QATAR PETROLEUM JOINS TSI TO DEVELOP RECOVERED SULFUR MARKETS.

Qatar Petroleum, the state-owned corporation responsible for exploration, production, refining, and distribution of oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbon substances in Qatar and abroad, has joined The Sulphur Institute (TSI) to help develop new markets for the growing supply of recovered sulfur in the Middle East and other major oil-producing regions.

Qatar Petroleum's plans to develop Qatar's North Field natural gas resources is expected to make that country one of the world's largest sulfur producer s by the end of the decade and probably the largest single producer in the Middle East, according to industry analysts. With that added production will come even more involuntary production of recovered sulfur.

"Qatar Petroleum's mission is to get the maximum benefit from Qatar's hydrocarbon resources by engaging directly or indirectly in all activities that would add value to these resources," said Saad Al-Kuwari, manager, Gas and Petrochemicals Marketing at Qatar Petroleum.

Addressing environmental concerns, Qatar Petroleum, as a future leading sulfur producer, pursues the possibility of expanding and developing new markets for this versatile coproduct. "Working with other sulfur producers through TSI is a practical, efficient and expedient way to meet this growing challenge," added Al-Kuwari.

According to Robert Morris, president of The Sulphur Institute, a non-profit market-development organization in Washington, D.C., representing the international sulfur industry, well over 90 percent of the world's elemental sulfur is produced involuntarily by the oil and gas industry.

He noted that worldwide elemental sulfur production jumped 23 percent from 1986 to 2003. More significantly, involuntary production, sulfur that's recovered from processing increasingly sour gas and oil streams or from government-mandated low-sulfur fuels, for instance, doubled during the same period, rapidly outpacing the growth rate for sulfur demand.

"Oil companies aren't used to thinking of themselves as producers of sulfur, when in fact they are now the world's leading suppliers," concedes Larry Marks, vice president, Marketing and Transportation, Shell Canada Limited. "Working together to develop new markets is consistent with the industry's commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship."

Morris noted that many other major oil companies, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Jupiter Sulphur LLC, Koch Sulfur Products Company LLC, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, PRISM Sulphur Corporation, Shell Canada Limited, Shell Europe Oil Products and Shell Oil Products US, are already working with TSI to develop new markets such as sulfur asphalt and sulfur concrete, while expanding traditional markets such as sulfur-containing fertilizers. He points to China as one example of how thi s teamwork is paying off.

"Since 1994, when TSI and its members began an ambitious effort to develop China's imports of sulfur, that country has become the world's leading importer," Morris reports. "China is also responsible for consuming 67 percent of the world's additional production, sulfur that could be sitting in stockpiles if not for these market-development efforts. Similar opportunities exist in India and other untapped markets, but these opportunities will not develop on their own. They need to be cultivated and actively promoted."

Sulfur is used to make a wide variety of products including fertilizers, fibers, pigments, nonferrous metals, paper, plastics and some types of detergents and medicines. Over the years, clean-air regulations mandating significant reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions have made it necessary for energy companies to remove sulfur from all fuel products, thus creating a large stream of involuntary sulfur.

For more information, call 202/331-9660 or visit http://www.sulphurinstitute.org.