Business & Finance Group - Oil & Gas - Doha: The total cost of the RLOC plant including infrastructure and the pipeline extension from Ras Laffan to Mesaeed was estimated at 5 billion Qatari riyals, said H.E. the Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah, who is also Chairman of Ras Laffan Olefins Company (RLOC). Speaking at a press conference Tuesday following the opening ceremony of the plant, H.E. al Attiyah said the project will enhance Qatar's position on the world map in the field of petrochemicals production, particularly the polyethylene. It also provides a lot of support for the State's manufacturing policy through additional quantities of this material of various kinds to be channeled to the global market, H.E. al Attiyah added.
On  the marketing plan for the product, al Attiyah  said that the planning processes of integrated marketing were always prior to the commencement of any project,  noting that Qatar, in  cooperation  with its partners, exports its products to various regions of the world and specifically to the 85 countries where  it  has some  26 representative offices in the field of the petrochemical industry around the world and  the  Q-Chem has also its Marketing plan, so  there is an integrated marketing plan for this product, he stressed.
Regrading the financing of the project, H.E. the Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry said it has been agreed between the partners in Q-Chem and Qatofin projects on the financing of the Arloc Project through the defining of rates and shares for each party, and both partners provided the necessary funding in November 2005 with very competitive rates of interest.
H.E. al Attiyah said  the Q-Chem was able to secure part  of the funding  through an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of American a matter which  led to successful completion of the financing deal  where each of the Q-Chem and Qatofin won  the best deal in 2005 in the sector of the petrochemical industry in Europe, Africa and the Middle East  as issued by  the European funds  and project financing Journal , he noted adding that  the Royal Bank of Scotland was the  financial consultant for Q-Chem -2, as the HSBC bank played  the same role for the  Qatofin company.

On Qatar's strategy to shift from focusing on production of liquefied natural gas (LNG)  to petrochemicals, H.E  the Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said  Qatar's production of petrochemicals by 2014 is expected reach  about  28  million metric tons per year,  and it will also be one of the largest producing countries in the world of  liquefied petroleum gas by the end of this decade,  by producing 14 million tons.  He stressed that Qatar has many opportunities to make a lot of studies of the development process benefiting from its natural resources.
Regarding the  free trade negotiations between the GCC  states  and the European Union (EU) , H.E. al Attiyah said  that the negotiations between the parties had taken enough time and that the Gulf party whenever  feels it is close to  conclusion, finds reluctance  from the other party,  going back to the  starting point, by creating mock  and unconvincing causes which  have nothing to do   with trade exchange.
The European side has a bit of apprehension about the competition that would face their products due to the Gulf petrochemical products because the latter has competitiveness as well as an abundance of raw materials for the industry, H.E. al Attiyah added.
H.E. the Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry underlined Qatar's strategy to be a major player in the petrochemicals industry in the world thanks to the optimum utilization of natural resources. (QNA)