The EPC bid deadline for the $3.5 billion Petro Rabigh refinery upgrade project now falls at year-end. Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company, known as Petro Rabigh, set the new cutoff in December. Saudi Aramco holds 60 percent of the venture alongside Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical. MEED reported the extension exclusively on Monday, moving the date back from a Nov. 19 deadline.
Cost of the Petro Rabigh Refinery Upgrade Project
Petro Rabigh has disclosed no EPC contract value, and the bids will set it. The clearest public figure remains MEED’s own $3.5 billion estimate for the scheme, reported in 2020. The complex carries heavier historical numbers. The Aramco-Sumitomo venture invested $9.8 billion from 2006 to build the integrated refining and petrochemicals complex. Phase two added $8 billion in chemicals plants and reached commissioning in 2018. However, money is not a constraint on the client side. Petro Rabigh registered a $687 million net profit in the third quarter of 2026, MEED reported on Oct. 30.
Other Projects
Aramco is also involved in the King Salman Energy Park project (Spark) which is also making headway. Asmo has set a Nov. 15 bid deadline for its logistics hub expansion at King Salman Energy Park (Spark). The company is the logistics joint venture of Saudi Aramco and DHL Supply Chain. The complex sits in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, inside the energy development known as Spark. The park’s first-phase infrastructure carries a $1.6 billion (SAR 6 billion) price tag. Investments committed at the 50-square-kilometre site already exceed $3 billion.
Scope of implementation on the Petro Rabigh Refinery Upgrade Project
The 340,000 bpd Red Sea complex anchors the scheme at Rabigh on Saudi Arabia’s west coast. The project adds a 64,000 bpd residue hydrotreating and conversion unit. A 75,000 bpd diesel-treatment plant sits alongside it. Together, the units convert low-value heavy fuel oil residue into clean fuels and petrochemical feedstocks. Supporting works include new storage tanks, interconnecting pipelines, electrical substations and utility upgrades.
Australia’s Worley completed FEED and serves as project management consultant. Four international teams hold the tender. They are Taiwan’s CTCI, Japan’s JGC Corporation and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas. A Larsen & Toubro and Technip Energies consortium completes the field.
Challenges facing the Project
The deadline already moved once, and contractors now price the works against a year-end cutoff. Integration is the technical test. Crews must tie new conversion units into a live 340,000 bpd refinery without disrupting output. Moreover, the wider market offers little slack. MEED’s November business review flagged falling residential activity and a sharp decline in Saudi tendering. Residue conversion technology also ranks among the most demanding EPC scopes in downstream refining.
Bids close in December 2026. An award follows once Petro Rabigh completes evaluation. The upgrade targets residue-conversion capacity of 64,000 to 75,000 bpd, deepening the complex’s clean-fuels slate. Contractors now work toward the year-end cutoff, with the main contract award to follow.
Project Overview
- Project Value: $3.5 billion (MEED estimate, 2020)
- EPC Contract Value: Undisclosed, bids due December
- Location: Rabigh, Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia
- Client: Petro Rabigh, Aramco-Sumitomo venture
- Owners: Saudi Aramco 60 percent, Sumitomo Chemical
- PMC: Worley, FEED complete
Scope
- 64,000 bpd residue hydrotreating, conversion unit
- 75,000 bpd diesel-treatment plant
- New storage tanks and interconnecting pipelines
- Electrical substations and utility upgrades
- Complex base capacity: 340,000 bpd
Project Highlights
- Converts heavy fuel oil residue to clean fuels
- Produces petrochemical feedstocks from residue
- Residue-conversion target: 64,000-75,000 bpd
- Four international EPC teams bidding
Key Developments
- MEED exclusive: deadline moved Monday
- Previous cutoff stood at Nov. 19
- Main EPC tender issued earlier this year
- Worley completed FEED, holds PMC role
Key Challenges
- EPC value stays open until bids
- Integration into live 340,000 bpd refinery
- Compressed pricing window at year-end
- Saudi tendering activity in decline
Outlook
- Bids close December 2026
- Award follows completed evaluation
- Clean-fuels slate deepens at Rabigh
- Bidders: CTCI, JGC, L&T-Technip, TR
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