B -- YEMEN: MARIB OIL REFINERY EXPANSION FEASIBILITY STUDY

Notice Date

June 13, 2001

Contracting Office

USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

ZIP Code

22209-2131

Response Due

July 30, 2001

Point of Contact

POC -- Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009.

Description

Yemen: Marib Oil Refinery Expansion Feasibility Study. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study for the proposed Marib Oil Refinery expansion in Yemen. Yemen currently produces 440,000 barrels per day of oil and consumes about 80,000 barrels of refined products produced in two oil refineries: the Aden Refinery in the southern area of the country, with a current capacity of roughly 80,000 barrels per day (bpd); and the Marib Refinery located in the northeastern desert region, with a capacity of 10,000 bpd. The Marib Refinery is located near the Marib and Jannah oil fields and can supply the northern market areas of Sana'a and Sa'ada at a transportation savings of $4 million per year over delivery of refined products from the Aden Refinery. The demand for refined products is expected to increase from 80,000 to 175,000 bpd over the next 20 years. Modernization and possible expansion of the Aden Refinery is planned in the near future. The Marib Refinery was established in 1986 by the Yemen Hunt Oil Company to provide a source of gasoline and diesel for oil field operations in the vicinity and for the local economy of eastern Yemen. In 1998, ownership and operational responsibility was transferred to the Yemen Oil Refining Company (YORC) although Yemen Hunt provides limited maintenance assistance at the facility. A major overhaul and replacement of critical equipment will be necessary if the refinery is to continue its operations. Specifically, YORC intends to expand its throughput to 25,000 bpd, an expansion justified by existing demands, by adding the following process units: Crude preflash unit to remove light materials from the crude in order to avoid overloading the upper trays in the crude distillation tower. The preflash unit would also be equipped with a debutanizer column to remove LPG from lighter flare gases. Second catalytic reformer -- Distillate hydrotreater for the desulfurization of diesel gas oil. -- Replacement of existing cooling tower, power plant, water supply, wastewater treatment, and instrument air systems. The feasibility study for the refinery expansion will be used as a financing and project implementation document. It will include a technical evaluation, project cost estimate, economic analysis, and evaluation of financial feasibility. The tasks for the study are summarized as follows: 1) Preparation of the existing refinery process at 10,000 barrels per day; 2) Preparation of the expanded refinery process at 25,000 barrels per day; 3) Sizing of major process equipment; 4) Site visit to the Marib Refinery; 5) Preparation of piping and instrument diagram; 6) Preliminary civil, mechanical, and electrical design; 7) Capital cost estimate; 8) Identification of environmental impacts and mitigation recommendations; 9) Economic feasibility analysis of the expanded refinery process at 25,000 barrels per day based on current international crude oil and refined product prices; 10) Project structure, financial analysis, and planning; and 11) Project schedule and action plan. Detailed engineering work will be discussed with the selected Contractor for the Feasibility Study. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $330,075 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background desk study report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mailroom before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee by 3:00 P.M., Monday, July 30, 2001 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010615/BSOL003.HTM (W-164 SN50O892)