The local joint venture partners behind a planned $7.4bn petrochemicals complex at Ras Laffan in Qatar have awarded the US’ Bechtel the project management consultancy (PMC) contract for the scheme.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) plan to build a world-scale complex in the north of the Gulf state that will produce more than 3 million tonnes a year (t/y) of chemicals.

The QP/Qapco cracker will produce 1.4 million t/y of ethylene when completed, which will feed other units at the proposed complex. A further 850,000 t/y of high-density polyethylene, 430,000 t/y of linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE), 760,000 t/y of polypropylene and 83,000 t/y of butadiene will be produced.

“This project is really starting to move now,” says a chemicals industry executive based in the GCC. “The [joint venture partners] are also looking to licence the technology within the next few weeks to add to the PMC award.”

As soon as the technology is licenced, the project will then move to the front-end engineering and design phase (feed). The construction tender and execution phases will follow in 2014-15. Completion is expected in 2018.

Despite Qatar having ample supplies of ethane feedstock, the cracker will be a mixed-feed of ethane and butane. This will allow more flexibility in terms of products and free up ethane for other schemes. The two partners signed an agreement to build the complex in mid-2012. QP will have an 80 per cent share of the complex, with Qapco taking the remainder.

The project is part of Doha’s plans to diversify its natural resources away from liquefied natural gas (LNG) without impacting on its core export industry. The feedstock will come from the Barzan gas field, which is being developed to provide gas primarily for domestic use, especially in heavy industrial sectors, such as chemicals, as well as power generation.