Honam Petrochemical (Seoul), following months of speculation, has confirmed that its previously announced, multibillion-dollar petrochemical joint venture at Mesaieed, Qatar has been cancelled. Honam was notified by its proposed partner, Qatar Petroleum (QP), that due to a steep increase in costs, poor availability of project finance, and the global economic crisis, the project will not go ahead, sources tell CW. The Honam project, contrary to earlier reports, has not been stopped because of a shortage of feedstock. The project, which was to have been based equally on naphtha and ethane, had received its feedstock allocation. The cost of the project more than doubled from an original estimate of $2.6 billion made in 2004-05, says Foster Wheeler, the original contractor for front-end engi- neering and design, and project management.
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