North-West Oil Group (formerly Nord Oil International Inc.) has acquired 63% stake in Creditline, the Russian project operator, which is set to construct a US$3.5 billion refinery and petrochemical facility. The project, to be based in Der-ez-Zour Province in Syria, will produce diesel fuel and directly distilled gasoline, olefin, benzol, polyethylene and polypropylene.
Creditline won the tender that was first announced by the Syrian Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources in late 2005. 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 tpa and 1.4 million tpa petrochemicals. An innovative plan to build a world-class combination facility that can support both fossil fuel production and petrochemical production is the key factor that clinched the deal for Creditline.