Oil major Saudi Aramco plans to release the tender for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the import and export terminal at its planned $7bn Jizan Refinery in the first quarter of 2012.

The terminal will be built adjacent to the Jizan port being developed and will be separate from the main port terminal.  

MEED reported in July that Aramco plans to fast track the EPC packages for the Jizan refinery to early 2012 (MEED 1:7:11). Sources indicate that the terminal could be the first package to be tendered.

“Aramco will move with the terminal first then after that the tenders for the actual refinery will be released,” says a source familiar with the project. “That way, they can use the terminal to bring in materials for the refinery.”

The scope of works for the Jizan scheme will include the construction of a 400,000 barrel-a-day hydroskimming refinery, with the associated marine terminal. Due to the distance between the oilfields and Jizan, all of the crude and the subsequent refined products will not be transferred by pipeline, but will enter and leave exclusively through the marine terminal.

Jizan is located in the south of the kingdom and the refinery will be wholly owned by Aramco, after no foreign oil firms expressed an interest in developing the scheme.