'The company acquired all the technologies needed for its industrial complex unit processes earlier this year,' Majed al-Ahmadi, chairman of Project Management & Development Company (PMD), the majority shareholder in Kayan, told MEED on 17 April. 'Packages for the complex's downstream units are expected to go to tender as soon as an award has been made on the cracker and utilities, which will take place in a couple of months. As we see it now, the complex will be in operation during the year 2009.'

PMD received its feedstock allocation from Saudi Aramco in 2003, but difficulties in finding a foreign joint venture partner led to several delays. In February, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with PMD to take a stake in the project

(MEED 3:2:06).

'We have achieved great steps towards the partnership [with Sabic],' said Al-Ahmadi. 'We will announce details as soon as an agreement is signed.'

The complex will comprise a 1.3 million-tonne-a-year (t/y) cracker and a host of downstream units, including ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition, the complex will include a number of speciality products such as dimethyl formamide and the region's first production of polycarbonates.

'The polycarbonate and amines are used as the raw material for lots of applications,' said Al-Ahmadi. 'Kayan will be the first to introduce them in the region, and we anticipate that many secondary industries will be established locally once these products are available.'

In keeping with recent contracting trends in the local petrochemical sector, each of

the main process unit packages will be awarded on a convertible lump-sum turnkey (CLSTK)

basis. 'With the current tight

contracting market, we have to cope with the situation, and accordingly adopt the CLSTK contracting strategy,' said Al-Ahmadi. 'Even with this approach, the cost will be higher than reasonable estimates made in 2003.'

www.meed.com/petrochemicals