Ruwais Fertiliser Company (Fertil) has invited companies to submit cost estimates by 15 July for the combined licence, front-end engineering and design (FEED) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on its major expansion project.

Two groups Germany's Uhde with the local Al-Jaber Energy Services, and Italy's Snamprogetti with Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) are understood to have been invited to submit indicative prices for the estimated $700 million contract (MEED 30:9:05).

The expansion will focus on the construction of a 350-tonne-a-day (t/d) ammonia unit, a 350-t/d urea unit

and granulation facilities along with related utilities. The

US' Jacobs Engineering

has prepared the feasibility study. The expansion will

use additional volumes of feedstock gas to be supplied from the Asab, Bab and Thamama

C fields.

Fertil also plans an expansion of its existing urea production unit through a debottlenecking, for which Uhde has been awarded the technology licensing package.

The German firm beat off competition from Stamicarbon of the Netherlands for the contract. The estimated $100 million scheme will involve the installation of a 350-t/d carbon dioxide unit and a major granulation unit.

The next stage will be the issue of the FEED tender, for which two companies have already been prequalified.

They are Uhde and Snamprogetti. Australia's WorleyParsons will provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for the FEED. Fertil is a 66.7:33.3 joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and France's Total.