Shell ditches $6.5bn Qatari petrochemicals project
Royal Dutch Shell has scrapped plans for a $6.5bn petrochemicals project with Qatar Petroleum, citing “the current economic climate prevailing in the energy industry”, the oil major said on Wednesday.
The Al Karaana petchems project, an 80:20 joint venture of Qatar Petroleum and Shell, was in large part eyeing Asian markets for 2m tonnes a year of products, reports Chris Adams, energy editor.
The decision not to proceed, a significant move following a halving of oil prices since last summer, was taken “after a careful and thorough evaluation of commercial quotations” from engineering, procurement and construction bidders, Shell said.
These showed “high capital costs rendering it commercially unfeasible, particularly in the current economic climate prevailing in the energy industry.”
Source: FT – Shell ditches $6.5bn Qatari petrochemicals project
