Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company (Samref) has appointed Bahrain’s Gulf International Bank as adviser on its $2bn project to expand and modify its Yanbu refinery.

The expansion project is known as the Clean Fuels Project, involves modifications to the existing refinery that will lower the sulphur content of its products in order to comply with new environmental regulations.

Samref, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and the US’ ExxonMobil, wants to raise the funds required for the scheme by the end of the year.

The company started approaching banks seeking an adviser in March.