MWG Enterprises, the Fort Worth-based energy development company, Patel Family Office and PWS, an associate company of Saudi Arabia’s AHQ Group, have launched Mera Oil, a US-Saudi private consortium, and entered the final stage of selecting a host location for a planned $5 billion integrated refinery and energy export corridor.

After three years of evaluating sites across the Gulf, the consortium has shortlisted three GCC locations outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Discussions have advanced over the past two years, with a preferred host expected to be selected by the end of 2026.

The consortium remains open to alternative proposals that meet its infrastructure, resilience and development requirements.

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.

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. 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 Gunderson, Founder of MWG Enterprises.

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.

A pre-feasibility study covering refinery design, logistics, capital requirements and execution planning is already 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.

The development aligns with Gulf efforts to expand refining, storage and export capacity.

The consortium plans to focus on producing high-specification middle distillates, including ultra-low sulphur diesel and jet fuel, for selected international markets.

Abdulmalik Alqahtani, AHQ Group CEO,  said 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,” said 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.

“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.

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. -OGN/TradeArabia News Service