Latest News

• 
  Saudi Energy commissions 2.5GW battery storage project

  Administrator

  5 June 2026

  Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, has commissioned a major 2.5GW battery energy storage project across five regions in Saudi Arabia.

  The project, which serves power grids in Riyadh, Rabigh, Dawadmi, Jouf and Qassim, completed all grid-tied charging and discharging tests at the end of May, said Chinese supplier NR Electric in a statement.

  National Grid Saudi Arabia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Energy, awarded Saudi firm Alfanar Company and China’s BYD Energy Storage the contract to build and install five battery energy storage system (bess) facilities with a total combined installed capacity of up to 2,500MW, equivalent to a rated capacity of up to 12,500 megawatt-hours, in January 2025.

  Alfanar was appointed as the project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor, while BYD Energy Storage was responsible for the design, supply, supervision of installation, testing and commissioning, and maintenance of the bess plants.

  The 12.5 gigawatt-hour (GWh) project is the world’s largest grid-scale energy storage deployment, requiring 2,364 system cabinets in total.

  NR Electric said it supplied the project’s grid-forming control technology and more than 2,000 power conversion system units.

  The main applications for the planned bess facilities include load shifting, black start, frequency regulation and voltage support.

  They are expected to replace part-load operation of existing power plants by charging and discharging electricity according to system load variations and primary and secondary reserves, among other potential applications.

  Shenzhen-based BYD previously announced that the five bess plants would take its total deployments in Saudi Arabia to about 15.1GWh.

  It deployed its bess products on Saudi Arabia’s first on-grid bess plant in Bisha, one of 17 projects globally with a capacity of over 1GWh that entered operations in 2024.

  ---

  > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

  

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Kuwait prepares to tender refinery project deal

  Administrator

  5 June 2026

  State-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has announced that it is preparing to tender a contract to develop a gauging system for a tank farm at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.

  The system will replace an older, now obsolete system at the South Liquid Tank Farm.

  The contract will include engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the new gauging system.

  KNPC is planning to invite 24 companies to participate in the bidding process.

  These are:

  • JGC Corporation (Japan)
  • Almeer Technical Services Co. (Kuwait)
  • CTCI Corporation (Taiwan)
  • Kellogg Brown & Root (US)
  • Kentz Overseas (UAE)
  • IMCO Engineering & Construction Company (Kuwait)
  • National Petroleum Construction Company (UAE)
  • Sinopec Luoyang Engineering (China)
  • Sinopec Engineering Incorporation (China)
  • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
  • SK Ecoplant (South Korea)
  • Gulf Spic General Trading & Contracting Company (Kuwait)
  • Hyundai Engineering (South Korea)
  • Enppi (Egypt)
  • Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
  • Saipem (Italy)
  • Technip Energies (France)
  • Larsen & Toubro (India)
  • Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corporation (South Korea)
  • Sinopec Engineering Group (China)
  • Samsung E&A (South Korea)
  • Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
  • Fluor (US)
  • Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

  If a company has not been included in the list and would like to participate in the tender, it can file a complaint with the chairman of Kuwait’s Higher Purchase Committee within 30 days.

  The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery has been attacked and damaged as part of the regional war that broke out after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

  Several units were shut down at Kuwait’s largest oil refinery after it was hit by drones and fires broke out in the morning of 20 March 2026.

  The refinery normally processes about 730,000 barrels of oil a day.

  Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been severely disrupted by the ongoing regional conflict, which has led to a dramatic drop in crude exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

  ---

  READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Kuwait tenders downstream consultancy contract

  Administrator

  5 June 2026

  State-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) has tendered a consultancy contract focused on a liquid sulphur degassing facility for four sulphur recovery units at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.

  This type of unit removes dissolved hydrogen sulphide and other sulphur compounds from molten sulphur before it is stored, loaded onto trucks, or exported.

  This makes the sulphur safer to handle and reduces emissions.

  A total of 21 companies have been invited to participate in the tender.

  These are:

  • Asprofos Single Member Engineering Societe Anonyme (Greece)
  • Enereco (Italy)
  • EPC Constructions India (India)
  • Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi) (Egypt)
  • Gulf Spic General Trading & Contracting Company (Kuwait)
  • Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Kuwait)
  • ILF Consulting Engineers (Austria)
  • Larsen & Toubro (India)
  • Litwin PEL (UAE)
  • Mott MacDonald (UK)
  • National Petroleum Construction Company (UAE)
  • Penspen International (UK)
  • Petro6 Engineering & Construction (India)
  • Petrocil Engineers & Consultants Pvt. (India)
  • PL Engineering (India)
  • Processes Unlimited (US)
  • Tebodin (Netherlands)
  • Technip Energies France (France)
  • Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
  • Triune Energy Services (India)
  • Toyo Engineering Corporation (Japan)

  A pre-tender meeting for the project is scheduled for 8 June 2026, and the bid closing date is 25 June 2026.

