07/09/2014 01:02 AST
Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company SAOC (Orpic), the Sultanate’s refining and petrochemicals flagship, has invited international and local contractors to prequalify for one or more contracts linked to the implementation of the multi-billion dollar Liwa Plastics Project at Sohar Port.
Up for grabs are four packages covering all of the key components that together constitute the Liwa Plastics Project (LPP) which, at an estimated cost of $3.6 billion, is set to be Oman’s largest petrochemicals scheme to date. Under an ‘Invitation for Prequalification’ floated by Orpic at the weekend, contractors can register their interest in bidding for one or more of the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) packages on offer.
The giant scheme is proposed to be established adjacent to the ongoing Sohar Refinery Improvement Project (SRIP) under way at the industrial port of Sohar. It features, among other things, a nominal 900,000 tonne per year ethylene cracking plant, HDPE plant, LLDPE plant, new polypropylene plant, MTBE plant, butene-1 plant and associated utility and offsite facilities. Also envisioned as part of this project is a Natural Gas Liquids extraction facility, which will be set up at Fahud and linked to the Sohar plant via a roughly 300km pipeline.
Package 1 covers the construction of the centrepiece Steam Cracker plant complete with offsite works and utilities. Equally substantial is Package 2 centring on the construction of the Polyethylene and Polypropylene units. Envisaged in Package 3 is a natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction plant that will be set up at Fahud, while Package 4 covers the construction of the 300km pipeline that will link the Fahud plant with the Liwa Plastics Project in Sohar.
Significantly, the ‘Invitation for Prequalification’ represents only the first part of a two-stage prequalification (PQ) process leading to the competitive tendering phase for the ultimate prize: the EPC contracts, says Orpic.
Only single entities (not joint ventures or consortia) are eligible to seek prequalification in ‘PQ Stage 1’. However, applicants that may intend to form joint ventures or consortia when the EPC tender is eventually floated can register their interest as well. The latter are however required to specify whether to wish to be prequalified as either Single Entity/Lead Partner in a future joint venture/ consortium or a Partner in a future joint venture/consortium.
In PQ Stage 2 of the prequalification process, applicants who have been prequalified as single entity or lead partner may choose to participate as single entity, lead partner, or partner.
Likewise, applicants who have been prequalified during PQ Stage 1 may elect to form joint ventures/consortia with one or two of the prequalified applicants.
Importantly, the Liwa petrochemical plant will be integrated with Orpic’s existing Sohar refinery, aromatics complex and polypropylene plant to create a massive petrochemicals complex within the industrial port.
Oman Daily Observer
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