In second place at $34 million was a team led by Germany's Krupp Uhde, followed by Sharjah-based Petrofac International, with the local Galfar Engineering & Contractingat $38.1 million. Bids ranged up to $47 million.

The project calls for the supply and installation of a 15,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) DHDS, amine treating and sulphur recovery unit, as well as associated pumps and equipment. Work is expected to take 18 months. The US Halliburton KBRcarried out the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the

project.

Mina al-Fahal, which was opened in 1982, has the capacity to process 85,000 b/d of oil. Output is mainly used to meet local demand for gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and bunker fuel. The new units will process 50 parts per million sulphur-carrying diesel, producing pure sulphur, which can then be used in a number of industries including petrochemicals.