Patel Family Office, the US-based, Indian-origin family office, has joined a US-Saudi consortium backing a planned $5-billion integrated refinery and energy export corridor in West Asia, with three Gulf locations shortlisted to host the project, according to a recent announcement.
Consortium narrows to three GCC sites
The consortium, called MERA Oil, brings together Fort Worth-based MWG Enterprises, Patel Family Office, and PWS — an associate of Saudi industrial group AHQ Group. After three years of evaluating locations across the Gulf, the group has narrowed its search to three GCC jurisdictions outside the Strait of Hormuz, with a preferred host expected to be confirmed by the end of 2026.
The consortium said it remains open to a stronger offer from another qualifying GCC jurisdiction before a final decision is made.
Refinery to anchor a 200,000 bpd export platform
The plan centres on a 200,000-barrel-per-day integrated refinery linked to deepwater port infrastructure, large-scale crude and product storage, and marine export facilities. The site — expected to span 1,200 to 1,500 acres of port-connected industrial land — is designed to give the project a route-resilient export platform with direct access to international shipping lanes, positioned outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Mechanical completion of Phase One is targeted for the end of 2029. MWG Enterprises founder Marc W. Gunderson said the group has reached “a clear decision point” after two years of detailed engagement with the three shortlisted sites, with the sponsor partnership, development concept and capital strategy now in place.
Patel Family Office eyes institutional, sovereign backing
Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice Chair of Patel Family Office, framed the project as “multigenerational infrastructure” requiring institutional-grade governance and a capital structure “built to hold for decades,” adding that the family office is in talks with sovereign and institutional partners aligned with that approach. AHQ Group CEO Abdulmalik Alqahtani said the project should leave the eventual host with lasting jobs, local suppliers and technical capacity. The Phase One programme is expected to draw on sponsor equity, sovereign and institutional participation, project finance, export-credit support and Shariah-compliant financing.
Patel Family Office’s investment trail
Patel Family Office traces its roots to a family that built a UK retail chain before shifting into US hospitality, where it grew into one of the country’s largest hotel families, developing more than 50 properties and owning or managing hundreds more. Under Vice Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan, the office has since diversified well beyond hospitality: it holds stakes in more than 200 ventures across four continents with roughly $12 billion in assets under management, spanning sustainable housing, healthcare, fintech, edtech and deep technology, including Web3-linked businesses.
Narayanan also co-founded Homz Global, a nationwide US affordable-housing platform planning 62,000 units across 28 states in a $15-billion build-out, and chairs 3AI Holding, parent of the AI platform Ask Qx. The MERA Oil stake marks the family office’s push into large-scale energy infrastructure, alongside its existing housing, healthcare and technology bets.
