The project is about Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a grass-roots export refinery of Benzene and Xylene, in addition to a naphtha cracker, which is expected to produce olefin and polyolefin. This project involves construction of Jazan Refinery at Jazan Economic City (JEC) in Saudi Arabia. It will be the first refinery in the Kingdom to be wholly owned and operated by the private sector. Crude oil will be supplied by Saudi Aramco under a long-term agreement. The refinery will cover an area of 12km² and will process 400,000bpd of Arabian Heavy and Arabian Medium crudes to produce 80 million barrels per day of gasoline, 250 million barrels per day of diesel and more than one million tonnes per annum of benzene and paraxylene petrochemical products. A multiple-pier marine terminal will support the supply of crude oil from the Saudi Arabian oil fields to the refinery and also enable the export of surplus volumes from the refinery to global markets. The terminal will be designed to accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs). The client has invited local and international companies to submit expressions of interest by March 17, 2007 for a license to develop the refinery. Under the proposed tendering schedule, a request for proposals will be issued to pre-qualified companies during the second quarter of 2007, with proposals submitted early in the fourth quarter of 2007. The refinery is expected to enter operation and production next year, with the recent rearrangement of important facilities in the project, such as the gasification and power joint venture announced by the company on August 12.The aim is to award the license before end of this year. An US-based Company has been appointed to conduct a feasibility study for the project.