Aramco, Conoco bring forward refinery bids deadline

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco and U.S. ConocoPhillips (COP.N) have brought forward to January 26 the deadline for bids to build a 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery in Yanbu, five bidders said on Monday.

The deadline for five engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposals was originally due by January 31.

The packages include a coking unit, a crude facility, a gasoline unit, a hydrocracker and a tank farm.

"The last due date is January 26. As far as we are concerned, we have no problem in meeting the closing date," said one bidder.

The companies aim to award all contracts in May 2010. They aim to complete building the refinery by March 1, 2014, sources at contractors said in July.

Aramco and Conoco have set a February 28 deadline for bids for a solids unit at their joint refinery, sources at contractors said last month.

The refinery is part of top oil exporter Saudi Arabia's plans to double total domestic and international refining capacity by 2015.

(Reporting by Reem Shamseddine, Editing by Keiron Henderson)