Cost slows Mideast refineries

Despite a growing need for refined oil products in the Middle East and globally, quickly increasing costs and uncertainty over future profits may lead countries in that region to waver in their commitments to invest in new refineries.

Projects in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been put on hold recently in reaction to just these pressures. But demand is still growing, and plans continue for new refineries in Oman and Iran.

‘One of the problems that is happening right now is that construction costs are going up very rapidly. There is also a bottleneck in getting equipment and engineering firms,’ said Zeta Rosenberg, an analyst with ICF Consulting and a co-author of the 2005 report, ‘The Emerging Oil Refinery Capacity Crunch.’

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