Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) is assessing bids from international contractors for three construction deals, worth nearly $4bn in total, to complete the expansion of its refinery at Ruwais.

The three contracts, in addition to two deals Takreer awarded to South Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction and GS Engineering & Construction on 5 November, are for work to double the refinery’s capacity from 417,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 817,000 b/d by 2014.

Firms submitted bids on 11 November for the $2.3bn off-sites and utilities package, a $1.3bn storage tanks package, and a $270m marine facility deal, according to Abu Dhabi-based contractors competing for the work.

Contractors expect Takreer to award the three contracts by the end of 2009. Takreer originally asked international engineering firms to bid for the deals by 26 October, but the state-owned company pushed back the date until 11 November after changing the refinery’s design.

The four groups competing for the off-sites and utilities deal are South Korea’s Daelim Industrial Company and Samsung Engineering, Spain’s TR and Italy’s Techint.

The six contractors that filed bids for the storage tanks deal are SK, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Corporation, all from South Korea, Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company and the US’ CB&I Lummus Global.

The four firms competing for the marine facility package are GS and another South Korean firm, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Italy’s Saipem and Belgium’s Besix.

South Korean contractors have shown great interest in downstream energy projects at Ruwais, including Takreer’s refinery.

SK won the first contract, worth $2.1bn, to build a crude-distillation unit and associated downstream units. GS won the second, worth $3.1bn, to build a residual fluid catalytic cracker unit (MEED 5:11:09).