National Iranian Oil Engineering Company (NIOEC), a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company (NIORDC), has issued a tender for a managing consultant contract for phase two of the Abadan oil refinery upgrade project.

A consortium of China’s Sinopec and Iran’s Oil Design & Construction Company were awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal for the scheme in 2015 and construction work is ongoing.

The value of the EPC contract is thought to be $2.9bn.

The Abadan refinery is located on the Persian Gulf and suffered considerable damage during the Iraq-Iran war, which started in 1980 and ended in 1988.

Damage from the war significantly reduced the refinery’s capacity to process crude. Prior to the war, the refinery had a capacity of 628,000 barrels a day (b/d).

Currently the refinery has a capacity of about 360,000 b/d, although it does not always operate at this capacity.

Through phase two of the Abadan oil refinery upgrade project, NIOEC intends to improve the refinery’s facilities and stabilise output at 360,000 b/d.

The project aims to build a new oil refinery with a capacity of 210,000 b/d next to the existing facility, which will ultimately be removed altogether.

The new plant is expected to produce gasoline and other light products of European 2009 standards.

The refinery is due to treat heavy crude oil (of 20 API) from the Azadegan, Yadavaran and Jufeyr fields.

The scope of work entails the construction of:

• Atmospheric distillation unit (210,000 b/d)
• Vacuum distillation unit (110,000 b/d)
• Liquefied petroleum gas unit
• Naphtha hydro treating unit
• Continuous catalytic reforming unit
• Fluid catalytic cracking unit
• Gasoil and kerosene hydro treating units
• Hydrocracking
• Isomerisation
• Hydrogen production
• Amine treatment
• Units for sulphur
• Associated facilities