Abu Dhabi Chemicals Integration Company (Tacaamol) has received technical proposals from companies bidding for the offsites and utilities (O&U) package of its planned petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, according to sources familiar with the project.

The technical engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids were submitted at the end of March, after the deadline was pushed back twice from 2 March.

Companies submitting bids for the O&U package include:

• Bechtel (US)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Petrofac (UK)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)

Tacaamol has yet to set a deadline for commercial EPC bids on the O&U package or the larger aromatics complex package. The company received technical bids for the aromatics complex on 15 October last year.

South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction and Samsung Engineering, and France’s Technip are thought to be among the companies bidding for the aromatics complex.

One contractor estimated that commercial bids would not be submitted until the second half of 2015, which means the EPC contract would be awarded towards the end of the year.

Tacaamol is a 51:49 per cent joint venture of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Company (Chemaweyaat) and Singapore-based chemicals group Indorama, and was formed in December 2013.

The complex will have the capacity to produce 1.4 million tonnes a year (t/y) of paraxylene and 500,000 t/y of benzene when it is completed towards the end of the decade.

The project will be located at the Madeenat Chemaweyaat al-Gharbia (MCAG) site, east of the existing Ruwais refining and petrochemicals facilities, along with supporting infrastructure including a dedicated export tank farm, jetty and loading berths.

The long-delayed scheme first looked to be back on track in 2012, when Chemaweyaat appointed US-based Foster Wheeler (now Amec Foster Wheeler) as the project management consultant for the front-end engineering and design (feed) phase.

In September 2013, MEED revealed that the feed work for the project had been awarded to US engineering group CH2M Hill.

Chemaweyaat is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic), Abu Dhabi Investment Council and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).