A newly launched US-Saudi private consortium called MERA Oil has entered the final stage of selecting a host jurisdiction for a planned USD 5 billion integrated refinery and energy export corridor in the Gulf, with a preferred location expected to be confirmed before the end of 2026.

The Consortium and Its Partners

MERA Oil brings together three organizations: MWG Enterprises, a Fort Worth-based energy development company founded by Marc W. Gunderson; Patel Family Office, described as a third-generation global family office represented by Vice Chair Lakshmi Narayanan; and PWS, an associate company of AHQ Group, one of Saudi Arabia's longest-established industrial groups, led by Group Chief Executive Officer Abdulmalik Alqahtani.

The consortium describes itself as a US-Saudi private venture and has been working through a site evaluation process that stretches back three years across Gulf locations.

Three Shortlisted GCC Sites

After evaluating locations across the Gulf region over a three-year period, MERA Oil has narrowed its selection to three unnamed GCC locations, all situated outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Discussions with those three candidate locations have been underway for approximately two years and have now reached what the consortium characterizes as an advanced stage and a clear decision point.

The consortium has indicated it remains open to receiving proposals from other qualifying GCC jurisdictions before a final host is selected, provided those jurisdictions can meet the project's requirements for route resilience, infrastructure capability, and development timetable.

The decision to position the facility outside the Strait of Hormuz is deliberate. The project is designed to function as a route-resilient export platform with direct access to international shipping routes, reducing exposure to one of the world's most heavily trafficked and strategically sensitive maritime chokepoints.

Scale and Scope of the Planned Development

The Phase One capital programme is valued at up to USD 5 billion and centers on a 200,000-barrel-per-day integrated refinery connected to deepwater port infrastructure, large-scale storage for crude and refined products, and marine export facilities.

The development is expected to occupy between 1,200 and 1,500 acres of port-connected industrial land and is projected to support up to 3,000 jobs, according to the source material.

The product slate is focused on high-specification middle distillates, primarily ultra-low sulphur diesel and jet fuel, targeting import-dependent markets in the United States, the Atlantic Basin, the Gulf region, and other international markets. Those commercial arrangements remain subject to final engineering and offtake agreements.

Phase One is described as 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 additions to the project design, though neither has been confirmed as part of the current scope.

Development Timeline

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 consortium expects to move into final site diligence and full engineering design. Mechanical completion of Phase One is targeted for the end of 2029, with commissioning and commercial operations to follow.

The process of confirming a preferred host is expected to conclude by the end of 2026, leaving approximately three years to achieve that mechanical completion target.

Regional Context

The project is being developed against a backdrop of significant Gulf energy export activity. According to the GCC Statistical Centre, the six GCC member states collectively exported approximately 11.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, representing around one quarter of total global crude exports. MERA Oil's planned facility is intended to add downstream refining and value-added processing capacity to the existing export infrastructure rather than simply moving crude.

Gunderson described the current moment as a convergence of preparedness across multiple fronts. "The sponsor partnership is assembled, the development concept and capital strategy are defined, and we are now choosing our host," he said in a statement. "The jurisdiction that moves decisively with us in the coming months stands to secure a major new downstream, storage, and energy-export platform."

Industrial and Economic Legacy Goals

Beyond the immediate infrastructure investment, the consortium has framed the project in terms of long-term industrial development for the eventual host jurisdiction.

The development is intended to generate economic value through local sourcing arrangements, engineering opportunities, workforce development programs, and industrial capability building aligned with national In-Country Value frameworks that several GCC governments have established as policy priorities.

Alqahtani drew on AHQ Group's history in making the case for that broader ambition. "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," he said.

The AHQ Group chief executive added that the consortium looks forward to concluding the process with the jurisdiction best placed to move quickly and deliver on those shared goals.

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