Japanese oil and gas engineering group Chiyoda Corp is to launch a joint bid with Samsung Engineering for the planned construction of two major new export refinery plants in Saudi Arabia, it has been announced.

Coming as the company moves to reduce its commitments in Qatar and concentrate on developing new fields and petrochemical production facilities across Asia and Latin America, Chiyoda has confirmed that these latest contracts are valued at around $1.8 billion.

The proposed expansion of the Yanbu and Jubail refineries are aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia's heavy crude export abilities, with the result of the bids to be announced within the next few months, Reuters has reported.

Recent increases in oil production across the country helped OPEC report a rise in overall output for July.

As per the pledge made earlier this year, Saudi Arabia increased output from 9.45 million barrels per day to 9.7 million barrels per day over the course of the month, while Nigeria likewise upped its crude oil output by 100,000 barrels per day.

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