(EnergyAsia, September 19 2011, Monday) — Foster Wheeler AG said its Global Engineering and Construction Group and Honeywell’s UOP will jointly supply the technology for a basic engineering design package for a solvent deasphalting (SDA) unit at the Sohar oil refinery in Oman.

The consortium was awarded the contract by Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Co (Orpic).

To start up in 2015, the SDA unit is a major part of an expansion project to increase the refinery’s production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, Jet A-1 fuel, gasoline, diesel and propylene. The unit will an annual capacity to process 2.5 million metric tonnes of vacuum residue of Oman Export Blend crude to produce deasphalted oil (DAO) and asphalt for road bitumen production.

Umberto della Sala, Foster Wheeler’s Interim CEO, said:

“We are very pleased that Orpic has selected UOP/Foster Wheeler technology for this strategically important refinery project in the Middle East. This latest award constitutes a strong vote of confidence in the added value we deliver in heavy oil processing and continues our successful record in licensing large SDA Units.”

Foster Wheeler declined to disclose the contract’s value.