Inauguration of RLOC 1.3 mln tpa ethylene cracker

05-May-10

Ras Laffan Olefins Company Limited (RLOC) has officially inaugurated a state-of-the-art 1.3 mln tpa ethylene cracker facility, built at an investment outlay of US$800 mln. By using the latest Chevron Phillips proprietary loop slurry technology, the plant has capacity to produce 36,000 tpa Sulphur, 500,000 tpa Ethylene, 453,000 tpa high density Polyethylenes (HDPE) and 47,000 tpa 1-Hexene. RLOC is a joint venture between Qatar Chemical Company II Ltd (Q-Chem II) which holds a 53.31% stake, Qatofin Company Ltd holding 45.69% stake and QP with a 1% stake. 700,000 tpa and 600,000 tpa respectively, of ethylene produced will be transported via a 133-kilometre pipeline to Q-Chem II and Qatofin downstream derivatives units in Mesaieed. Capacity is planned to be increased to 1.6 mln tpa in the second phase, making the facility the largest of its kind in the world.