ALKHOBAR: Saudi Aramco has extended the deadline for companies to bid for construction of a clean fuels and aromatics project at its largest refinery in Ras Tanura, three industry sources said.
Bids are now due by Oct. 20, pushed back from Sept. 8, for the multi-billion-dollar project.
“Bidders requested an extension as there were so many additions to the scope of work,” one of the sources said.
Saudi Aramco has embarked on a program to upgrade its refineries as part of a shift by Middle Eastern refiners to produce cleaner fuels for export markets.
Aramco has also extended the date for bids to build a 2,400 megawatt power plant to supply electricity to its new 400,000 bpd refinery in Jizan, sources said, after companies asked for more time to prepare their offers.
The Ras Tanura clean fuels and aromatics project due on line by 2016 is part of Aramco’s second phase of its refineries upgrade. It will also help supply a new petrochemicals joint venture with Dow Chemical.
It includes a naphtha hydrotreater among other units and will have an annual production capacity of around 1 million metric tons of aromatics.
In March, Aramco shut its joint venture refinery with Exxon Mobil for nearly two months to bring a $2 billion clean fuels project on line.
The firm is building three new refineries in Saudi Arabia, one in the East with France’s Total, one near the Red Sea city of Yanbu with China’s Sinopec, and another at Jazan, near the border with Yemen. All will produce cleaner fuels and some petrochemicals.
The new power plant to supply the Jazan refinery will use integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology to convert vacuum residue fuel from the refinery into a synthetic gas.
Construction of the project is split into four parts. Bids for three have been extended to Oct. 9, while the remaining package known as the gasification unit is extended to Oct. 23.
The Jazan refinery, currently under construction, is likely to be delayed by six to 12 months, because work on associated infrastructure is behind schedule, sources said in July.
Aramco extends bidding for Ras Tanura clean fuels project
Aramco extends bidding for Ras Tanura clean fuels project
Free trade negotiations between GCC, India mark new phase of partnership, says sec-gen
RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general affirmed that the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, and the signing of the joint statement, represents a new phase of strategic partnership.
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said that this contributes to enhancing close cooperation and strengthening economic and trade ties, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
This came during the signing ceremony of the joint statement on launching the free trade agreement negotiations between the Al-Budaiwi and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, which took place in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
During the signing ceremony, Al-Budaiwi said that the Terms of Reference, signed on Feb. 5, provide a comprehensive and clear framework for these negotiations. The two nations agreed to discuss enhancing cooperation in vital strategic areas, including trade in goods, customs procedures, and services.
Additionally, the framework covers Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, cooperation on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, along with other topics of mutual interest. This reflects the comprehensive nature of the agreement and its ability to keep pace with the future economy.
Al-Budaiwi expressed hope that these negotiations would lead to a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that works to remove customs and non-customs barriers, enhance the flow of quality investments in both directions, and achieve further liberalization in trade and investment cooperation between the GCC and India for mutual benefit.
This would provide a stimulating economic environment and an investment climate that opens broad horizons for the business sector, supports supply chains, and accelerates the pace of economic growth in line with the ambitious developmental visions of the GCC states.
The top official affirmed the full readiness of the General Secretariat to host the first round of negotiations at its headquarters in Riyadh during the second half of this year.
The two sides held a meeting during which they reviewed the existing cooperation relations between the GCC and India and discussed ways to develop and elevate them to broader horizons, serving mutual interests and enhancing opportunities for strategic partnership between the two sides, particularly in the economic, investment, and trade fields.
They praised the role undertaken by the negotiating teams from both sides, appreciating the efforts contributing to reaching a comprehensive agreement that enhances economic integration and supports the smooth flow of trade between the two nations.
