Saudi Aramco is studying four bids for a grassroots NGL plant at Hawiyah and is expected to announce the winner by mid-2005, according to Saudi press reports on 15 February. The four competing companies are: Bechtel, Technip, JGC and Snamprogetti. The new plant – part of Saudi Aramco’s $2bn Hawiyah NGL Recovery Program – will have capacity to treat 3,800mn cfd of natural gas, producing dry gas, NGLs and ethane. The new plant is expected to come on-stream in 2007. Under the original schedule, an award for this element in the recovery program was expected in March 2005 (MEES, 1 November 2004). The US’s Jacobs Engineering is the project management consultant for the whole program which includes the expansion of the current Hawiyah processing plant by 800mn cfd to raise sales gas output to 2.2-2.4bn cfd. A contract for this project, worth an estimated $200mn, is expected before end-2005, with completion envisaged in 2008. A third element in the NGL Recovery Program involves the construction of a fourth train at the Ju'aymah plant that will increase its fractionation capacity by providing – with start-up planned for 2007 –  an additional 270,000 b/d of ethane and of 100,000 b/d of propane and NGLs. Three companies have bid for this element in the program: Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Techint and Tecnicas Reunidas.