New Zealand refiner NZRC awards EPC clean fuels contract to Foster Wheeler

Oct. 6, 2003
New Zealand refiner New Zealand Refining Co. Ltd. (NZRC) reported the awarding of a $90 million engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Houston-based Foster Wheeler Ltd.

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Oct. 6 -- New Zealand refiner New Zealand Refining Co. Ltd. (NZRC) reported the awarding of a $90 million engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Houston-based Foster Wheeler Ltd. for the second stage of NZRC's Future Fuels clean fuels project for that country's sole refinery.

The contract covers the full EPC part of the project and involves modifying the refinery, located at Whangarei, North Island, NZ, to produce low-sulfur diesel fuel and low-benzene, low-sulfur, and low-aromatics gasoline.

During the first stage of the contract, now completed, Foster Wheeler supported NZRC in producing an EPC sanction package from a number of separate basic design engineering packages and assisted in the development of the total installed cost estimate.

The entire project includes new hydrodesulfurization processing units, benzene removal and hydrogen separation units, as well as integration of these units into the existing facilities.

"Foster Wheeler is working on the refinery to ensure compliance with forthcoming changes to New Zealand's national transport fuel specifications," the company said. These specifications require the reduction of sulfur in diesel fuel to 50 ppm or less and the reduction of benzene to 1 vol %; gasoline also is required to have reduced sulfur and aromatics content by Jan. 1, 2006.

Work began on the site in September and start-up of the new facilities is scheduled for August 2005.