A Saudi-US consortium has entered the final stage of selecting a host country for a $5 billion integrated refinery and energy export corridor project.
This project aims to create a strategic energy export platform that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
The consortium, known as MERA Oil, comprises the US-based MWG Enterprises and the Patel Family Office, along with PWS, a subsidiary of the Saudi AHQ Industrial Group.
In a statement, the consortium said it has completed three years of site evaluations in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and narrowed down the options to three countries, all located outside the Strait of Hormuz, following two years of consultations with the respective governments.
The final location is expected to be announced before the end of 2026.
The statement did not mention the three destinations, but the GCC countries with direct sea access outside the Strait of Hormuz are Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, the UAE and Oman.
Abdulmalik Al-Qahtani, CEO of AHQ Group, said the site selection is based on standardized criteria including logistical efficiency, ease of access to the sea, and industrial infrastructure as well as land and facility availability, workforce efficiency, regulatory frameworks, and long-term competitiveness.
He explained that the project is not limited to building a refinery, but aims to develop an integrated system encompassing refining, storage, logistics, and export infrastructure, with the potential for future expansion into downstream industries.
Al-Qahtani indicated that the consortium is currently conducting advanced feasibility studies for the three sites, remaining open to any exceptional proposal from another Gulf state, provided its evaluation can be completed within the project’s timeline.
The project includes the construction of a 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery, connected to a deep-water port, along with storage tanks for crude oil and refined products, and marine export facilities, allowing direct access to global shipping lanes without the need to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
The project comes at a time when the flexibility of energy export routes has become a key factor in investment decisions, after regional military tensions highlighted the risks of relying on the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passes.
