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NZRC general manger Thomas Zengerly told EnergyReview.Net last April that it was likely Foster Wheeler would be selected as the preferred engineering, procurement and construction contractor as it had already been involved in the pre-approval stage of Future Fuels.
He said then that New Plymouth-headquartered engineering firm Transfield Worley had also been involved in pre-feasibility work and that NZRC had been liasing with ABB Lummus in Holland as well.
Now Foster Wheeler says its $US90 million contract, which is the second stage of the project, will cover the full EPC work necessary for start-up and to help with commissioning of plant that will allow this country's sole refinery to produce ultra-low sulphur and benzene fuels by early 2006.
Foster Wheeler plans to carry out the engineering and procurement work from its Sriracha, Thailand, office, though the project management team will reside in New Zealand.
The modification of the Marsden Pt refinery, just south of Whangarei, will enable it to produce low-sulphur diesel fuel and low-benzene, low-sulphur and low-level aromatic gasoline to meet New Zealand's national transport fuel specifications of 50ppm or less of sulphur in automotive diesel, one percent or less by volume benzene (one percent by volume), and less sulphur and aromatics in motor gasoline by January, 2006.
There will be new processing units for hydrodesulphurisation, benzene removal and hydrogen separation, as well as integration into the existing facilities.
Foster Wheeler's sales, marketing & strategic planning director, Steve Davies, said the project represented the largest investment in the refinery for 20 years. Work began on the site last month and start-up of the new facilities is scheduled for August 2005.
Zengerly is overseas at present and could not be contacted for comment, but in April told ERN that without Future Fuels the refinery would not be able to continue competing with refineries in the Australia-Singapore region and would have to cease refining and convert to an import terminal only.
