Qatar's Ras Laffan Olefins Co. will on Tuesday inaugurate officially its new $800 million ethane cracker that started production last week, the state-run Qatar News Agency reports Monday.

The facility, which will process raw ethane gas to produce 1.3 million metric tons per annum of ethylene, is a joint venture between Qatar Chemical Co. II, or Q-Chem II, and Qatofin Co. It will become the biggest ethane cracker in the world once production capacity is increased to 1.6 million tons a year during the second phase, QNA reports.

Qatar is pouring billions of dollars into industrial plants to diversify its revenue away from oil and natural gas, of which it is the world's largest exporter.

The cracker will supply ethylene feedstock to the new Q-Chem II and Qatofin petrochemical plants in Qatar 's Mesaieed Industrial City , via a 133-kilometer pipeline.

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