DAMMAM, Nov 20: Saudi Arabia is opening up its refining sector for private investments. The Saudi private sector, in association with international partners, has been invited to participate in a proposed oil refinery in Jizan, a ministry of petroleum official said at the three-day Saudi Energy Forum, which concluded here on Monday.

Announced by King Abdullah, the proposed refinery in the underdeveloped Jizan area will have a capacity of between 250,000-400,000 barrels per day and will be integrated with a petrochemical or an electricity generation unit. The Saudi ministry of petroleum has already commissioned feasibility for the oil refinery. Private parties have now been asked to submit their Expression of Interests (EOI) by January next year. The entire process would be completed with the year and the project will be awarded by the end of 2007, said Yahya A. Al-Zaid, an official at the ministry of petroleum and minerals.

If the concept of public-private partnership proves successful in this venture, other possible refining ventures could also be developed on the same pattern, he emphasised.

Saudi Arabia also unveiled the concept of a National Industrial Cluster Development Programme (NICDP) at the forum. The Saudi Supreme Economic Council (SEC) has already approved the project.

The idea of cluster development is to give a boost to the non-oil GDP of the kingdom, which is currently well below the international average. It would take advantage from the industrial development of the kingdom in the field of petrochemicals and would build upon this success.

The programme would give a boost to the industrialisation efforts in the country, generate gainful employment for its people and substantially increase the non-oil GDP.

Giving out details of the NICDP Azzam Shalabi of the petroleum ministry said that after looking closely at 473 different manufacturing activities, the working group, set up by the ministry to work on the idea, short-listed some 18 sectors as feasible and practical to be promoted in the kingdom under the programme.

The selection was based on the locally available resources and skills. These 18 different manufacturing activities were then clustered into four groups, namely automotive, construction, appliances and metal processing.