Doha, June 24 (QNA) - Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced Monday the selection of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC as a partner in the construction and development of a new Petrochemicals Complex at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

The Petrochemicals Complex will include an ethane cracker with a capacity of more than 1.9 million tons per annum (MTPA) of Ethylene, making it the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East, and one of the largest in the world.

It will also include two high-density polyethylene (HDPE) production units, which will increase the production capacity of polyethylene by 82% by the last quarter of 2025.

The project will be built in accordance to the highest standards using the latest technology, with utmost importance given to the safety, reliability and environment.

The announcement was made at the signing ceremony of the agreements related to the project.

The agreements were signed by HE Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Petroleum Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi and CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. Mark Lashier, in the presence of senior officials from Qatar Petroleum, Chevron Corporation, Phillips 66 Company and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

Qatar Petroleum will own a 70 percent majority share of the joint venture and Chevron Phillips Chemical will own the remaining 30 percent.

The engineering design of the Petrochemicals Complex will commence shortly, leading to a planned start-up in 2025.

Speaking at a press conference held on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said that they invited last year some of the leading petrochemicals companies to present their partnership offer to QP to develop the new Petrochemicals Complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

His Excellency noted that the strategic project is part of the continuous efforts to expand Al Shamal field, which will raise the State of Qatar's LNG production from 77 million tons a year to 110 million.

His Excellency said that the new complex will have an ethane cracker with a nameplate capacity of 1.9 million tons of ethylene per annum, making it the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world. It will also include two high-density polyethylene derivative units, which will raise Qatars current Polyethylene production capacity by 82 percent by the fourth quarter of 2025.

HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs said that the choice of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company as a partner to QP in the project was due to its extraordinary track record in the field. His Excellency said that the conclusion of these agreements constitutes an important milestone for Qatar Petroleum as petrochemicals represent a major pillar of QP's growth strategy to achieve the company's vision of becoming one of the best national oil and gas companies in the world. His Excellency stressed the importance of the project in enhancing the company's status as one of the big petrochemicals producers, noting that the complex will begin operations in 2025.

"This project will optimize the utilization of ethane produced from the North Field LNG expansion project as well as from existing ethane producing projects. It will also consolidate Qatars position among the worlds leading petrochemicals producers, and complement our efforts to further expand our footprint in the global petrochemicals markets. This major project will provide excellent opportunities for Qatars private sector to contribute to the development of our oil and gas sector, and will generate significant revenues that will support the further development of our economy and the well-being of all people living in Qatar," HE the Minister said.

For his part, President & CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical Mark Lashier said that Developing the Ras Laffan Petrochemicals Project is a tremendous opportunity for the U.S. company to expand on its highly-successful joint ventures with the State of Qatar to meet the growing global demand for petrochemical products that enrich lives around the world.

"We look forward to building on our strong relationship with Qatar Petroleum and believe that these new world-scale assets will deliver exceptional value," he said.

He noted that the new project will be one of the most important in the world in terms of producing Ethane.