Final bids for the estimated $500m deal to build a new lubricants plant at Ruwais for Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) went in on 16 May after a series of delays, sources close to the project tell MEED.

Up to six international engineering firms handed in commercial bids outlining proposed cost structures for the deal by the deadline, which had been extended twice in recent months.

Contractors were previously asked to hand in cost proposals for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) by a 3 May deadline, which in turn was an extension from the original 19 April cut-off for prices (MEED 28:4:10).

The latest delay came after a prolonged period of talks over the details of the technical proposals made by the bidding firms, which only ended on 22 April.

Firms that submitted commercial bids include:

• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
• Hanwha Corporation (South Korea)
• Technip (France)
• China Technical Consultants (Taiwan)
• Toyo (Japan)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)

The winning bidder will build a 300,000 barrel a day base oil refinery at Ruwais. Base oils are heavy grades of oil commonly used as industrial lubricants. Takreer currently blends the base oils into fuel oil and then sells this on the open market.