Idemitsu, 3 other Japan firms to acquire 29% stake in Qatar refinery

Idemitsu Kosan Co. and three other Japanese companies said Tuesday they will acquire a combined stake of 29 percent in Laffan Refinery Co., a Qatar company building a refinery in the oil-producing Middle East country.

Oil companies Idemitsu and Cosmo Oil Co. will each buy a 10 percent stake in Laffan Refinery from Qatar Petroleum Co., Qatar's state-run oil company, and trading houses Marubeni Corp. and Mitsui & Co. will each purchase a 4.5 percent interest.

The deal is aimed at reinforcing relations with Qatar, which is rich in natural gas, against the backdrop of growing global demand for natural resources, the four Japanese companies said without disclosing their acquisition prices.

Under construction in Ras Laffan Industrial City 80 kilometers northeast of Doha, the refinery is due to be completed in the second half of 2008 to process light crude from a natural gas field into naphtha and other petroleum products for export to Southeast Asian and other markets.

The refinery, with a refining capacity of 146,000 barrels per day, will be constructed at an estimated cost of $800 million.

After selling the 29 percent interest to the four Japanese companies, Qatar Petroleum will have a 51 percent stake in Laffan Refinery, which is also owned 10 percent each by Exxon Mobile Corp. of the United States and Total S.A. of France.