Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (President:Yaichi Kimura; Head office:Minato-ku, Tokyo) and three other Japanese companies, Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (President:Akihiko Tenbo; Head office:Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), Marubeni Corporation(President:Nobuo Katsumata; Head office:Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (President:Shoei Utsuda; Head office:Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), have reached agreement with Qatar Petroleum (hereinafter called "QP") on an equity participation of 29% in Laffan Refinery Co., Ltd., and signed related agreements on November 27, 2006. Our equity participation is 10%.
Laffan Refinery Co. Ltd. is constructing a condensate refinery with a refining capacity of 146,000 barrels per day in Ras Laffan Industrial City, aiming at the completion of construction in the second half of 2008. The total cost of the whole project would be anticipated approximately 800 US million dollars.
The Refinery plans to produce Naphtha, Kero/Jet, Gas oil and LPG by refining condensate produced at Qatar North Field, which is the largest natural gas field in the world.
The objectives of the equity participation
Cosmo has been purchasing crude oil from Qatar since 1970's. And also, we have been producing crude oil in the maritime boundary between Qatar and Abu-Dhabi through "United Petroleum Development Co., Ltd." (Cosmo holds 35% of its shares) since 1975. In addition, we signed the Development and Production Sharing Agreement with Qatar to develop Al-Karkala and A-Structures in the southeast of Qatari waters and commenced its production early this year through "Qatar Petroleum Development Co., Ltd."(Cosmo holds 85.8% of its shares). By having this new joint venture with Qatar, we will strengthen our partnership, which has been established through the long and stable crude oil transactions and the exploration and production business in the country.
The oil demand in Japan is expected to slow down in the future. In contrast, the world energy industry is still viewed as a growing industry. Under this new environment, globalization of our business fields has become one of our important strategies and this equity participation is being implemented in this context. By making this equity participation as a new milestone, we expand our business in Qatar in a broader spectrum including natural gas and petrochemical businesses.
Outline of Laffan Refinery Co., Ltd.
| Incorporation | September 2006 |
|---|---|
| Location | Doha, the State of Qatar |
| Shareholders (percent of shares) | Qatar Petroleum (51%), Exxon Mobil Corporation (10%), Total S.A. (10%), Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (10%), Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (10%), Marubeni Corporation (4.5%), Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (4.5%) |
