MWG Enterprises, a major energy development company based in Texas, US, has announced that it has joined forces with Patel Family Office and PWS, an associate company of Saudi Arabia’s AHQ Group, for the launch of Mera Oil, a US-Saudi private consortium.
The companies have entered into the final stage of selecting a host location for the planned integrated refinery and energy export corridor being set up at an investment of $5 billion.
Mera Oil said the planned project is set to be located outside the Strait of Hormuz and aims to provide an export platform with direct access to international shipping routes.
The consortium remains open to alternative proposals that meet its infrastructure, resilience and development requirements, it stated.
Beginning 2023, it began evaluating sites across the Gulf and the consortium has now shortlisted three GCC locations outside the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Mera Oil, the discussions have advanced over the past two years, with a preferred host expected to be selected by the end of 2026.
The proposed project will feature a 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery, deepwater port connectivity, large-scale crude and refined product storage, and marine export facilities, it added.
Designed as a route-resilient energy hub, the development aims to strengthen regional manufacturing, logistics, technical expertise and energy security.
"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," remarked Marc Gunderson, the Founder of MWG Enterprises.
"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," he added.
The Phase One investment will incorporate energy-efficient refining technologies, emissions-control systems and potential future capabilities including sustainable aviation fuel co-processing and carbon management.
MWG Enterprises said a pre-feasibility study covering refinery design, logistics, capital requirements and execution planning was at an advanced stage.
Once a host jurisdiction is confirmed, the project will proceed to detailed site assessments and engineering design, with mechanical completion targeted for the end of 2029, followed by commissioning and commercial operations, it stated.
The consortium plans to focus on producing high-specification middle distillates, including ultra-low sulphur diesel and jet fuel, for selected international markets, it added.
Abdulmalik Alqahtani, AHQ Group CEO, pointed out that the project would support long-term industrial growth in the region.
“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,” remarked Alqahtani.
The project is expected to occupy approximately 1,200 to 1,500 acres of port-connected industrial land and could create up to 3,000 direct jobs and around 15,000 indirect and induced employment opportunities during construction and operations.
Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice Chair of Patel Family Office, said: "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."
Mera Oil is also progressing discussions with feedstock suppliers and expects financing to include sponsor equity, sovereign and institutional investment, project finance, export-credit support and Shariah-compliant funding structures.-TradeArabia News Service