New coking unit for Jamnagar

has been awarded a contract for a new eight-drum delayed coking unit to be installed as part of the Jamnagar Export Refinery Project at the

(RPL) refinery in

.

The project will approximately double the Reliance Group's crude refining capacity. The new refinery will be the largest single stream petroleum refinery in the world.

Foster Wheeler's scope includes process and detailed engineering for the new coker, which is expected to commence operations in 2008. Foster Wheeler also designed Reliance's first refinery's existing eight-drum coker, which is the world's largest operating coker and started up in 1998.

The terms of the contract, which was awarded to Foster Wheeler by Bechtel France, RPL's Design, Engineering, Procurement and Construction Advisory Services contractor, were not disclosed. The award will be included in the company's second-quarter bookings for 2006.

Foster Wheeler's SYDEC process is a thermal conversion process used by refineries worldwide to upgrade heavy residue feed and process it into high value transport fuels.

The SYDEC technology utilises a low-pressure, low-recycle design for achieving maximum liquid yields. By installing a SYDEC unit in their refinery, the owner is able to process heavier crudes, which sell at a discount to the benchmark light, sweet crudes, allowing the refiner to reap the benefit of significant refining margins.