Five international contractors are understood to have been invited to submit technical and commercial offers by 10 April for the offsites and utilities (O&U) package on the Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr) polypropylene (PP) project at Jubail.

The prospective bidders include, Japan's Toyo Corporation, the US'ABB Lummus Global, Taiwan-based CTCI and South Korea's Samsung Engineering Company. An award is expected by the end of the third quarter. Construction will take about 30 months.

In keeping with the recent contracting trend in the kingdom's hydrocarbons and petrochemicals sector, the estimated $100 million-150 million contract will be awarded initially on a cost-reimbursable basis, with the possibility of converting it to a lump-sum turnkey contract at a later stage.

Technical bids are due by the end of March and commercial offers a month later for the 450,000-tonne-a-year polypropylene (PP) plant at the complex. The majority of the feedstock for the facility will be supplied by an olefins conversion unit, for which ABB is the technology provider. The PP technology has been licensed from the US' Dow Chemical Company. Oslo-based Aker Kvaerner is the project management consultant (PMC - MEED 13:1:06).