Contract Awards
Hyundai E&C Among Contractors Picked for $11B Petrochemical Plant in Saudi Arabia
Photo courtesy Saudi Aramco
Six international engineering firms have won engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the planned $11-billion Amiral petrochemical plant. The new facility will be integrated into Saudi Arabia’s 460,000-barrel full-conversion refinery, the Saudi Aramco Total Refinery & Petrochemicals Co.’s refinery in Jubail, 70 km northeast of Dammam city.
A final investment decision for the project was announced last December by the project's joint venture owners, TotalEnergies, a global multi-energy company and the Saudi Arabian Oil Group (Aramco) for the construction of the Amiral petrochemical plant.
The new plant will have a mixed-feed cracker—50% ethane and refinery off-gases—with a production capacity of 1.5 million metric tons per year of ethylene, according to TotalEnergies.
At least $4 billion in equity financing will come from Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%). Construction of the petrochemical plant was initially set for the first quarter of this year, with commercial operation slated for 2027. While TotalEnergies said the recent award of the EPC contracts for main process units and associated utilities “marks the start of construction work on this joint project,” there is no confirmation from the developer yet on when construction will begin.
South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Ltd. has been picked for a detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up activities contract valued at $5 billion. The contractor will install a mixed-feed cracker to produce an additional 1,650 kilotons per annum (kta) of ethylene and related industrial gases. Hyundai will also install facilities for electricity and water utilities at the new complex.
Italian contractor Maire Tecnimont’s Tecnimont and Tecnimont Arabia Ltd. will construct two polyethylene units using advanced dual loop technology, with a nameplate capacity of 500 kta each, and the associated derivative units in an EPC contract valued at $2 billion. The company says it will provide “complete engineering services, equipment and material supply, construction activities, pre-commissioning and commissioning, and shall have a duration of approximately four years.”
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. affiliate Sinopec Engineering Group Saudi Co. Ltd. will develop a tank farm and carry out integration of additional facilities to existing Saudi Aramco Total Refinery & Petrochemicals Co.'s refinery and petrochemical platform. The transfer of pipelines at the SATORP platform has been awarded to Gulf Consolidated Contractors Co., while Mohammed Ali Al-Suwailem Trading & Contracting Co. will install industrial support facilities at the new petrochemical complex.
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The value of these contracts could not be immediately confirmed.
Elsewhere, Mofarreh Marzouq Al Harbi & Partners Co. Ltd. has won the tender for site preparation while Mobarak M. Al Salomi & Partners for Contracting Co. will construct temporary construction facilities to support personnel and equipment during the construction of the petrochemical plant. Contract values were not disclosed.
TotalEnergies says the petrochemical plant project is expected to create an estimated 7,000 direct and indirect jobs in Saudi Arabia.
