ExxonMobil lets contract for Antwerp refinery

ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA has let an engineering, procurement, and construction contract to Fluor Corp. for a delayed coker to be installed at its 320,000-b/d Antwerp refinery (OGJ Online, July 2, 2014).

In addition to EPC services, Fluor’s scope of work will include module fabrication, transportation, and installation for the unit, Fluor said.

Led by Fluor’s office in the Netherlands, engineering and design work for the project began in June, while construction activities officially started following a groundbreaking ceremony in October, Fluor said.

While Fluor did not disclose the value of the lump-sum contract, the service company said it did book the project into its backlog earlier in 2014.

The start of construction on the project follows ExxonMobil’s announcement earlier in the year that it would invest $1 billion in to install the delayed coker as part of the company’s long-term strategy to help the Antwerp refinery better compete in Europe’s challenging industry environment by directly addressing a shortfall in regional refiners’ capability to convert fuel oil to products such as diesel.

ExxonMobil also recently let an EPC contract to a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG’s global engineering and construction group for the upgrade of a resid unit at the Antwerp plant (OGJ Online, Oct. 22, 2014).