Jacobs boosts role in $1bn Saudi refinery project

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a contract from Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co. (Luberef) to provide project management consulting (PMC) services for an expansion project at its lube oil refinery in Yanbu. Officials did not disclose the contract value, however noted that the overall expansion project cost is estimated at approximately $ 1 billion. Jacobs’ Leiden, Netherlands office is managing the overall project in collaboration with Jacobs’ offices in Alkhobar and other locations. Under the terms of the agreement, Jacobs is providing PMC services for both inside battery limits (ISBL) and outside battery limits (OSBL). The ISBL services include a new lube oil unit, a new sulfur complex, a new hydrogen manufacturing unit, and an expansion of the propane de-asphalting unit. The OSBL services involve all utilities, tanks and infrastructure. The Yanbu Refinery expansion is expected to increase base oil production to meet future demands for high quality GR-II and GR-III base oils, increase the GR-I Bright stock to almost double current production, produce higher-value byproducts (naphtha, diesel, and kerosene), and satisfy Kingdom requirements for producing drilling fluid, which is currently being imported. Luberef’s President and CEO Hasan Jamaan Alzahrani said: “This expansion project will add value to the Kingdom’s economy, including employment, and provide high quality lubricants to the markets we serve. In addition, it is part of Luberef’s overall strategy to provide high quality base oil with different product slates of GR-I, GR-II, and GR-III to strengthen Luberef’s position as a leading supplier. Luberef is looking forward to working with Jacobs to execute this major milestone of the expansion project.” Jacobs Group Vice President Bassim D. Shebaro said: “Jacobs is delighted to continue our partnership with Luberef by working on this significant project at the Yanbu Refinery. After our successful FEED efforts, we welcome the opportunity to continue to support Luberef’s production of higher-grade clean fuels.” Luberef, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Jadwa Industrial Investment, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of high quality base oil. Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management’s current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements.