MIDDLE EAST INDUSTRIAL BRIEFS

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources

PETROLEUM REFINING

Bids for Kuwait's Mega Cost Refinery

Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) reports that about 30 companies have submitted preliminary bids for the proposed 615,000 barrels per day (bpd) Al Zour refinery. After an aborted round of bidding, due to cost escalation, KNPC doubled the budget for the project to $12 billion in May. It was then reported that some of the bids for the Middle East's largest standalone refinery reached $15 billion. With Fluor already contracted for the project management Technip (France), Snamprogetti (Italy) and US companies KBR, Bechtel and Foster Wheeler are among international companies submitting pre-qualification bids. Bids for the five EPC (engineering+procurement+ construction) packages will be invited early in Q3 and contracts awarded in Q4, 2007.

CHEMICAL PROCESSING

Qatar Expands Ethylene Capacity

Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) has signed a $190 million EPC contract with Japan Gas Company (JGC) as the main contractor with Stone and Webster, the technology supplier for the expansion of the company's existing ethylene plant. The project will raise capacity from 525,000tpa to 720,000 tpa and improve the operating efficiency and the utilization of by products. Additional ethylene production will be used in downstream derivative units with excess exported to international markets. Fully hydrogenated gasoline will be supplied to Qatar Petroleum refinery and will constitute the prime benzene source for the linear alkyl project.

Algeria Building Export Geared Fertilizer Plant

Sorfert, the Algerian subsidiary of Egypt's Orascom Construction, has signed a contract with the German company Uhde to build a $1.7 billion fertiliser production plant at Azrew, near the western coastal town of Oran. The plant will have ammonia /urea production capacity of 1.1 million tpa and a second ammonia unit with a capacity of 770,000 tpa. It will be Algeria's largest fertilizer producer and will be geared to be a major exporter in the Mediterranean region. Operation will start at the end of 2010 and reach full production capacity in mid 2011. Sorfert is owned 51% by Orascom and 49% by the Algerian state's Sonatrach.

METALS & MINERALS

Norsk Hydro Moves on Qatar Smelter

Norsk Hydro (Norway) and Qatar, in a joint venture, are finalizing $2.6 billion finance for an aluminum smelter. With raw material prices rising and design changes Hydro upped the cost estimate for the project 50% to $4.5 billion last November. The plant, which is scheduled to start operations in Q4 2009, will have a capacity of 585,000 tpa and will reach full capacity in 2010. There will be 12 construction packages including a $700 million, 1,350 MW power plant on which the contract decision is imminent. Qatalum, in which Hydro holds 50%, will produce extrusion ingles for tubes and foundry alloys for the automotive industry for export to North America, Asia and Europe.

PRODUCTION/EMISSIONS

SNC-Lavalin Carbon Emissions Contract

A contract for a feasibility study on a project to capture carbon emissions and boost oil output has been awarded by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company to the Canadian company SNC-Lavalin. The project is part of a UAE plan to reduce emission of greenhouse gases by 40%. Gas will be pumped to oilfields for injection underground to sustain reservoir pressure and maximize crude output, while freeing up the natural gas that is currently reinjected for this purpose. SNC- Lavalin will identify and evaluate the potential for capturing emissions from the UAE's oil and gas production facilities, power plants, petrochemical plants and existing and planned industrial plants.

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