US-BASED Fluor Corporation has announced that it has been selected by Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) to execute the front-end engineering and design for a new aromatics facility located in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The project will expand GPIC’s existing complex, which currently produces ammonia, urea and methanol.

A major player in the region, GPIC was established in 1979 in the kingdom as a joint venture between GCC member states for the manufacture of fertilisers and petrochemicals.

The new facility will utilise commercially proven process technologies to produce 1.2 million metric tonnes of paraxylene and 0.5 million metric tonnes of benzene annually. 

Headquartered in Texas, Fluor is a leading provider of engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services for a range of sectors including oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government and power.

On the contract win, Pierre Bechelany, Fluor’s Business Group President of Energy Solutions, said: “This award reflects GPIC’s confidence in Fluor’s ability to deliver complex petrochemical projects with technical excellence and predictable outcomes.

“We look forward to supporting GPIC as it advances this important investment for the Kingdom of Bahrain’s industrial future,” he added.