Saudi Aramco is expected to retender two projects to transport and store fuel in the north-central region of Saudi Arabia, according to several industry sources.

The state-owned oil and gas group received engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids on the Qassim to Hail Pipeline and the Hail Bulk Plant in 2016 but is now set to cancel the original tender due to changes in the project scopes. Each project was estimated to be valued at about $300m.

“The tenders have not yet been cancelled but the projects will have to go out to bid again due to changes in the specifications,” a source told MEED.

The proposed Qassim to Hail Pipeline is designed to transport gasoline and diesel from the bulk plant in the Qassim region – located to the northwest of Riyadh – to the city of Hail close to 300km further to the northwest.

The Hail Bulk Plant is designed to receive fuel from the pipeline and store up to 300,000 barrels

Demand for diesel and gasoline in the Hail area is forecast to rise by 3 per cent a year, which convinced Aramco to revive the project in 2014 after it was put on hold for several years.

At least five local and international companies were vying for the EPC contract on each project.

Aramco is still assessing EPC bids for the North Jeddah Bulk Plant in the west of the kingdom.

In the third quarter of 2016, Turkish group Tekfen was awarded a $299m contract to build a 333km fuel pipeline connecting the refining hub of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast with North Jeddah.

The pipeline will transport gasoline and jet fuel and is expected to take 47 months to complete, according to an announcement by Tekfen on 31 August 2016.