Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources confirms that the licensing process for the construction and operation of Jazan Refinery is progressing regularly as per the planned milestones and schedule detailed in the Request for Proposals (RFP) with no further delays.

The Ministry has already indicated through its website devoted to this project (www.JazanRefinery.com) that the Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued on the sixth of Ramadan 1429 H., corresponding to 6/9/2008 and has specified March 7th, 2008 as the deadline to receive the Applicants' proposals. The successful applicant for this project will be announced by the end of the second quarter of 2009.

While there is some inaccuracy in the media reports that reported additional delays in the project construction dates, the schedule issued to Applicants in the RFP states that the detailed design of the project shall be completed no later than 18 months from the license award date. Commensurably, the Project is expected to proceed in completing the necessary financing activities, after which the completion of construction shall be executed no later than 48 months, or four years.

The milestones and schedule detailed in the RFP put a target date for the commercial operation of the Refinery in the first quarter of 2015. It should be noted that a detailed request for proposals (RFP) contained a number of incentives for investors to build the refinery in Jazan that can reach a processing capacity of between 250 thousand to 400 thousand barrels per day.

09/06/2008 Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has Released the Request for Proposal

Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has released the Request for Proposal Package (“RFP”) for establishing an Export Refiney in Jazan Region, through the secured website www.jazanrefinery.com. Each of the eight KSA pre-qualified applicants as well as the pre-qualified International Oil Companies that have demonstrated their interest in the project can download the RFP from the website dedicated for this project. The Ministry has also declared that the deadline for receiving the detailed proposals from the applicants is the 7^th of March 2009.

07/13/2008 Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Announces Approval of RFP

Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced that the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has approved the release of the Request for Proposal (“RFP”) for the Project. The RFP will invite pre-qualified applicants to submit proposals for the development of a world-class export-oriented refinery to be located at the Jazan Economic City (“JEC”). The Project will benefit from certain incentives which will be further described in the RFP, in addition to the favorable investment environment in the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon sector. The Ministry has set September 6, 2008 as the date of issuing the (RFP) to the pre- qualified investors.

05/28/2008 Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Delays Issuance of RFP

Due to some procedural activities, MinPet Regret to announce the delay in the issuance of the Jazan Refinery Project RFP documents. MinPet shall advise and announce the revised issuance date as soon as possible.

04/01/2008 Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Update on RFP

Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is pleased to announce that it has completed all necessary documentation required to issue the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Jazan Refinery Project Licensing process, and has filed the Request for Proposal (RFP) document to the respective authorities. The Ministry wishes to take this opportunity to emphasize its full support for the project and is exhausting all efforts to provide necessary information to investors and notify them of the readiness of the RFP document.

12/12/2007 Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Update on RFP

With respect to Jazan Refinery RFP issuance, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MinPet) would like to inform the qualified applicants that some of the issues that will have positive impact on the project are yet to be finalized. As a result, MinPet will endeavor to complete the document as soon as possible in order to issue the (RFP) before the end of 1st quarter 2008.

08/20/2007 MinPet Confirms Progress in License Procedure

Advisor to Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources / Engineer Yahya Abdul Kareem Al-Zaid issued a press release today "confirming that the procedures for granting a license to the private sector to build and operate a refinery in Jazan is progressing as originally planned. Request for Proposal (RFP) to be issued to consortiums of Qualified KSA Applicants and International Oil Companies is expected by 4th quarter of 2007". Mr Yahya Al-Zaid added "there is no basis behind what was declared by some media reports that the Ministry had directed Saudi Aramco to build and operate the JAZAN Refinery Project". It is worthwhile stating that the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals has dedicated a special website for communicating any news and updates pertaining to the Project which can be visited at http://www.jazanrefinery.com. The website includes list of the Qualified KSA applicants, in addition, to the list of International Oil Companies that have been contacted by the Ministry in-connection with the Project.

07/03/2007 MinPet Invitation to International Oil Companies

Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia invited forty three (43) International Oil Companies (Qualified-IOC's) on Saturday June 30th, 2007 to participate along with the eight (8) qualified Saudi Companies in a consortium to receive and respond to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Jazan Refinery Project. The list of the Qualified-IOC's can be accessed on this link

05/15/2007 Qualified KSA Companies

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MinPet) has announced the result of Expression of Interest (EOI) evaluation which was intended to qualify the Saudi Privet Sector Companies to receive the Request For Proposal (RFP).

Total of fifteen Saudi Companies have applied for this project while eight of them were qualified based on the tendering process which covers the technical, commercial and financial aspects.

The qualified companies are:

1. Nama
2. ACWA Power
3. ARPC
4. Tasnee
5. Obeikan
6. APC/Corral
7. Taqat
8. Al Bakri

MinPet will invite potential International Oil Companies (IOC's) who have the capability to execute such projects through forming a consortium with qualified Saudi Applicants mentioned above and compete for securing a license to execute and operate Jazan Refinery Project.

MinPet is currently working on a developing the next step in the process called (RFP) which requires more details from each consortium with respect to its technical, financial and administrating capabilities.