Bahrain’s state-owned petrochemical company GPIC (Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company) has awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to US-based Fluor Corporation for the country’s first aromatics facility at its Sitra complex, it is reported. The contract was announced in July 2026.
The FEED covers an expansion project that adds new aromatics units producing paraxylene and benzene to GPIC’s existing ammonia, urea and methanol production complex. This will reportedly mark the first aromatics production facility in Bahrain, with Fluor handling front-end design ahead of an expected move to the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) stage. The specific process technology to be applied is described only as “commercially proven process technologies,” so the individual licensor has not been identified.
The planned aromatics facility is reported to have a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year (t/y) of paraxylene and 500,000 t/y of benzene. GPIC’s existing Sitra complex has centered on fertilizer and basic chemicals, producing ammonia, urea and methanol, and this project would extend its portfolio into aromatic compounds. A specific investment figure or completion target date has not been disclosed at this FEED stage.
The project appears aimed at broadening Bahrain’s petrochemical portfolio beyond fertilizers into aromatics, strengthening its position as a producer of higher-value aromatic compounds.
State-owned petrochemical companies in the Middle East that have historically focused on fertilizers and basic chemicals continue to diversify into higher-value downstream products such as aromatics and polymers, and this GPIC project fits that broader trend. Paraxylene is a feedstock for polyester fiber and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, a product category with steady global demand, and new paraxylene capacity in the Middle East could affect the paraxylene supply picture in Asia. The fact that a US-based engineering firm won the FEED for a new complex at a Middle East state-owned company shows that Western engineering firms remain competitive in the design services market for large regional petrochemical projects. Competition with Asian construction firms can be expected at the EPC stage, and because the project involves integrating new process units into an existing fertilizer complex, utility and infrastructure integration design capability is likely to be an important variable in the project’s success.
When FEED is completed and the outcome of the subsequent EPC tender are the first points to confirm. Whether a specific investment figure and completion target date will be disclosed as the project progresses is also worth watching. Once a specific process technology licensor is confirmed, that will also be important information for gauging the project’s competitiveness. In addition, which markets — Asia, Europe or others — GPIC plans to sell the new paraxylene and benzene output to once production begins remains to be confirmed.