US contractor CB&I and its Taiwanese joint venture partner CTCI Corp. have received a notice of intention from Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. (ORPIC) that they are to be awarded a contract to build an ethylene cracker in Sohar, Oman.

The contract, worth approximately $2.8 billion, is for the engineering, procurement and construction of an 880,000 t/y ethylene plant, pygas and methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE) units, as well as associated utilities, at the Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex. The scope of work also includes the construction of cryogenic and atmospheric storage tanks.

CB&I’s ethylene technology, including highly selective SRT cracking heaters which feature low-pressure separation and mixed refrigeration, will be used for the cracker.

The award follows the successful completion of the front end engineering and design (FEED) work by CB&I. A start-up date for the project was not disclosed.