Bechtel has received approval to proceed with detailed design and construction equivalent to building the nation’s first new refinery in more than 30 years. On Friday, the owners of Motiva Enterprises LLC (jointly owned by Saudi Refining, Inc. and Shell Oil Co.) approved the final investment for the project, which will add 325,000 barrels per day (b/d) to its Port Arthur, Tex., refinery.

A joint venture of Bechtel Corp. and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. will serve as primary contractor for engineering, procurement and construction. The expansion, scheduled to be complete in 2010, will double the size of the refinery to more than 600,000 b/d production capacity. The Bechtel Jacobs joint venture had previously been awarded early site preparation work and front end design, which are well underway.