Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Company (MRC) have awarded Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) the front-end engineering and design (feed) for two new petrochemicals plants worth about $500m at Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

TR was selected after a stiff challenge from the US’ Jacobs Engineering and Fluor Coproation, as well as France’s Technip and Australia’s WorleyParsons.

“There must be some disappointed engineering contractors out there because most did not think TR was going to win this one,” says a source familiar with the scheme. “Jacobs and Fluor were the favourites.”

TR will carry out the feed during 2012 with packages for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts due to be tendered in the second half of 2012.

The two plants will produce methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and will be built at one of Sabic’s sites in Jubail in the Eastern Province (MEED 3:6:11).

No announcements have been made yet in regards to the location of the site, but the complex for the National Methanol Company (Ibn Sina) at Jubail is the favourite site.

The capacity for the MMA is 250,000 tonnes a year (t/y), which will make it the largest of its type in the world. The PMMA plant is smaller in scale and will have a capacity of 40,000-t/y.

MMA and PMMA have a number of downstream uses including machinery, electrical components and gears and both plants fall in line with Sabic’s move to become a key player in the kingdom’s downstream industries.

Sabic and Lucite International, a subsidiary of MRC are 50:50 joint venture partners for the project.