Saudi-based PetroRabigh plans to invite companies to bid for work related to the second phase of its giant petrochemicals complex within one to two months, its chief executive has said.

The company is a joint venture between Japan's Sumitomo Chemical and Saudi Aramco and produces an annual 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals.

'Interest to bid is within next month to two months, some packages are already gone to the market,' Ziad Labban said on the sidelines of an industry event in Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.

The complex is integrated with a 400,000 barrels of crude per day refinery - about 19 per cent of Saudi Arabia's total refining capacity and is part of Aramco's plans to build refinery-based petrochemical complexes, according to a report in our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

The second phase of PetroRabigh, which will add 17 new plants, will not see the capacity of the refinery expanded.

'We are not touching refining capacity,' Labban said.

The ethane cracker is being expanded by 30 million cubic feet per day.

A final investment decision on PetroRabigh Phase II would be made by the end of this year, he said.

'We are comfortable enough to go with it but at the end of the day, it's the market prices,' he said.

Labban added that financing will determine the equity partners of the expansion. 'There are questions on how financing is going to be done.'

PetroRabigh consumes 298 megawatts of power to fire its plants. Total consumption, which includes Rabigh conversion parks and the second phase, will see power used come close to 1000 MW, Labban said.