Saudi Aramco, Conoco move forward on refinery

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco and ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday they will continue funding the development of a 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, even as costs to build new refining facilities soar.

The companies have completed initial evaluation and front-end engineering and design. They said the next phase will include bid solicitation and site preparation work.

The refinery is targeted to start in 2013, the companies said. (Reporting by Michael Erman; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)