MERA Oil enters final stage of site selection for planned US$5 billion refinery

After three years of evaluating locations across the Gulf, the MERA Oil consortium has narrowed the site selection process to three GCC locations outside the Strait of Hormuz. Discussions with the candidate locations have progressed over the past two years and are approaching a decision point, with a preferred host expected to be confirmed by the end of 2026.

While discussions with the three shortlisted locations have reached an advanced stage, the consortium remains open to a decisively superior proposition from another qualifying GCC jurisdiction capable of meeting the project’s route-resilience, infrastructure, and development timetable requirements before a final host is selected.

The planned development centres on a 200 000 bpd integrated refinery linked to deepwater port infrastructure, large scale storage of crude and refined products, and marine export facilities. Located outside the Strait of Hormuz, the project is designed to provide a route-resilient export platform with direct access to international shipping routes.

Moreover, the project is intended to establish a long-term industrial base that would strengthen manufacturing, logistics, technical capability, and energy security in the region.

“Three years of evaluation across the region and two years of detailed engagement with three outstanding locations have brought us to a clear decision point. The sponsor partnership is assembled, the development concept and capital strategy are defined, and we are now choosing our host. The jurisdiction that moves decisively with us in the coming months stands to secure a major new downstream, storage, and energy-export platform,” said Marc W. Gunderson, Founder of MWG Enterprises.

The Phase One capital programme of up to US$5 billion is intended to establish a future-ready energy complex incorporating energy-efficient refining technologies and advanced emissions-control systems. Sustainable aviation fuel co-processing and carbon-management capabilities are also being evaluated as potential future components of the project design.

A pre-feasibility study covering refinery configuration, product slate, preliminary capital requirements, logistics, and phased execution has reached an advanced stage. Once a host jurisdiction is confirmed, the project is expected to move into final site diligence and engineering design, with mechanical completion of Phase One targeted for the end of 2029, followed by commissioning and commercial operations.

The project aligns with broader efforts across the Gulf to expand domestic refining, storage, and export infrastructure. According to the GCC Statistical Centre, the six GCC states exported approximately 11.5 million bpd of crude oil in 2024, representing around one quarter of global crude exports.

The product slate is focused on high-specification middle distillates, including ultra-low sulfur diesel and jet fuel, for selected import-dependent markets in the US, the Atlantic Basin, the Gulf region, and other international markets, subject to final engineering and offtake arrangements.

“Expanding domestic value addition remains one of the Gulf’s most important industrial opportunities. More than seven decades of industrial work across the Kingdom have taught us what a project of this kind should leave behind for its host: jobs, local suppliers, technical skill, and industrial capacity that endures, in step with the region’s national visions. We look forward to concluding this process with the jurisdiction best placed to move quickly and deliver,” said Abdulmalik Alqahtani, Group Chief Executive Officer of AHQ Group.

For the eventual host jurisdiction, the planned Phase One development represents a major industrial investment spanning refining, storage, port, and logistics infrastructure.

The project is expected to be developed on approximately 1200 - 1500 acres of port-connected industrial land. It is designed to create long-term economic value through local sourcing, engineering opportunities, workforce development, and industrial capability building aligned with national In-Country Value frameworks.

The development is expected to support up to 3000 direct roles at peak across construction, commissioning, and operations, together with up to 15 000 indirect and induced employment opportunities, based on preliminary sponsor estimates.

“This is multigenerational infrastructure, and it has to be structured to institutional standards from the outset: sound governance, a balanced capital structure built to hold for decades, and a transparent partnership with the host government. Patel Family Office is engaging sovereign and institutional partners who share that outlook,” said Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice Chair of Patel Family Office.

The MERA Oil consortium is engaged in discussions with feedstock providers within and beyond the GCC, with definitive arrangements expected to progress alongside the final host selection.

The planned Phase One capital programme is expected to draw on sponsor equity, sovereign and institutional participation, international project finance, export-credit support and Shariah-compliant financing structures.

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