Saudi Aramco plans $1bn lube oil Yanbu expansion - contractor

02 February 2011 23:06  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS)--Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining (Luberef) is planning a $1bn (€720m) expansion project at its lube oil refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, US petrochemicals engineering firm Jacobs said on Wednesday.

The Luberef expansion at Yanbu is expected to increase base oil production to meet future demand for high-quality Group II and Group III base oils, according to Jacobs, which was selected to provide the project’s front-end engineering design (FEED) services.

According to Jacobs, the expansion project also would nearly double Luberef's Group I brightstock production, and would help Saudi Arabia meet its requirements for drilling fluid, which currently is imported.

Jacobs did not comment on the project's exact capacities or the expected completion date.

Luberef's current base oil refining capacity at Yanbu is 280,000 tonnes/year, according to information on the company's website. Luberef, one of the world's leading suppliers of base oil, has another lube oil refinery at Jeddah with a capacity of 270,000 tonnes/year.

($1 = €0.72)

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By: Stefan Baumgarten
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