Power Contract, Dredging Delays Cause Jizan Refinery Project Slippage

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The construction schedule of state-owned Saudi Aramco's (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) Jizan oil refinery project has been delayed by between six months and a year, following slippage in associated infrastructure work and holdups in the awarding of a contract for the construction of a dedicated power plant. A catch-up plan is under way.

The refinery project is part of a planned industrial city that is designed to improve the poverty-stricken region along the Yemen border. Toward the end of 2012, Saudi Aramco signed deals worth an estimated $6 billion for the 400,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) refinery.

The company did not release a comment on delays affecting the original completion date in the third quarter of 2016. Delays in the dredging of port areas are affecting the equipment that is being shipped by sea.

Another problem delaying the commissioning date is that contracts for the construction of the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant have not yet been placed. Bids have been invited for the 2,400-megawatt (MW) power plant, and the bidding process is due to close in mid-August. This date may be changed to accommodate Islamic fasting in the month of Ramadan.

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