Dare i post good news...
North-West Oil Group (Formerly Nord Oil International Inc.) Becomes Majority Owner of a $3.5 Billion Refinery and Petrochemicals Project
10-17-2006 4:01 PM EDT --(MARKET WIRE)--
NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/17/06 -- North-West Oil Group (formerly Nord Oil International Inc.) (PINKSHEETS: NDOL) announced that it has acquired 63% of Creditline, the Russian project operator, which is set to construct a $3.5 billion refinery and petrochemical facility. The refinery will produce diesel fuel and directly distilled gasoline, while the petrochemical facility will focus on olefin, benzol, polyethylene and polypropylene.
The project, based in Der-ez-Zour Province in Syria, was first announced as a tender by the Syrian Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources in late 2005. Creditline won the tender by submitting an innovative plan to build a world-class combination facility that can support both fossil fuel production and petrochemical production according to the Ministry in Syria.
"The refinery and petrochemicals facility will be key to the continuous provision of fuel to the Russian combat vessels in the Mediterranean Sea," said Ernest Malyshev, President of North-West Oil Group. "The tender, which was awarded in February 2006, by Creditline, now a subsidiary of North-West Oil Group, calls for the construction of a refinery with capacity to refine 6.5 million tons annually and 1.4 million tons in petrochemicals."
Mr. Malyshev concluded by saying, "The project is expected to be completed within 5 years, and complete payback of the entire budget is expected to take about 6 years after production commences. This is truly an extraordinary opportunity for our company."
The project is well known and is expected to be well supported by military experts in Russia. With a refinery in Syria, the Russian Navy combat vessels will have a continuous fuel supply for vessels stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, which will significantly increase the operability of the vessels.
Details as to the participation of the government of Syria are being discussed and, when this process is completed and all documents are signed, the Company shall receive all the required licenses and finalize the Agreement of Cooperation.
Due to the strategic nature of this project and its magnitude, the details behind the 5-year, $3.575 billion budget and the financial sources have not been disclosed. The company is currently in discussions with various Russian government officials regarding further participation and details of such participation will be made available to the public as they are formalized.
