Qatar plans to boost petrochemical output

Qatar intends to invest some US$10 billion in its petrochemical sector during the next five years, the Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the MariChem Middle East 2005 conference in the Qatari capital Doha, Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, vice chairman and general manager of Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), said that Qatar's petrochemical production is planned to hit some 12 million tons a year in the next five years.

Over 200 participants from 35 countries were taking part in the two-day conference organized by Turret Group Ltd in cooperation with Qapco.

The current capacity of major petrochemical producers in the Middle East amounts to over 52 million tons, of which over 60 per cent are exported.