State-owned Saudi Aramco going solo on refinery near Yemen
ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia, in a major policy shift, has revised a
long-delayed oil refinery project.
Officials said the state-owned Saudi Aramco would build a major oil
refinery along the border with Yemen, Middle East Newsline reported. They said Aramco was ordered to drop
plans for the Jizan refinery to be built and operated by private contractors
in a project valued at $10 billion.
"Upon King Abdullah's approval, Saudi Aramco has been instructed to
quickly build Jizan refinery," Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al Nueimi said on Jan.
19.
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"The ministry appreciates serious effort by firms that have bid for the
project's tender. But since the government is able to guarantee the
construction of this important development project in the Jizan province, it
instructed Saudi Aramco to execute and totally fund this project."
Al Nuemi did not say why the refinery project, announced in 2006 and
meant to be a facility with a capacity of up to 400,000 barrels per day,
had been revised.
The ministry had already certified eight Saudi firms and
42 international energy companies to bid for the project. But officials
acknowledged that the Jizan refinery had garnered little interest among
Western companies.
