Iraq’s South Refineries Company (SRC) is expected to issue a long-awaited tender by May for the upgrade of the Basra refinery, located in the south of the country.

Only three firms have been prequalified to bid for the estimated $1.5bn-plus engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal, according to sources close to the project.

The three companies, all Japanese, are Chiyoda Corporation, JGC Corporation and Toyo Engineering. The deal will be financed in part by a $430m loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

EPC contractors have been waiting since 2012 for the tender to be launched and it now appears to finally be ready. However, upcoming elections in April could still derail the process, contractors warn.

The upgrade includes the construction of a new 30,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) and desulphurisation units by 2019 at a new greenfield site just outside the existing refinery complex.

France’s Maire Tecnimont is the project management consultant for the scheme. Rome-based APS Engineering, a subsidiary of JGC, has completed the front-end engineering and design (feed), and France’s Axens was selected to provide the technology licence for the FCC unit in 2011.

SRC is also prequalifying international EPC firms for a new utility unit at the existing refinery. Documents are due in before the end of March.

The Basra refinery currently has two trains of atmospheric distillation units with a design capacity of 70,000 b/d each. A third distillation unit was completed in 2013 and is now close to commissioning, taking total capacity up to 210,000 b/d.

For more on Iraq’s downstream plans, click here.