State downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has pushed back the deadline for bids on the marine package for the $14bn Al-Zour New Refinery Project (NRP), known as package five.

The date for bid submission has been extended from 7 December to 6 January.

The new extension is the latest in a series of delays. In August, the deadline for both package five and the tankage package, known as package four, was extended to 9 November.

The deadline for the two packages was then extended to 7 December in October.

The prequalified contractors for package five are:

• Petrofac/Hyundai Heavy Industries (UK/South Korea)
• Saipem/Essar/Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Italy/India/South Korea)
• Daelim Industrial (South Korea)
• Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• McDermott International (US)

The winner of the deal will be responsible for constructing the following:

• Pile-supported pier for berthing of a single vessel with equipment for loading and shipping operations
• Sulphur pelletising and conveying system, including conveyer units and circular storage tanks with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes
• Subsea outfall lines
• Construction dock for offloading heavy lift items
• Offshore sea island located at a depth of 20 metres, about 17.5 kilometres from shore. This will be a piled structure capable of berthing four liquid tankers and loading liquid products via marine loading arms. It also consists of metering systems, a PCN vapour recovery system, power and utility generation, crew accommodations, a control and observation building, mooring and navigation monitoring systems, communications systems, small boat landing, helipad, emergency escape craft and other infrastructure
• Small boat harbour with a sheltered approach, a fuelling depot and berthing areas for support craft

The first three packages of the project have also seen delays this year. Earlier in September, KNPC said it had pushed back the deadlines for bids for the first three packages of the NRP, after prequalified companies asked for more time.

In June, when the tenders for the packages were issued, the closing date for submissions was 26 October. Currently, the bid deadline is 13 January 2015.

The Al-Zour NRP has a long history of delays. The scheme has been tendered twice before, only to be awarded and cancelled before construction could begin.

The new refinery is key to Kuwait’s hopes of meeting growing power demand. The 615,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) facility will supply 225,000 b/d of low-sulphur fuel oil for power generation. The scheme will be one of the largest single-phase refineries ever built.