QAPCO to Inaugurate Polyethylene 3 in Second Quarter of 2012

Doha, December 14 (QNA) - Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) will operate its Polyethylene 3 Plant in the second quarter of 2012, the company's General Manager and Board Director Dr. Mohammad al-Mulla said Wednesday. The new low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant, known as LDPE-3, is expected to produces around 300.000MT per year, thus raising the overall production capacity of the company to 720.000 MT per year of low-density polyethylene. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr. Mohammad al-Mulla said the total cost of the LDPE-3 plant is up to nearly two billion and 200 million Qatari Riyals. Working to establish this plant began 30 months ago. By operating this project the State of Qatar will be a pioneer in the production of this material among the GCC countries, Dr. al-Mulla noted. Dr. al-Mulla praised the GCC experience in the field of petrochemical industry, noting that this leading experience stemmed from the availability of its raw material, which is gas. He expected a surge in the demand for petrochemicals worldwide due to the use of petrochemical products in most industries. When asked if the Gulf petrochemical products are facing restrictions in the European markets, in light of the European restrictions on some Saudi petrochemical products, Dr. al-Mulla said that the Qatari petrochemical products found in all the continents because of the availability of a large marketing network abroad. He denied such restrictions on the Qatari products, stressing that QAPCO is committed to the application of the domestic and international laws in this industry. Dr. al-Mullah pointed to the coordination among the GCC countries to establish joint projects in this industry, noting that a forum gathering all manufacturers of chemicals and petrochemicals in the GCC countries is being held in December every year to discuss key issues relating to the petrochemical industry. Dr. al-Mulla hailed the 20th World Petroleum Congress, which Doha hosted last week, as it discussed different issues in the field of oil, gas and petrochemical industries. (QNA)