Shell Deutschland Oil GMBH let a contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for infrastructure work supporting integration of the 327,000 b/d Rhineland refinery near Cologne, Germany (OGJ Online, Aug. 4, 2009).
The complex encompasses the former 162,000 b/d Godorf and 140,000 b/d Wesseling refineries, which are 2.36 miles apart on opposite sides of the Rhine River. Shell began reporting them as a single facility in 2005 (OGJ, Dec. 19, 2005, p. 60).
An early phase of integration involved modification of hydrogen and desulfurization units to allow Wesseling to desulfurize gas oil from Godorf.
The Jacobs contract covers project management and engineering, procurement, and construction management services for piping tie-ins, instrumentation, steel structures, pump stations, and other infrastructure components within the refining sites. The work will support connections to two tunnels beneath the Rhine under development by a specialist contractor.