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Saudi Rabigh II partners ask bidders to wait |
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(nctww)
-- State oil giant Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical have told
companies bidding to expand their joint petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia
they need more time to pick contractors.
The partners have asked
engineering companies bidding for the Rabigh II expansion contracts to extend
the validity dates from mid April to the end of the month. They have also asked
for bids for another part of the complex to be extended to May 12, sources said.
Aramco and Sumitomo did not give any other indication on the status of the
project for which contract awards had been expected earlier this year.
A
second feasibility study needs to be completed before finalizing the joint
investment decision. "We are very much committed," Abdulaziz al-Judaimi,
Aramco's vice president for chemicals. Under Rabigh II - which is expected to
cost USD6-USD8bn - the existing ethane cracker would be expanded as well as a
new aromatics complex using around 3 million tonnes per year of naphtha and
various units of petrochemical products of higher value and specialty including
EPR (ethylene propylene rubber), Methyl Methacrylate (MMA).
Industry
sources in Saudi Arabia have said Aramco would press ahead with the project as
it is a key part of Saudi plans to diversify its energy mix and maximize profits
from downstream activities. The original bids were valid for 180 days from
October last year when proposals were due in for 10 packages of the
expansion. |
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