Contractors have been given until mid-December to submit their proposals to Sadaf, with the contract due to be awarded in the first half of 2005. The successful bidder will build a 600,000-tonne-a-year (t/y) styrene plant by 2007. Sadaf, which already produces more than 1 million t/y of styrene, has secured additional benzene feedstock from Saudi Aramco.

South Korea's Daelim Industrial Companyand Italy's Snamprogettiare among the companies expected to bid for the project. ABB Lummus has the $4 million contract to carry out basic engineering for the process package and will provide its in-house styrene technology for the project. Sabic's in-house engineering and project management division is in charge of project management. Sadaf is also planning the expansion of its 240-MW captive power plant, currently under construction, by another 120 MW.