GCC Mega Projects: Ras Tanura Integrated Project, Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is regarded as the most exciting energy projects market in the world¬ today. The country has huge untapped oil and gas reserves, is one of the world’s largest oil producers, and has the capacity to support future unmet global demand for energy.

The Kingdom has a strong commitment to developing its refining and petrochemical industries as it aims to become the petrochemicals and refining hubs of the GCC. This is demonstrated by the considerable investments and large-scale project developments planned by in these energy-related segments.

Current Contax estimates show that Refining and Petrochemicals are the largest GCC energy projects markets for 2008-2010, with KSA forecast to award over half of all planned Refining and two-thirds of all planned Petrochemicals investments.

The Ras Tanura Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex is one of KSA’s flagship projects, and of critical importance to global refining and petrochemicals capacity. The project will upgrade the existing refinery’s capacity by 400,000 bpd and build a new petrochemicals complex to form the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex. The project is currently at the FEED stage, with FEED completion scheduled for Q1 2009.

This Contax Project Study provides readers with an in-depth analysis of the project at the FEED stage, using Contax’s proprietary data and industry insights. Forthcoming updates will track project development at the EPC Bid, Execution, and Operations & Maintenance stages.

With the project looking very likely to move into the EPC bid phase, this Study provides all interested parties with a clear picture of the project at its current stage and gives insights into project structure to allow users to make targetted investments in the project.

This report is an essential source of critical up-to-date information on the project. It will enable readers to identify and prioritise appropriate opportunities, understand project requirements and plan resources, and develop business.

Key insights include:

• The scope of the project
• The current status of the project
• Key project timelines, including forecast award dates for the various packages
• Our assessment of the likelihood for the project being realised
• Any potential challenges for the project to be realised
• The contracting strategy being adopted
• Key contractors and technology providers involved or likely to be involved
• An overview of the decision-making structure and key personnel
• The strategic importance of the project
• The market overview of KSA in the context of the GCC
• The global production of refined products
• An overview of key technical aspects of the project.