EPC contractor Technip have signed a $55mn front end engineering design (FEED) with the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco).
BAPCO Chief Executive Dr Peter Bartlett and Technip CEO, Marco Villa formalised the agreement.
Villa told the Bahrain News Agency after the signing ceremony, the $55 million deal is the beginning of a very important project that could result in a very long standing relationship.
Technip Bapco is an important reference, he added. The importance of this project, said the CEO, should be understood in the light of a global trend to enhance refineries and make them more profitable. “With the technology we offer, the refinery can cope with the continuous upgrade and the stringent regulations refineries are expected to follow by global bodies,” he said.
The FEED is expected to have an impact on the downstream projects, he added.
The CEO of BAPCO said that Technip and BAPCO we’re collaborating on the project and the final plan would be put up to the board of directors and the rulers of Bahrain for review and further investment in the next 18 months. “What we are doing now is getting ready to put the cost estimates to be presented before both the board and the government,” he added.
This forms part of the BAPCO Modernisation Programme (BMP), said the Chairman of the Board, Adel Al Moayyed. He said that it is expected that Technip will complete the critical front end development work for this mega-project by early 2016.
The BMP aims at improving gross margins and ensuring that the refinery remains competitive in the near future. The chairman stressed on Bapco’s adherence to the ‘one-team’ team, which he said has always been a part of the company’s work culture in a diverse multi-cultural environment reaping rich dividends for the company.
