Oman Refineries & Petrochemicals Company (ORPC) plans to award an estimated $60m contract to upgrade its refinery at Mina al-Fahl in the northeast of the sultanate in early November.

Sources at contractors who submitted bids to ORPC for the deal on 31 August tell MEED that they expect a award in the first two weeks of the month.

The local Galfar Engineering & Contracting, Gulf Petrochemical Services & Trading, Special Technical Services, Arabian Industries, and Development Services all submitted bids.

International firms including South Korea’s LG International Corporation and Daewoo Engineering, along with Dodsal Engineering & Construction and Larsen & Toubro Electromech, both of India, also bid on the deal.

The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract covers an upgrade to the diesel hydrodesulphurisation unit, which extracts sulphur from the oil being processed, and work on the reformer unit, which is used to separate different grades of oil.

“Bids went in at the end of August, and with Oman it normally takes about two and a half months to assess the engineering proposals and the prices being offered,” says an executive at one of the bidding firms. “We would expect a contract award by the very end of October or by the first two weeks of November.”