Contract for Ethylene Cracker Expansion Project in Qatar

Yokohama, Japan - JGC Middle East (JGC's subsidiary Company in United Arab Emirates) has been awarded a lump-sum contract by Qatar Petrochemical Company Limited(QAPCO) (capital contribution ratio: Qatar Petroleum 80%, Atofina 20%) for design, procurement, construction and services for expansion of the existing ethylene cracker plant from 525,000 to 720,000 tons per annum.

The contract, worth approximately 20 billion yen, was signed on March 25th. The construction site will be in Mesaieed, Qatar, with completion scheduled for the second half of 2006.

QAPCO is the first company in the Gulf region to be engaged in the petrochemical industry in earnest, building a 280,000 MTPA ethylene plant in Mesaieed that was subsequently debottlenecked and expanded to the present capacity of 525,000 MTPA. The new project is to further expand the plant capacity to 720,000 MTPA, in an effort to increase ethylene production, improve operating efficiencies, and economically utilize by-products. The main product, ethylene, will be used as feed for downstream polyethylene, vinyl chloride plants, as well as for export, while by-products will be sent for processing to customers located within the Mesaieed industrial site. The project will adopt Stone & Webster's ethylene cracking process from the standpoint of its technical advantages.

The contract award is believed to reflect the client's high regard for JGC's outstanding project execution capability in the Middle East, in addition to the merits of the Stone & Webster process. For the project execution, JGC Middle East will collaborate with Stone & Webster and CTCI Corporation, a Taiwan-based engineering company.

Numerous ethylene projects are planned in the Middle East, and JGC will make further efforts to participate in collaboration with Stone & Webster as its ethylene alliance partner.