Qatar Petroleum and Shell shun Al Karaana petrochemicals project

Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Shell have decided not to proceed with the proposed Al Karaana petrochemicals project in Qatar, and to stop further work on the project. The decision came after a careful and thorough evaluation of commercial quotations from EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) bidders, which showed high capital costs rendering it commercially unfeasible, particularly in the current economic climate prevailing in the energy industry.
 
The Al Karaana project was initiated with a Heads of Agreement (HOA) between Qatar Petroleum and Shell in December 2011, and envisioned the construction of a new world-scale petrochemicals complex in the Ras Laffan Industrial City north of Qatar. The complex was to be operated as a stand-alone QP-Shell joint venture.
 
QP and Shell’s existing partnerships include Pearl GTL – the world’s largest integrated gas-to-liquids plant located at Ras Laffan, which has boosted Qatar’s position as the world’s GTL capital. The partnerships also include Qatargas 4 - an integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) asset - in addition to joint downstream and upstream investments in Singapore and Brazil.