Saudi Aramco, SABIC receive bids for $20 bln chemical project

State-run Saudi Aramco and Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) have received bids for consultancy work on their $20 billion oil-to-chemicals joint venture project, unnamed industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The two companies are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the complex next month .

KBR, Fluor, Jacobs Engineering, WorleyParsons and Amec Foster Wheeler are among the bidders, it was reported.

The sources added that bids were submitted mid-October for project management consultancy (PMC) of the whole project, including pre-front end engineering and design work (pre-FEED) and FEED.

The contract for the development is likely to be awarded early next year, while commissioning of the complex is scheduled for late 2024.

Saudi Aramco’s CEO Amin Nasser said on Tuesday he expects a final decision to be made by the end of the year.

Aramco and SABIC launched bidding for engineering work on the project in August, Reuters reported.

The closing date for bids for pre-FEED and FEED was Sep. 25, a source told the agency at the time.

In June 2016, both companies signed an agreement to establish the first industrial complex in the Kingdom to process crude oil into chemicals, without refining.