France's Technip wins Qatar refinery contract

Qatar's Laffan Refinery Co has awarded an engineering design contract for the expansion of its Ras Laffan refinery to France's Technip, operator Qatargas said on Thursday.The planned expansion will double the refinery's capacity to 292,000 bpd (barrels per day) and is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2016, Qatargas said in a statement, without giving a value for the deal."The second phase of Laffan refinery supports the State of Qatar vision to improve product distribution domestically and fully complies with international customers' demands for cleaner fuel products, allowing Qatar to become a net exporter of diesel and other refined products instead of an importer," vice-chairman of Laffan Refinery Co Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani said in the statement.Qatar aims to supply petrochemical industries across Southeast Asia and Europe, al-Thani said.The study is scheduled to be completed by the first quarter of 2012 and will be executed by Paris-based Technip, with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract expected to be awarded by the third quarter of 2012.The 146,000 bpd Ras Laffan plant currently produces 24,000 bpd of gas oil, 52,000 bpd of kerosene and jet fuel and 8,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Qatar, which has the world's third-largest gas reserves, has become a major petrochemical feedstock supplier to Asia as its condensate and natural gas liquids output have risen rapidly with increases in liquefied natural gas (LNG) production over the last few years. State-funded Qatar Petroleum operates the Ras Laffan refinery and has a 51 percent stake. From / Arabian Business News