The company's joint venture, Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (Satorp), says it achieved its target of obtaining a project cost below $10bn after postponing the submission of bids in November 2008.

Costs to build the refinery soared to an estimated $12bn at the start of 2008 from the original $6bn budget when the project was launched in 2006 largely due to an increase in raw material prices.

Satorp delayed the deadline for EPC bids on the 400,000-b/d refinery at Jubail to February 2009, from early November (MEED 14:11:08). It approved the award of the packages in a board meeting held in Paris on 16-17 June.

Aramco confirmed the winners for the main process packages are: Spain's TR for package 1, covering distillation and hydrotreating; Technip for package 2A, covering the conversion unit; South Korea's Daelim Industrial Company for package 2B, a sulphur treatment unit; South Korea's Samsung Engineering for package 3, covering aromatics; Samsung and Japan's Chiyoda Corporation for package 4, the coker unit; Technip and CTCI for package 5A, offsites and utilities; and South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction for package 5B, covering utilities (MEED 12:6:09).

The winners of the smaller packages are: the local MR Al-Kathlan for package 5C, covering auxiliary utilities; Petro-Steel, which is a 50:50 joint venture of the local Rafid Group and Singapore's Rotary Engineering, for package 6 covering the refinery tank farm; the local Al-Osais Contracting Company for package 7, covering general building works; the local Gulf Consolidated Contractors (GCC) for package 8, pipelines and off plots facilities; the local/Indian Dayim Punj Lloyd for package 9 covering the port tank farm; and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation for package 10, covering the telecommunication system.

Satorp says the Jubail refinery will start operations in the second half of 2013.