Amman - The Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co (JPRC) has signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding with a consortium of 12 Swiss banks that allow them to acquire a 51-per-cent stake in the sole Jordanian downstream facility, a JPRC spokesman said Monday.

The agreement, signed Sunday, provides for "a strategic partnership" that involves the spending of about 1.5 billion dollars by the Swiss banks for financing the JPRC's fourth expansion, the spokesman told German Press Agency dpa, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official refused to identify the banks involved in the deal, but said that they had to present their financial offer to the JPRC board of directors within three months.

The JPRC signed an agreement with Citigroup in 2005 under which the group acted as a financial advisor for the company's latest expansion plan.

Three previous attempts failed to lure a strategic partner to finance the expansion, which has the objective of meeting the rising demand for oil derivatives and improving their quality to meet international standards, informed sources said. (dpa)