All four of the groups that previously bid on package four of the Al-Zour New Refinery Project have picked up the new tender documents after the retender that was announced officially on 10 May, according to a source close to the project.

This indicates that all four are considering resubmitting new bids ahead of the 23 June deadline.

The new documents have been given the tender code NRP/EPC-0059.

The package was retendered after bids for the NRP’s five unawarded packages all came in over budget, requiring billions of dollars in extra funding.

The original bidders on the project were:

• Saipem (Italy) and Essar (India), KD406.9m ($1.35bn)
• Daelim (South Korea), KD503.4m
• Daewoo(South Korea), KD560.8
• Petrofac (UK) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea), KD623.3m

The package consists of storage tanking, piping and underground works for the planned refinery, which will be built on the Kuwaiti side of the Divided Zone, a region that is shared with Saudi Arabia.

There is ongoing speculation that other packages for the NRP will also be retendered.

Out of all the five unawarded packages, the low bid on package four was the closest to being within budget.