ration (Sabic)has released invitation to bid (ITB) documents to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for a large-scale petrochemicals complex at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. The contract will include front-end engineering and design (FEED) services. The Yanbu scheme will resemble in size and product range Sabic's Jubail United Petrochemical Company (United)complex (MEED 9:1:04).

Consultants have been invited to submit bids by 8 March, with a contract award expected by the end of April. Among companies expected to bid for the contract are Bechtel, Fluor Daniel, Foster Wheeler, Halliburton KBR, Jacobs Engineering, Parsons Corporationand ABB Lummus Global, all US-based. Industry sources say Sabic is expected to invite engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposals for the scheme by the end of the year.

According to Sabic, the mixed feedstock facility will comprise a 1.3 million-tonne-a-year (t/y) cracker, an 800,000-t/y polyethylene unit, a 350,000-t/y polypropylene unit and a 700,000-t/y ethylene glycol (EG) facility.

Sabic is also pursuing plans to build a greenfield cracker in Jubail on a 50:50 joint venture basis with Saudi Aramco(MEED 7:11:03). In addition, Sabic is one of three companies involved in negotiations with Aramco to become a partner on an integrated refinery upgrade/ petrochemicals project in Rabigh (MEED 21:11:03, Cover Story).