Qatar Petroleum (QP) signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Total, Idemitsu, Cosmo, Marubeni and Mitsui for the new Laffan Refinery 2 (LR2) Project.

The agreement was signed by His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman & Managing Director of QP, along with Mr. Patrick Pouyanne, President of Refining & Chemicals at Total SA; Mr. Yoshihisa Matsumoto, Executive Vice President and Representative Director of Idemitsu; Mr. Masami Tsukagoshi, General Manager, International Ventures Department of Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.; Mr. Yasuyuki Fujitani, Managing Officer and Deputy COO EMEA Business & Managing Director of Mitsui Middle East; and Mr. Kazuaki Tanaka, Managing Executive Officer of Marubeni Corporation.

Under the agreement, the LR2 ownership structure will be composed of QP (84%), Total (10%), Idemitsu (2%), Cosmo (2%), Marubeni (1%) and Mitsui (1%). The new LR2 condensate refinery is similar to the first Laffan Refinery (LR1), which started operations in September 2009, with a similar processing capacity of 146,000 barrels per day.

It will be operated by Qatargas Operating Company Limited (Qatargas) and will have a daily production capacity of 60,000 barrels of naphtha, 53,000 barrels of jet fuel, 24,000 barrels of gasoil, and 9,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The project’s total cost is estimated at USD 1.5 billion, and its construction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman & Managing Director of QP, said “The Laffan Refinery 2 Project comes in line with Qatar’s drive to monetize its resources and expand its industrial base for the benefit of its people under the visionary leadership of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.” He added that “the new joint venture will pave the way for further optimizing our condensate processing, creating new opportunities, and enhancing our refining and export capacities.”