Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO) recently celebrated its 50th anniversary since establishment, marking five decades of international reputation as a premium manufacturer and supplier of high quality urea.
A special celebration was held at Qatar National Convention Centre, under the patronage of the Prime Minister of the State of Qatar, HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani. The event was also attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, and HE Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President/CEO of Qatar Petroleum. Senior Qatari and Norwegian executives and officials were there to celebrate the event.
HE Al Kaabi, in his talk during the event, mentioned Qatar’s achievements over the past five decades in the energy sector in general and the petrochemical industry in particular. He said that QAFCO was the first building block in Mesaieed Industrial City, and the first Qatari petrochemical manufacturer to export its products from Mesaieed port to the world. It was also the first company to train and develop the potential of local human resources to work and lead the petrochemical sector.
QAFCO is a cornerstone in Industries Qatar, the largest listed company on Qatar Stock Exchange, which has benefited the national economy. This was followed by Muntajat, an experienced Qatari market leader in the marketing of petrochemical products, and exclusively responsible for the marketing of QAFCO’s products throughout the world.’
The Minister also pointed to the role of joint ventures in advancing the national economy. He said that joint ventures not only provide investment opportunities, expertise and resources, but also contribute significantly to growth and sustainability, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, which was launched and guided by HH The Amir, to transform Qatar into an advanced country by 2030, capable of sustaining its own development and providing a high standard of living for all of its people for generations to come.
Based on this, we are placing the highest priority on the development of Qatari nationals, the prudent management of our hydrocarbon resources, the well-planned and diversified investment, and on ensuring to carry out our projects in accordance with the highest environmental standards.’
QAFCO is amongst the first petrochemical enterprises in Qatar established by the Government of Qatar, Norsk Hydro, The Power-Gas Corporation Ltd and Hambros Bank Ltd in 1969. Today, ownership is shared 75/25 between Qatar Petroleum and YARA International ASA. QAFCO’s annual production capacity is 5.6 million metric tonnes of urea and 3.8 million metric tonnes of ammonia, marketed and sold exclusively by Muntajat.
QAFCO worldwide is recognised as the largest single-site fertiliser plant and represents a significant percentage of the world’s traded supply.
QAFCO has also established Gulf Formaldehyde Company (2003) and Qatar Melamine Company (2006) to further support Qatar’s industrial diversification strategy.
For more information about QAFCO, visit their website at qafco.qa.