Two groups of companies have submitted cost estimates to Ruwais Fertiliser Company (Fertil) for the combined licence, front-end engineering and design (FEED) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on its major expansion project.

They are: Germany's Uhde with the local Al-Jaber Energy Services; and Italy's Snamprogetti with Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC MEED 23:6:06).

The estimated $700 million expansion will focus on the

construction of a 350-tonne-

a-day (t/d) ammonia unit, a 350-t/d urea unit and granulation facilities along with related utilities. The US' Jacobs Engineering has prepared the feasibility study.

The expansion will use

additional volumes of feedstock gas to be supplied from the Asab, Bab and Thamama C fields.

Fertil also plans an expansion of its existing urea production unit through a debottlenecking, for which several key appointments have been made.

Swiss-based Casale Group has been awarded the FEED contract for the main process plant; the Indian office of Uhde has the contract to carry out the FEED package for the granulation unit.

The estimated $100 million scheme will involve the installation of a 350-t/d carbon dioxide unit and a major granulation unit. Australia's WorleyParsons will provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for the FEED. Fertil is a 66.7:33.3 joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and France's Total.