  The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery has been attacked and damaged as part of the regional war that broke out after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

  Several units were shut down at Kuwait’s largest oil refinery after it was hit by drones and fires broke out in the morning of 20 March 2026.

  The refinery normally processes about 730,000 barrels of oil a day.

  Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been severely disrupted by the ongoing regional conflict, which has led to a dramatic drop in crude exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

  ---

  READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Iraq tenders three cement plant projects

  Administrator

  5 June 2026

  

   

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  The government-owned Iraq Cement State Company (ICSC) has invited companies to bid for three projects to develop cement plants in the country.

  The first and second projects are focused on developing two new plants to produce Portland cement, each with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes a day (t/d).

  The first facility is due to be developed in the Kufa quarries area in Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Governorate, and the second is due to be developed in the Mosul district of Iraq’s Nineveh Governorate.

  The third project is focused on expanding the existing Hadbaa cement plant, which is also located in the Mosul district.

  The scope of this project includes establishing a new dry-process, gas-fuelled line capable of producing 3,200 t/d of ordinary and resistant Portland cement.

  Normally, this kind of production line includes a raw mill that grinds and dries the raw materials before they are fed into the kiln.

  It also typically includes a preheater, precalciner, rotary kiln, clinker cooler and associated equipment.

  The new line needs to be capable of producing cement suitable for dam filling, according to ICSC.

  ICSC has invited “Iraqi and Arab investors” to participate in the projects, as well as companies specialised in developing cement plants.

  The deadline for submitting bids for all three projects is 23 June 2026.

  Iraq’s state-owned cement producer produced more than 676,000 tonnes of cement across its plants in February, with key plants posting double-digit growth compared to production levels in 2025.

  Its Kubaisa cement plant produced 37% more than it did in 2025, according to a statement by the company’s director general, Awad Kazem Abd Al-Amir, in April.

  Its Qaim plant was producing cement at a rate 17% higher than in 2025, and its Sinjar plant at a rate 14% higher.

  Fallout from the regional conflict that broke out after the US and Israel bombed Iran on 28 February has had a significant negative impact on Iraq’s energy sector and wider economy.

  It has disrupted a wide range of projects and is likely to create uncertainty about future cement demand in the country.

  Prior to the war breaking out, Beijing-based Sinoma won a contract from Iraq’s Nargis Group for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work on a 6,000 t/d cement production line in Basra.

  Sinoma’s scope of work under the contract, awarded in February, covers the EPC of the complete production system, from raw materials handling and clinker preparation to cement grinding, storage and shipping.

  ---

  MEED’s June 2026 report on Iraq includes:

  > COMMENT: Iraq’s reform window narrows
  > GOVERNMENT: Al-Zaidi takes Iraq’s premiership under US shadow
  > BANKING: Financial challenge tests Iraq’s resolve
  > ECONOMY: Iraq enters era of resilience, reform and rising risks 
  > OIL & GAS: Iraqi oil and gas sector in crisis
  > POWER & WATER: Focus shifts to delivery of Iraq utilities expansion
  > CONSTRUCTION: Momentum builds in Iraq’s post-war construction sector

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Oman issues Marsa solar IPP consultancy tender

  Administrator

  5 June 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Oman’s Nama Power & Water Procurement Company (Nama PWP) has issued a supervisory consultancy tender for the 280MW Marsa solar independent power project (IPP) in North Al-Batinah Governorate.

  The bid submission deadline is 26 July.

  The company is seeking project management and supervisory consultancy services during the construction, commissioning and testing phases of the project.

  According to Nama PWP’s latest seven-year statement, the Marsa solar IPP is scheduled to enter commercial operation in the first quarter of 2028.

  Recent solar IPP projects in Oman have taken between two and three years to complete from the launch of the main contract tender. It is unclear when this will be released.

  The scheme is part of Oman’s renewable energy development programme, which aims to increase the share of renewables in the country’s electricity mix to about 30% by 2030.

  The project sits alongside several other renewable schemes in Nama PWP’s development pipeline, including: 

  • 400MW Al-Kamil solar IPP
  • 400MW Sinaw solar IPP
  • 800MW Mahout wind IPP
  • 300MW Duqm 2 wind IPP

  According to Nama PWP’s plan, all of these are targeted for commissioning between 2027 and 2029.

  Nama PWP recently signed a power-purchase agreement with local firm O-Green for the development of the sultanate’s first utility-scale round-the-clock renewable energy project.

