Project Profile
Value: US$1 billion
Location: Yanbu, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Capacity: 280,000 t/y of oil lubricants
Start-up Year: 4Q 2015
Luberef Yanbu base oil refinery is located on the Red Sea at Yanbu, near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It was built on 165ha in the industrial park. The refinery is operated by Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Company (Luberef). The refinery is engaged in the production of API Group I straight run grades and byproducts, including naphtha, diesel oil, and drilling fluid. It mainly provides services to the domestic market. The products from the refinery are transported through truck loading, interconnecting pipelines and four marine terminal facilities.
The expansion of the Yanbu lube base oil refinery, which is also referred to as Luberef II, began in January 2011. The expansion is aimed at increasing the production of API Group II and Group III base oils to meet the rising demand for these products in domestic and international markets. The estimated investment for the expansion of the refinery is US$1 billion. The expansion includes the construction of a new sulphur treatment complex, hydrofinishing unit and hydrocracker. It will also expand the capacity of the vacuum distillation unit from the existing 26,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 40,000bpd. Additional storage tanks will be built as part of the expansion. The capacity of the propane de-asphalting unit will be increased, from the current 6,500bpd to 12,500bpd. The existing electrical facilities at the refinery will be extended and upgraded, plus a new cooling tower for water cooling system will be constructed.
Operator:
Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co. (Luberef): Operator with 70% interest
Jadwa Investment: 30% interest
Contractors:
Bechtel: Pre-feasibility study
Jacobs Engineering: FEED contract and project management consulting (PMC) services
KBR: Technology provider
Samsung Engineering: EPC contract