Qatar Petroleum announces new Laffan Refinery shareholders
Qatar Petroleum (QP) today announced the signing of an amended and restated Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) which will add four new shareholders to the Laffan Refinery Company Limited.
The new shareholders are Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd (‘Idemitsu’), Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd (‘Cosmo’), Mitsui & Co., Ltd (‘Mitsui’) and Marubeni Corporation (‘Marubeni’), all of Japan. Japan is one of the principal markets for the Laffan Refinery’s products.
Idemitsu and Cosmo will each be taking a 10% interest in this new deal with Mitsui and Marubeni each taking 4.5% interest in the Laffan Refinery Company. Following this agreement the QP shares in the joint venture will be 51%, with ExxonMobil and Total each holding 10%.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Qatar Petroleum by Mr. Faisal Al-Suwaidi, QP Board Member, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas, and by senior representatives of the Japanese companies, ExxonMobil and Total.
Mr Faisal Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas commented on the deal by saying, ‘Qatar Petroleum believes that Cosmo, Idemitsu, Marubeni, and Mitsui will all contribute to the development of the Company and will bring additional value to Laffan Refinery Company Ltd. The participation of Japanese Companies will further enhance the relationship between the State of Qatar and Japan.’
The 146,000 BPSD Refinery will process untreated gas condensate from Qatargas, RasGas, and Al-Khaleej Gas to produce Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), naphtha, kerojet fuel and gas oil. The Refinery, which will be operated by Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2008.
