Morocco's sole oil refinery, SAMIR, has awarded a contract of management consultancy to Foster Wheeler Italiana SPA, reported the Oil and Gas journal website.
SAMIR awarded the contract to the Italian subsidiary for major upgrading and expansion of its Mohammedia Refinery, near Casablanca.
The Moroccan oil company has been facing a deficit in butane production. The gap between the quantity produced and the national market's needs for propane, butane and diesel oil has mobilised officials of the refinery to respond to consumers' requirements.
The upgrading programme, which has a total investment cost of approximately USD 650 million, aims to increase refinery capacity, maximize gasoil production and improve product quality specifications to meet the distillate requirements of the Moroccan market by 2010.
The project also includes new conversion and auxiliary units: a vacuum distillation unit, a distillate hydrotreater, a sulfur recovery unit, and a hydrogen plant.
According to the website contractorsunlimited.co.uk, the chief executive officer of Foster Wheeler's Global Engineering and Construction Group, Umberto Della Sala, said "We are very pleased to be awarded this challenging contract.
"This represents a real team effort. Our UK-headquarters carried out the feasibility study, the front-end design and prepared the invitation to tender documents for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase. Now, our Italian Milan headquarters will manage the EPC contractor, who is also based in Milan. Being entrusted by SAMIR to act as their project management consultant in such a big project is indeed an acknowledgement of our expertise in this field and we will spare no effort in helping our client to bring this important project to a successful completion," he added.
The total refinery production will be 6.25 million tons on a yearly basis, equivalent to about 121,000 barrels per day. The refinery improvement is expected to be completed by June 2008.
© Morocco Times 2005
