Saudi Aramco lets contract for Jazan refining complex

Feb. 8, 2016
Saudi Aramco, through a contractor, has let a contract to Bertin Technologies SA, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, a subsidiary of CNIM Group, Paris, to provide gas-leak detection technology to the 400,000-b/d Jazan refinery project now under construction in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea.

Saudi Aramco, through a contractor, has let a contract to Bertin Technologies SA, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, a subsidiary of CNIM Group, Paris, to provide gas-leak detection technology to the 400,000-b/d Jazan refinery project now under construction in the southwest of Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea (OGJ Online, Jan. 20, 2010).

As part of the contract, to be delivered on a turnkey basis, Bertin Technologies will supply, install, and commission its proprietary Second Sight gas-leak tracking system at the Jazan refinery to help detect and monitor potentially explosive gas clouds, the service provider said.

Initially developed for defense and civil security applications, the Second Sight system for Jazan—which Bertin Technologies has adapted to meet both International Electrotechnical Commission Explosive hazardous-area and Aramco standards—will include infrared gas-imagining cameras that can automatically detect the presence and track movements of gas clouds from up to several hundreds of meters away.

To be installed throughout the refinery on existing plant structures and high masts Bertin Technologies will design and supply, the infrared cameras will be connected to the refinery’s main communication infrastructure to transmit live views and associated detection information (including real-time visualization of gas-cloud motion as a colored overlay) to operators in the security room, the company said.

Alongside delivery of Second Sight system technology and equipment to the refinery, Bertin Technologies will provide the following as part of the contract package:

• Guidance on location and positioning of system cameras.

• System configuration services.

• System testing services.

• Software and hardware for system monitoring.

Bertin Technologies did not disclose a value of the contract or a timeline for its scope of work on the project.

Previously scheduled for startup in late 2016 (OGJ Online, Jan. 21, 2015), the Jazan refinery and associated marine terminal project—which will be coordinated with a large integrated gasification combined-cycle plant (OGJ Online, May 8, 2014; May 6, 2014)—currently is due to be commissioned in 2017, according to Aramco’s web site.

The refinery will process Arabian Heavy and Arabian Medium crudes to produce gasoline, ultralow-sulfur diesel, benzene, and paraxylene to help meet Saudi Arabia’s domestic energy demand as well as increase its share of high-value fuel exports to international markets.

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].