ConocoPhillips expects to decide early next year whether to proceed with the Yanbu joint venture refinery in Saudi Arabia, Willie Chiang, the company's head of refining, said Wednesday.

Conoco and Saudi Aramco halted bidding on the construction of the planned 400,000 barrel per day Yanbu refinery in November, citing uncertainties in the financial markets.

Chiang said the delay in the project would likely help drive down its construction costs, which had soared as oil prices ran up to their record above $147 a barrel in July 2008. Those costs had been estimated in 2006 at about $6 billion.

Conoco also expects to decide later this year whether to proceed with upgrades to its Wilhelmshaven refinery in Germany to increase its distillate output, Chiang said.

Copyright 2009 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.