by 2015, the companies said today at a press conference in Doha, Qatar.
Exxon will hold a 49 percent stake in the plant, which will have a 1.6 million ton a year steam cracker. Other units include two 650,000 ton a year polyethylene plants and a 700,000 ton ethylene glycol plant
The Qatar project will help Exxon increase chemical production capacity in the Middle East 50 percent in the next six years, said Stephen Pryor, president of Exxon Mobil Chemical Co.
Exxon expects global chemical demand to rise 2 percent more than world economic growth, he said.
Exxon is the largest foreign investor in Qatar’s energy industry, holding stakes in 12 liquefied natural gas production plants.
