China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) submitted the lowest price on 23 January for a retendered deal to build new oil storage facilities in Sharjah for state-owned Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer).

Sinopec’s price of $128m beat rival proposals from second placed India’s Larsen & Toubro with $134m and $140m from Litwin of France, according to sources close to the scheme.

Five other international engineering and construction firms submitted proposals, out of seventeen prequalified companies (MEED 24:1:11).

These include:

• Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (US)
• Descon Engineering (Pakistan)
• Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Indian Oil Tanking (India)
• Al-Jaber Energy Services (local)

The project has suffered a number of delays and has changed hands since first being developed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) subsidiary, Adnoc Distribution. The original tender was cancelled in January 2010, despite receiving bids from five firms as Adnoc commissioned more detailed engineering works on the scheme. Takreer took over the development of the scheme in mid-2010.

The eventual winning firm will a build nine storage tanks for refined oil and gas products such as jet fuel, diesel, gasoline and fuel oil with a total capacity of 83,000 cubic metres at the Hamriyah oil terminal on Sharjah’s Gulf coast.

If Sinopec is awarded the deal, it will be its first engineering, procurement and construction contract in the UAE. The firm’s only other construction work in the region is the building of a bulk storage plant at Wasea in Saudi Arabia, which is due for completion in 2012.