Companies are preparing to submit bids early February on a project to expand storage capacity at the Jebel Ali oil refinery in Dubai, according to sources familiar with the scheme. 

Project owner, state-owned Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) has asked contractors to submit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids on the package on 8 February.

Companies set to submit technical EPC bids on the project are understood to include the following firms, with potential bids from additional prequalified contractors:

• Audex (Singapore)
• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• OHL (Spain)
• Rotary Engineering (UAE)
• Tata Projects (India)
• Technip (France)

Technical bids will be followed by companies submitting commercial bids later in the year.

The scope of work for the storage tanks package includes storage tanks, connecting pipelines, pumps and associated facilities.

In September 2016 Enoc said that France’s Technip had been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal for the new processing unit, confirming a report by MEED in August.

The expansion is expected to start commercial production in the fourth quarter of 2019. New processing units will include a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/naphtha hydrotreater, an isomerisation unit, a kerosene hydrotreater, and a diesel hydrotreater.

Enoc said the new units would ensure the refinery is producing enough gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to meet rising domestic fuel demand as well as for export purposes.

The front-end engineering and design (feed) study on the project was carried out by US-based KBR, while the licensor technology has been provided by the US’ Honeywell UOP, French group Axens and Italy’s KT.