The study, which will take about four months, will recommend ways to upgrade the existing units, assess their efficiency by looking at bottlenecks and propose options for a 99 per cent increase in the capacity of the SRUs. At present, there are seven SRUs at Habshan with total capacity of 4,300 tonnes a day (t/d).

The next stage is expected to be the launch of a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study. The client is Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco).

Along with Gasco, Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer)also plans an upgrade of SRUs. India's Larsen & Toubro(L&T) is carrying out works under a $22.5 million contract to supply and install a new SRU at the Ruwais refinery (MEED 20:6:03).

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covers the installation of a 50-t/d unit to replace an existing unit (MEED 25:4:03).