A distant view of Laffan Refinery 2.
Qatargas’ Laffan Refinery 2, entailing investment of about $1.5bn, will be inaugurated today in a ceremony at the Qatar National Convention Centre. The inauguration marks a major milestone in the expansion of refining capacity in Qatar as it doubles the existing production capacity.
The project refines 146,000 barrels per day of condensate from the North Field which is the largest non-associated natural gas reserve in the world. This refinery had started its operation at the end of last year with Qatargas announcing the commercial start-up of Laffan Refinery 2 on December 24.
With additional capacity coming on board, the total production capacity now stands at 292,000 barrels per day. Laffan Refinery 2 produces low Sulfur Euro-V specifications products such as Naphtha, Jet-A1, Ultra low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), Propane and Butane for local and international markets. Alongside Laffan Refinery 1, this new facility is strategically important due to its role in diversifying Qatar’s energy mix. The project will meet crucial role to meet current and future needs of the domestic market of high-quality petroleum products.“The priority will be given to the local market but anything above that will be for exports,” Salman Ashkanani, COO Refinery Ventures at RL QG HQ told reporters yesterday during the media tour of Laffan Refinery 2.
The second refinery was completed in less time compared to the first one but it boasts of many improvements.
“We have finished Laffan Refinery 2 within 39 months. This project has lot of improvements because of lessons learned from Laffan Refinery 1,” added Ashkanani.The products coming out of the refinery meets the latest industry benchmarks.
Qatargas, the World’s Premier LNG Company, operates the refinery on behalf of the shareholders: Qatar Petroleum (84 percent), Total (10 percent), Cosmo (2 percent), Idemitsu (2 percent), Mitsui (1 percent) and Marubeni (1 percent). Qatargas, established in 1984, pioneered the LNG industry in Qatar and today is the largest producer of LNG in the world with an annual production capacity of 42 million tonnes per annum.
