Bidders gear up for cracker projects

10 September 2004
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic)has invited the five members of the ethylene club to submit bids by 30 November for the contract to build the mixed feedstock cracker on its planned olefins complex at Yanbu. The same companies are also preparing to submit bids by 1 December for the cracker package on the Sahara Petrochemical Companycomplex at Jubail. Both contracts cover technology supply and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC - MEED 13:8:04; 18:6:04).

The five members of the ethylene club are ABB Lummus Global, Shaw International, formerly known as Stone & Webster, and Kellogg Brown & Root, all US-based, Germany's Lindeand Paris-based Technip.

The Yanbu cracker will have capacity of 1.3 million tonnes a year (t/y). UK-based Foster Wheeler Energyhas the project management consultancy (PMC) contract on the scheme, which is a scaled-up version of Sabic's United Petrochemical Company (United)complex in Jubail.

The full invitation to bid (ITB) document has now been released on the Sahara ethane/propane cracker, which will produce more than 1 million t/y of ethylene and about 200,000 t/y of propylene. The contract is scheduled to be awarded in February 2005. US-based Fluor Danielis the PMC contractor on the project.

Sahara is pursuing its olefins complex in partnership with the local Tasnee Petrochemicals, a subsidiary of the local National Industrialisation Company (NIC), Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem)and an as yet-to-be appointed international partner. The olefins complex is due to be completed in 2007 (MEED 2:07:04).

Industry sources say another new cracker, with associated downstream units, is being considered at Jubail-based Arabian Petrochemical Company (Petrokemya). The new plant, Petrokemya 4, is expected to include a mixed feedstock cracker with capacity of at least 1 million t/y, for which an ITB is likely to be released in early 2005. A PMC contractor has still to be appointed.

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