  Earlier, in May, MEED exclusively reported that the state offtaker had resumed plans to tender a 500MW solar photovoltaic IPP in Adam in Dakhiliyah governorate.

  While plans are in place to release the tender by the end of 2026, delays to the approval process due to the recent regional uncertainty could push the tender into next year, a source said.

  ---

  > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

  

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Iraq’s economy stalls amid oil exports impact

  Administrator

  5 June 2026

  Download the PDF

  

  ---

  MEED’s June 2026 report on Iraq includes:

  > COMMENT: Iraq’s reform window narrows
  > GOVERNMENT: Al-Zaidi takes Iraq’s premiership under US shadow
  > BANKING: Financial challenge tests Iraq’s resolve
  > ECONOMY: Iraq enters era of resilience, reform and rising risks 
  > OIL & GAS: Iraqi oil and gas sector in crisis
  > POWER & WATER: Focus shifts to delivery of Iraq utilities expansion
  > CONSTRUCTION: Momentum builds in Iraq’s post-war construction sector

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  MEED Editorial
• 
  Oman opens bids for 1GW battery storage advisory role

  Administrator

  4 June 2026

  Oman’s Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) has opened technical bids for a consultancy contract supporting a planned 1,000MW/four-hour battery energy storage system (bess) project.

  The tender seeks independent regulatory, technical and commercial validation services for the scheme. The project is planned with a rated capacity of 1,000MW and a storage duration of four hours, equivalent to 4,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage.

  According to a tender board notice, technical bids were opened on 25 May.

  Thirteen companies submitted proposals including:

  • Afry Management Consulting (Sweden)
  • CESI Middle East (Italy)
  • DNV Dubai Branch (Norway)
  • Engineering Systems Group (Kuwait)
  • ILF Consulting Engineers (Austria)
  • Innovision Engineering Consultancy (UAE) 
  • Mott MacDonald (UK)
  • Sargent & Lundy Abu Dhabi (US)
  • Surbana Consultants Dubai Branch (Singapore)
  • Tractebel Engineering Consultancy (Belgium)
  • TUV Rheinland (Germany)
  • Universal Consulting Engineering (Egypt)
  • WSP International (Canada)

  As previously reported, APSR issued the request for proposals in April as part of wider plans to increase the share of renewable energy in the sultanate.

  The sultanate’s first utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant integrated with battery energy storage (Ibri 3) entered construction at the beginning of the year, comprising a 500MW solar PV plant and a 100MWh bess system.

  Last month, state offtaker Nama Power & Water Procurement Company signed a power-purchase agreement with local firm O-Green for Oman’s first round-the-clock renewable energy project.

  The company is also seeking consultants to provide separate environmental, social and governance and legal advisory services.

  Renewable energy is expected to increase from 4% of the generation mix in 2024 to 30% by 2030, driving the push for more utility-scale storage projects.

  Over roughly the same period, demand is forecast to double, reaching 10 terawatt-hours by 2031.

  ---

  READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17106014/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Building around the strait

  Administrator

  4 June 2026

  Commentary
  Colin Foreman
  Editor

  The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has turned a lingering, and previously unlikely, threat into reality in 2026. The shutdown of the maritime chokepoint, which is about 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, has plunged the global economy into crisis, with fuel prices spiking and fears of energy shortages growing. While diplomatic efforts are under way to resolve the disruption, the GCC’s geographic Achilles heel remains.

  The closure has also highlighted the importance of alternative logistics and energy corridors. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline has enabled the export of 7 million barrels a day of oil from the Gulf coast across the kingdom to the Red Sea, while the UAE has rapidly scaled up operations at Fujairah and directed Adnoc to accelerate development of its 520km West-East pipeline.

  Others have had fewer options. Geographically constrained states such as Kuwait recorded zero crude exports in April, reflecting their near-total dependence on shipping oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

  For the projects market, the crisis is already having, and will continue to have, a significant impact. Ongoing projects are struggling with disrupted supply chains and resulting cost escalation, while future spending is likely to be diverted towards schemes that improve the GCC’s access to markets outside the Gulf.

  For the projects market, the crisis is already having, and will continue to have, a significant impact

  For oil and gas exports, proposed pipeline routes would run south from Kuwait through Saudi Arabia and the UAE and into Oman, enabling shipments from expanded ports on the Arabian Sea. For goods entering the region, the GCC railway scheme has taken a step forward, with procurement starting in May.

  These projects will cost tens of billions of dollars and will take years to complete, which means the events of 2026 will shape the region’s infrastructure priorities for the coming decade.

  ---

  READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17105852/main.gif

  Colin Foreman