South Korea's Samsung Engineering Co. said on Jan. 9 it has signed a 1.6 trillion won ($1.3 billion) contract to build the world's largest ethylene production plant and its utilities for a petrochemical project in Ras Laffan, an industrial hub located 80 kilometers north of Doha, Qatar.

The Ras Laffan Petrochemicals (RLP), which has awarded the order, is a joint venture of state-run QatarEnergy with a 70% stake and US' Chevron Phillips Chemical Company with a 30% stake. Samsung and Taiwanese construction firm CTCI Corp. will execute the project via their joint venture for 44 months.

The Korean construction firm will be in charge of the major ethylene production facilities including furnaces, C2 hydrogenation, hydrogen purification unit and three main compressors. CTCI will build the utility infrastructure, including steam/condensate collecting and boiler feed water and others. The project is forecast to be completed in 2026.

The project consists of two packages. Samsung-CTCI JV will deliver package I, which includes the ethylene manufacturing plants with a production capacity of 2.1 million tons, utilities and offsite facilities. Ethylene produced by the plants will be delivered as feedstock for package II, which encompasses the project’s two high-density polyethylene units. The combined value of the packages is 3.1 trillion won.By participating in the project, Samsung will mark its re-entry into the Qatari market after the Ras Laffan Diesel Hydrotreater (DHT) construction in 2011. The company is also carrying out a number of projects in the Middle East and North Africa.