The companies to have attended include: Europe's ABB, the UK's Amec, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, GS Engineering & Constructionand SK Engineering & Construction, all of South Korea; Snamprogettiand Techint, both of Italy, Spain's Tecnicas Reunidasand Paris-based Technip.

Discussions centred on whether to tender the estimated $600 million-700 million EPC contract on a lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) or cost reimbursable basis. No decision was reached at the meeting and the client is expected to inform the contractors on how it intends to proceed before the end of September, with a view to tendering the work early next year.

The new train is expected to have capacity to process 550 million cubic feet a day through gas compression, acid gas removal, gas drying, pre-cooling and fractionation.

The US' Fluor Corporationhas completed pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) work on the train as part of its umbrella FEED contract covering the revamp of KNPC's three refineries (MEED 10:6:05).