Veco is working under a 10-month contract that was awarded in December, but the schedule has not yet been defined with the government. It will examine proposals to double the plant's capacity to 20,000 barrels a day (b/d). The study is to be financed by the US' Trade & Development Agency.

The plans echo the proposed expansion of the Aden refinery, which is tied to Yemen's privatisation drive. The envisaged Aden upgrade will increase capacity to 170,000 b/d from 100,000 b/d. Industry sources say there are also proposals on the table for two greenfield refineries to increase capacity in line with Yemen's oil output (see Special Report).