Qatargas has inaugurated the $1.5bn expansion of its Laffan condensate refinery, which has doubled the refining capacity of the site.

The Laffan Refinery 2 has the capacity to refine 146,000 barrels a day (b/d) of condensate from the offshore North Field, bringing the total capacity of the site to 292,000 b/d.

Japan’s Chiyoda and Taiwan’s CTCI Corporation were awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts on the phase two facilities in 2013.

Laffan Refinery 2 produces low Sulphur Euro-V specifications products including naphtha, jet fuel, ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD), propane and butane for domestic use and export to international markets.

The expansion project was completed in 39 months. Qatargas operates the refinery on behalf of its shareholders: Qatar Petroleum (84 per cent); Total (10 per cent); Cosmo (2 per cent); Idemitsu (2 per cent); Mitsui (1 per cent); and Marubeni (1 per cent).