Related Articles

• 
  Marafiq and Doosan Enerbility agree plant fuel conversion deal

  2 May 2025

  Saudi Arabia’s state-owned utility company, the Power and Utility Company for Jubail a& Yanbu (Marafiq), has signed a contract with South Korea's Doosan Enerbility for the conversion of an oil-fired power plant into a gas-fired power plant in Yanbu.

  The fuel conversion contract for Yanbu 2 is valued at KRW180bn ($129m), the South Korean firm said.

  The project is expected to lead to a 25% reduction in carbon emissions, while maintaining the same generation capacity.

  Jamal Abdulrahman Omar, vice president of operations and maintenance at Marafiq, and Seungwoo Sohn, CEO of Doosan Enerbility’s power services business group, witnessed the contract signing ceremony in Jubail on 27 April.

  Doosan Enerbility will supply the main equipment, including the combustor and distributed control system, and undertake the plant's commissioning process by 2028.

  The Yanbu 2 power plant has a capacity of 1,375MW when it was built within the Yanbu Industrial Complex, which is located approximately 350 kilometres north of Jeddah, in 2013.

  At the time, Doosan Enerbility supplied the main components, including the boiler and steam turbine.

  Saudi Arabia is expected to place 1.4GW worth of new orders for fuel conversion projects in Saudi Arabia throughout the years leading up to 2027, the South Korean engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor said.

  In addition to Saudi Arabia, Doosan Enerbility has undertaken several fuel conversion projects in other countries, including Chile and Vietnam.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Five bid for Oman water sewerage project

  2 May 2025

  The Oman branch of Hassan Allam Construction submitted the lowest bid of RO24.67m ($64m) for a contract to build and supervise the construction of a sewerage network in Muscat.

  The scope includes construction supervision and the construction of the sewerage network infrastructure.

  The Al-AMerat Catchment 10 water supply, sewer system and treated effluent networks project covers the construction of a 64-kilometre gravity sewer networkranging in inner diameter from 200 millimetres (mm) to 900mm; around 2,590 gravity sewer manholes, and approximately 45km of house connection and rider sewers.

  It also includes the construction of chambers, manholes and pumping and lifting stations.

  India's Sarooj Construction Company submitted the second-lowest bid of RO24.78m.

  The other bidders and their offers for the contract are: 

  • Target (local): RO27.9m
  • Towell Infrastructure (local): RO31.9m
  • United Gulf Construction (Kuwait): RO38.4m

  Oman intends to allocate major investments in its water treatment, reuse and distribution network in the coming years, Qais Bin Saud Al-Zakwani, CEO of Nama Water Services, told the Oman Water Week in Muscat in April.

  "We are allocating major investments for water irrigation, sewage treatment and network … and to enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the development of infrastructure projects," Al-Zakwani said.

  The executive added that the sultanate is working to develop alternative water sources, including developing deep water dams and water desalination plants as part of efforts to reuse and renew water resources to support the agriculture and industrial sectors in Oman.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Region heads into another economic storm

  2 May 2025

  Commentary
  Colin Foreman
  Editor

  Read the May issue of MEED Business Review

  US President Donald Trump’s launch of a new tariff regime on 2 April sent shockwaves around the world as markets feared a prolonged trade war and a resetting of the global economy.

  In the Middle East, the impact was felt on the region’s stock markets, but the panic was muted compared to other markets thanks largely to most countries in the region only being subject to the 10% flat rate tariff – which is now paused for 90 days – coupled with the fact the region exports little to the US, and much of what it does export is exempt from the new trade rules.

  The economic storm for the region stems from the drop in oil prices, caused by the dampened outlook for the global economy and energy demand, and the decision by Opec+ to increase production. Between 2 April and 22 April, Brent crude prices fell 8.2%.

  The concern is that government budgets will come under pressure and capital expenditure projects will be constrained, based on behaviour during previous oil price slumps.

  The other concern is the drop in the value of the US dollar. Between 2 April and 22 April, the value of the US dollar compared to the euro fell by 6.5%. The unease with the weaker dollar is that it will become more expensive for the GCC countries pegged to the dollar to buy goods. Conversely, it may be positive and make it cheaper to invest in the region, notably in real estate.

  The overall direction of travel is expected to remain positive

  While dropping oil revenues and the prospect of rising costs may lead to some projects being tempered or rephased, the overall direction of travel is expected to remain positive as governments in the GCC remain committed to long-term projects that will help diversify their economies. 

  These strategically important projects, coupled with event-driven spending programmes such as Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030 and World Cup 2034 that must go ahead, mean that while the region is not immune to the economic volatility of trade wars, it is well inoculated.

  ---

  READ THE MAY 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – clck here to view PDF

  Gulf hunkers down as US tariffs let fly; Abu Dhabi looks to secure its long-term economic prosperity; Nesma stays on top as China State moves up in 2025 GCC contractor ranking

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA 1: GCC shelters from the trade wars > AGENDA 2: Gulf markets slide as US tariff shockwaves hit > AGENDA 3:  Lower oil prices raise Gulf’s fiscal pressure > SYRIA: Syria makes progress towards reunification > GCC CONTRACTORS: Contractors take on more work in 2025 > MINERALS: Saudi Arabia and Oman open up their minerals potential > INTERVIEW: CCED seeks growth in Oman’s hydrocarbons sector > INTERVIEW: Roshn outlines its procurement strategy > LEADERSHIP: Rethinking investments for a lower-carbon future > UAE REPORT: UAE is poised to weather the storm  > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index inches upwards > CONTRACT AWARDS: Region records $70.3bn of deal signings in Q1 2025 > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects > OPINION: Trump’s new world order

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

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Iberian power outage offers valuable lessons

  2 May 2025

  Commentary
  Jennifer Aguinaldo
  Energy & technology editor

  The root cause of the power outages that gripped parts of the Iberian Peninsula on 28 April has yet to be established, pending a detailed investigation into what triggered the loss of power in large swathes of Portugal and Spain.

