Saudi Arabia’s Dammam 7 Petrochemical has doubled the scope of its planned acrylic acid and acrylates complex at Jubail in the kingdom.

A source tells MEED that the move will push the budget of the facility towards the $1bn mark and make the complex one of the largest of its type in the world. The capacity of the planned plant is now 200,000 tonnes-a-year (t/y) of butanol and 400,000-t/y of acrylic acid.

“The budget has risen in accordance with the extra capacity,” the source says. “The capacity has doubled and the costs are in line with this.”  

The source also adds that the project strategy for Dammam 7 will look at combining the front-end engineering and design (Feed) with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) with tenders being released by the end of 2010.

“Tenders are being worked on and should be released by the end of the year,” the source says. “This will be in line with a completion date of either late 2013 or early 2014.”

The project needs to be kept on schedule due to the deals that have been agreed with the feedstock suppliers. Saudi Aramco will be providing gas with the Saudi Arabian/French joint venture the Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp) providing the main propylene feedstock (MEED 21:7:09).   

The Bahrain-based Kanoo Group is the major shareholder of the Dammam 7 project, but due to the additional scope the company is speaking to interested parties regarding taking a stake in the complex.

“The names of the other shareholders are not being disclosed now, but there will be news regarding that by around December,” the source says. “Financing talks are ongoing with banks and other institutions. The Saudi Industrial Development Fund will also be providing funds.”

The scope of works for Dammam 7 will include the construction of a butanol plant, synthesis gas plant, acrylic acid and acrylates plant, offsites and utilities, pipelines and storage facilities.