Six bidders have been prequalified for the Ras Laffan Diesel Hydrotreater engineering, procurement and design tender.

The Laffan Refinery Company, a joint venture majority owned by Qatar Petroleum (QP), plans to reduce the sulphur content in the diesel produced in the Laffan refinery with the project.

The prequalified bidders are:

• Petrofac Limited (UK)
• Samsung Engineering  (South Korea)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Saipem SpA (Italy)
• CB&I Lummus (Netherlands)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)

The technical bids deadline is scheduled for June and the commercial bids will be submitted within the third quarter of the year. Bidders expect the contract to be awarded in the fourth quarter.

The front-end engineering and design work has been completed by Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas. The Laffan Refinery is Qatar’s first condensate refinery, which started production in September 2009.

The scope of the EPC contract includes the construction of the diesel hydrotreater unit, the feed filters, pumps and heaters, the reactor, and a sulphur recovery unit.

The sulphur will be transferred to a sulphur treatment facility in Ras Laffan run by Canadian firm Enersul, according to a source close to the project.