The proposed $3bn refinery received approval from the board of the state-run investment company to go ahead with the project in January 2011.
A project management consultant will be selected soon to lead the preliminary design and engineering work on the project.
IPIC is considering project financing and other funding options.
The refinery will be located near the outlet of a 1.5 million-barrel-a-day oil pipeline running to the coast and set to be completed this year.
The pipeline will give access for exports to the Gulf of Oman, allowing shipments to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
The waterway is also the transit point for tankers hauling oil from producers including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait.
The refinery will give the emirate the option to export its hydrocarbons as crude or refined products, according to arabianbusiness.com.
