have spent a large part of my career doing FEED/Basic Engineering.

I like to break it
down this way:

Front-End Loading #1 (FEL1)

Also known as Conceptual Engineering / Scoping Study / Opportunity Phase
This is where you figure out what the project looks like at a high level (probably block
flow diagram, overall material balance, overall economics), and get a rough idea
(±50%) of the capital and operating costs, and figure out if the project makes
economic sense. At the end of this, engineering on the project is less than 1%
complete.

Front-End Loading #2 (FEL2)

This is sometimes called the Design Basis phase, where you do things like Technology
Selection and develop PFDs / material and energy balances, size equipment, etc. You
should be able to get a ±30% cost estimate after this phase. Some people call this is
the Basic Design, or Basic Engineering phase. At the end of this phase, engineering is
between 4-8% complete, depending on how much detail you get into.

Front-End Loading #3 (FEL3)

This is sometimes called the Engineering Specification / Define / Basic Engineering or
FEED (front-end engineering design) phase. This is where you get into the details of the
process design, develop P&IDs, line lists, detailed equipment specifications, instrument
definition, Usually projects start developing 3D models during this phase. You should be
able to get a ±20% cost estimate after this phase, depending on how much of the cost
risk is in construction execution. At the end of this phase, engineering is between 12-
20% complete, again depending on how much detail you do before saying the project is
ready for "detailed design". The decision on how much engineering you do in FEL3
depends very much on your execution strategy afterwards (i.e. reimbursible, lump sum
or something in-between) and also how much involvement the owner intends on having
in the detailed design.

Most companies wait until this phase is finished to make a "final" yes/no decision on
going forward, because you have only spent about 2% of the total installed cost but
have a very good idea if the project should be built.

Front-end loading (FEL), also referred to as pre-project planning (PPP), front-end

engineering design (FEED), feasibility analysis, conceptual planning,
programming/schematic design and early project planning, is the process for conceptual
development of projects in processing industries such as upstream, petrochemical, refining and
pharmaceutical. This involves developing sufficient strategic information with which owners can
address risk and make decisions to commit resources in order to maximize the potential for
success.[1]

Front-end loading includes robust planning and design early in a project's lifecycle (i.e., the front
end of a project), at a time when the ability to influence changes in design is relatively high and
the cost to make those changes is relatively low. It typically applies to industries with highly
capital intensive, long lifecycle projects (i.e., hundreds of millions or billions of dollars over
several years before any revenue is produced). Though it often adds a small amount of time and
cost to the early portion of a project, these costs are minor compared to the alternative of the
costs and effort required to make changes at a later stage in the project.

It also typically uses a stage-gate process, whereby a project must pass through formal gates at
well defined milestones within the project's lifecycle before receiving funding to proceed to the
next stage of work. The quality of front-end planning can be improved through the use of PDRI
(Project Definition Rating Index) as a part of the stage-gate process. [2]

FEL is usually followed by detailed design or detailed engineering.

FEL Stages[edit]
It is common industry practice to divide front-end-loading activities into three stages: FEL-1,
FEL-2, and FEL-3. For each stage, typical deliverables are listed given below :

FEL-1 FEL-2 FEL-3

 Material balance  Preliminary equipment  Purchase-
 Energy balance design ready major
 Project charter  Preliminary layout equipment
 Preliminary schedule specifications
 Preliminary estimate  Definitive
estimate
 Project
execution
plan
 Preliminary
3-D model
 Electrical
equipment
list
 Line list

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a project is kicked-off, the Technology Provider (Licencor) prepares the PFDs, all
equipment specs, P&ID etc etc. This is called Basic Engineering (The total package made by the
Technology Licensor). This package is prepared on the basis of Design Basis and all required
informations provided by the client (or PMC on behalf of the client) to the Licensor at the
beginning of the project.

After the completion of the Basic Engineering, the Detailed-Engineering Contractor starts
preparing the Detailed Engineering work on the basis of Basic Engineering package.

So, you can say, Basic Engineering is the basis for detailed engineering and Detailed engineering
is the basis of ground-work like construction, procurement etc etc.

However, sometimes the Technology Licensor has some Propriotory Items like special reactors,
reformer. In that case, the Technology Licensor (Basic Engineering Company) does/may do the
detailed engineering for these propriotory items.

FEED: Front End Engineering & Design

This the first stage of Engineering for any Project (Chemical / Petrochemical / Oil & Gas / Refinery etc)
where the following discussed & decided.

1. Technical / Process Wise:

a. Material Balance (Mass & Heat)
b. Process Flow - How the various raw materials flow from start to end & in what form
c. Major equipments of the process - pumps, vessels, heat exchangers, filters, etc
d. Safety Systems requirement for process

Engineering Wise:

1. Approximate Load List - for motors, transformers, drives, High Voltage Switchgear, UPS size, Diesel
Genertor requirements etc
2. Utilities required for the process - Air compressors, Nitrogen Plant, Fire Fighting systems, Hot Oil
Heating Systems requirement, Air Dryers etc
3. Major Instrumentation Systems - PLC / SCADA / DCS system (which one or combination of the above
etc)
4. Approximate Instrument List - Kind of Networks used, kind of Instruments used, system architecture
(rough sketch / drawing showing the different networks connectivity between them)

Management Wise:

a. The total cost of the project - around X +20% approximation (within the accuracy of +/- 20%
accuracy)
b. The total manpower requirement for the plant
c. Total List of Raw Materials requirement & their quantities
d. Approximate time required for completion of the project

Philosophies wise:

1. Plant Operating Philosophies / Plant Design Philosophy & design Basis

2. Instrumentation Engineering philosophy - Design & selection basis documentation
3. Control Systems Philosophies - Heirarchies being implemented, design basis for selection of PLC /
SCADA / DCS Systems, Third Party Interfaces, OPC Interfaces, Serial Interfaces between systems,
Interfaces between DCS, ESD, F&G systems
4. Safety Shutdown Systems philosophy - LOPA Studies / HAZOP studies / CHAZOP studies etc including
SIL calculations.

Now apart from the above, the following are the deliverables at the end of the FEED.
1. Mass & Heat Balance Calculations
2. Process Flow Diagrams
3. Process & Instrumentation Diagrams (only 70 - 75% accurate)
4. Load list for electrical
5. Major Equipments & their Sizing (Major Equipments 100% accurate, however, there might be an
addition of a one or two pumps / motors / blowers that might get added during the detail engineering
stages but not vessels / heat exchangers or tanks).
6. Instrument list - which is 80% to 90% accurate.

However, please do remember the following:

1. Instrumentation Datasheets / Process Datasheets / Mechanical Datasheets are not the deliverables of
FEED. They are preapred during the Detail Engineering Phase
2. Instruments Selection, Sizing Calculations are finalized / done during the detail engineering phase only.

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I like how Sastry has broken the answer into different philosophies. I will try to answer in a more basic
way
FEED - Done by Engineering Contractor (FEL-1 is business planning focused, FEL-2 - PFD focused, FEL-3
is P&ID focused). FEL-2/3 also involves significant work by all engineering disciplines (Mech, Inst, piping,
electrical, CSA etc)

Fabrication - usually done by a vendor or fabrication company who is contracted by the engineering
(FEED) contractor. Fabrication of vessels, columns, reactors based on specifications provided by the
engineering contractor or maybe a technology licensor.

Construction: is done by a construction contractor. Can be same as engineering contractor (in cases like
Bechtel etc) or a purely contruction company. The construction company works on the design of the
engineering company to install / erect equipment made by fabricators.

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