  Ongoing investigations aside, Spain’s national electricity grid operator, Red Electrica, has ruled out a cyber attack or sudden spike in renewables as the main cause of the outage, which affected transport, retail and healthcare services, among others.

  Insurance claims arising from the outages could reach between $300m and $600m in Spain and significantly less in Portugal, according to some sources, while the Riyadh-based Digital Cooperation Organisation cites losses of up to €1.3bn ($1.47bn) for the Spanish economy, based on Spain’s self-employed workers’ association, ATA.

  But the highest cost could come in a non-monetary form. It would require probing into Spain’s utility infrastructure, which Red Electrica describes as Europe’s “best and most resilient”, and that of every European country and everywhere else.

  Red Electrica president Beatriz Corredor has been quick to defend her firm, saying there is no such thing as zero risk.

  The speed at which Spain, which exports renewable power to Portugal, restored power in affected areas lends credence to Red’s best-in-Europe claim if one is willing to forego the question of how it could have happened or been avoided in the first place.

  Pending the results of the investigation, analysts and experts have offered their insights on the subject.

  Writing on Linkedin, Thierry Lepercq, founder and president at Hydeal, describes the Spanish blackout as “the most significant power event in decades”, adding it is likely the first of a series of crippling crashes that will result from the inherent conflict between decarbonisation, or aiming at 100% renewables; security of supply; and energy affordability.

  Lepercq is confident that the lesson will soon be clear: the power outage was all about inertia.

  He predicts that the lack of electricity system planning will necessitate radical action. This could involve the “near complete” stop of new variable – solar and wind – installations and the fast ramp-up of fully-dispatchable, inertia-providing capacity from combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) initially powered by natural gas, and as soon as possible, from competitive green hydrogen.

  Another senior consultant at an international engineering services firm with offices in Dubai tells MEED that, considering a lot of caveats, the blackout resulted from a mix of high solar reliance, low grid inertia, voltage oscillations and insufficient backup systems, with no single cause confirmed. Some tripping, which catalysed the inertia problem, has also been reported, he notes. 

  Prevention strategies could include enhancing firm power, expanding storage, improving monitoring and strengthening interconnections.

  Morocco, for instance, played a key role in restoring power to Spain, highlighting the benefits of power pooling, where countries share an integrated generation capacity and grid stability across borders.

  Reviewing energy policies is also key, such as looking at grid codes with clearer requirements on how much energy storage should be on the system in proportion to renewable energy development, according to the consultant.

  This event offers valuable lessons for regional utility stakeholders, particularly their capacity planning divisions. Over 100GW of renewable energy capacity is planned to be built across the GCC states before 2030, excluding those catering to private clients, with certain developments and projects looking to be powered 100% by renewable energy by 2030.

  The Iberian story shows there are as many potential solutions or measures, with none offering zero risk, to address potential points of failure in today’s electricity system, which has been undergoing major re-engineering works to fit the 2030 net-zero scenario.

  It is also worth mentioning that certain jurisdictions in the Gulf and broader Middle East and North Africa region regularly suffer from power outages in the summer, mainly due to rising temperatures and underinvestment in electricity generation and distribution networks, and notwithstanding a very negligible amount of renewable power on their grids.

  Credit: Crowd at Malaga Maria Zambrano train station entrance due to blackout in Spain and Europe, 28 April 2025. Shutterstock

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Jordan to seek 200MW solar interest

  2 May 2025

  Jordan's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (MEMR) plans to seek interest from firms for a contract to develop and operate a solar photovoltaic (PV) project with a total capacity of 200MW.

  The expressions of interest request is expected to become available on MEMR's website starting on 15 May.

  The client will implement the project on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis and will be connected to the national electricity grid through the state-backed utility, the  National Electric Power Company (Nepco).

  Applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be invited to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MEMR to prepare the required studies and to develop a proposal in compliance with the ministry's Instructions and Requirements for Proposal Preparation and Submission (IRPP), to be issued following the MoU signing.

  MEED recently reported that Nepco plans to procure a gas-fired power station with a design capacity of around 500MW.

  According to industry sources, the kingdom is seeking advisers for the project, which is anticipated to be developed using an independent power project (IPP) model.

  Jordan has a total electricity generation installed capacity of about 7.1GW as of 2023, according to data published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

  Solar and wind power plants account for over 30% of the total installed capacity, which is one of the highest, if not the highest, renewable energy installed capacity in the Middle East and North Africa region, compared to overall generation capacity.

  Work has been under way to enable the successful integration of renewable power into Jordan’s electricity grid. 

  According to MEED Projects data, roughly $3.3bn-worth of power projects are under way or planned in Jordan, with generation plants accounting for 59% of the total.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo