meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

UAE closes ranks ahead of Cop28

11 October 2023

This package on the UAE’s power sector also includes: 

> Abu Dhabi to tap Kezad for hydrogen plan
> Market expects Abu Dhabi hydrogen policy
> Masdar to develop 10GW projects in Malaysia
> Firms sign 60MW Sharjah captive solar plant
> Masdar and Ewec sign wind power agreement
> Firms submit 400MW battery storage interest

 

State-backed utility companies and off-takers in the UAE are preparing a cachet of projects to boost their green energy credentials in the weeks before the start of Cop28.

In September, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) signed agreements for the 1,800MW sixth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park.

Abu Dhabi state utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company issued the expression of interest (EoI) requests for its fourth utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV4) project and its first two battery energy storage systems shortly after that.

Ewec is also expected to award the contract for the 1,500MW Al-Ajban solar project and inaugurate the 1,500MW Al-Dhafra solar plant prior to or during the climate summit.

The financial investment decision for the green hydrogen project in Ruwais, owned by France’s Engie, the UAE’s Fertiglobe and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), is likely to be announced right before the start of Cop28.

Crucially, in early October, Adnoc Gas awarded UK-headquartered Petrofac the $615m main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a project to develop a carbon capture facility at its Habshan gas processing complex in Abu Dhabi.

The plant will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 1.5 million tonnes a year (t/y) of carbon dioxide.

In Dubai, commercial agreements were reached on 3 October for the emirate’s first independent water project (IWP).

The Hassyan 1 seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) project will have the capacity to treat 818,280 cubic metres of water a day (cm/d), only slightly lower than Abu Dhabi’s Taweela RO plant’s capacity of 919,000 cm/d –  the world’s largest at the time of construction.

The timing of the announcement of these milestones is critical. They help counter the massive scrutiny that the country, particularly Abu Dhabi, faces as it hosts Cop28.

A key area of focus among climate advocates, including the Pope, has been Adnoc Group’s well-documented plan to increase its oil production capacity from 4.5 million barrels a day (b/d) to 5 million b/d by 2027 as part of its “accelerated growth strategy”.

UAE ramps up decarbonisation of water sector

Not just about Cop28

The country’s renewable energy capacity build-up, in fact, began much earlier. It established the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 in 2017, four years before it set a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The 2017 strategy was intended to steer the country in a direction where the share of fossil fuels – mainly gas – in its energy mix shrank to 38 per cent, while clean energy expanded to 44 per cent.

The same year, the country put in place a water strategy to the year 2036 that aimed to reduce total demand for water resources by 21 per cent, lower the water scarcity index by three degrees and increase reuse of treated water to 95 per cent, among other goals.

Notably, the award of the second phase of Dubai’s MBR solar park, the first solar independent power producer (IPP) scheme in the GCC region, predated the 2017 strategy by two years.

A multibillion-dollar power plant project in Dubai, initially built to run on clean coal, has been converted to run on natural gas, showing the degree of compliance with the national 2050 net-zero plan.

The UAE has taken major steps to manage demand as well.

“The UAE has shown leadership in phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, having been the first country in Mena to do so back in 2015,” says Cornelius Matthes, CEO of Dubai-based Dii Desert Energy.

“It has an unparalleled track record in building some of the largest solar PV plants in the world at record low prices,” he adds.

Rounding out the country’s clean energy milestones is the completion of three units of the Barakah nuclear power plant, contributing 4,200MW of carbon emission-free electricity to the grid.

The UAE’s first utility-scale 100MW wind power projects, spread across four locations in Abu Dhabi and the northern emirate of Fujairah, were also unveiled by Ewec and Masdar in early October.

Future projects

For utility developers, investors and contractors, the UAE presents a long-term source of future opportunities.

Abu Dhabi’s Ewec aims to procure 1,500MW of solar PV capacity annually over the next 10 years at least, based on its most recent capacity planning forecast.

In addition to increasing solar capacity and battery energy storage, Ewec will also require additional thermal capacity to address an expected 30 per cent increase in gross power peak demand, from 16.7GW in 2022 to 21.6GW in 2029.

This is due to the scheduled expiry between 2025 and 2029 of offtake contracts for four integrated water and power plants with a combined power generation capacity of over 7,000MW.

While Ewec is considering a combination of either new-build, contract-extension or reconfiguration of existing assets to address the expiring capacity, it is understood to have decided to initiate the procurement of two gas-fired plants sooner rather than later.

In its latest capacity planning statement, Ewec said: “The otherwise consistent increase in peak and total energy demand from 2022 is impacted, on the one hand, by a reduction in exports to Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (Sewa) over 2022- 2023 due to the commissioning of their new power plant, while being offset, on the other, by the addition of new Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) Offshore demand from 2026.”

While Dubai has not published a similar long-term capacity procurement plan, Dewa has indicated plans for multiple solar PV projects, each with a capacity of 300MW, between 2025 and 2030. 

The emirate also launched the Dubai Economic Agenda 2033 (D33) in January. The plan aspires to generate up to AED32tn ($8.7tn) over the next 10 years and double the size of Dubai’s economy, which will inevitably drive gross power peak demand over the next decade.

This creates an opportunity mainly for renewable energy developers and contractors, given that the emirate does not plan to procure additional thermal power plants in the future.

While an initial plan to build a 500MW solar power plant in the northern emirates has been scuppered, small to medium captive or distributed solar facilities present opportunities in those regions.

Sharjah National Oil Company (SNOC) and Emerge, a joint venture of France’s EDF and Masdar, have agreed to develop a 60MW solar PV project at SNOC’s Sajaa gas complex.

The plant will supply power to SNOC’s operations and be connected to the main power grid. Under the agreement, any excess solar power generated from the plant will be taken by the state utility, Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (Sewa),  which will provide the required power for SNOC operations at night.

Photo: Noor Abu Dhabi

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11199493/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Saudi drilling firm raises acquisition offer for Dubai rival

    16 September 2025

    Saudi Arabia-based ADES International Holding has increased its offer to buy Dubai-based, Oslo-listed rival Shelf Drilling to 18.50 Norwegian Krone ($1.88) per share, representing a 6% increase in the acquisition’s enterprise value.

    The offer was revised from an earlier deal of $1.42 per share or a total of $379.33m.

    ADES International Holding, a subsidiary of ADES Holding Company, signed a transaction agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Shelf Drilling through a cash merger, with ADES International Cayman (BidCo) also participating in the proposed merger.

    According to a joint statement, irrevocable commitments have now been provided by additional shareholders, including China Merchants, Anchorage Capital Group and Magallanes Value Investors, which, combined with ADES’ 17.9% stake in Shelf Drilling, represent 53.4% of the outstanding shares in the company.

    ADES International Holding raised its offer for Shelf Drilling after reassessing the company’s current market performance and revising its estimated annual cost synergies upwards by $10m, bringing the total to $50m-$60m.

    All other terms of the merger remain unchanged, along with the transaction timetable, with closing expected to occur in the last quarter of the year.

    Shelf Drilling is incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, with its corporate headquarters in Dubai.

    In April this year, ADES International Holding secured a 10-year extension for one of its standard offshore jack-up rigs from Saudi Aramco, valued at approximately $290m.

    The contract for the offshore jack-up marks the re-entry of ADES International Holding into the Saudi offshore oil and gas market. The rig was among six jack-ups whose charters were suspended by Aramco last April.

    ADES International Holding has secured deployments for three of those jack-ups in Qatar, Thailand and Egypt, while the fourth was recently redeployed to Thailand.

    ADES International Holding also said it has increased its footprint since the start of 2025 by securing an offshore drilling job off the coast of Nigeria, marking its entry into West Africa.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14676037/main0952.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Oman tenders Rusayl power cable project

    16 September 2025

    State-owned Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has opened bidding for the construction of the cable connection from the Rusayl power plant (GT-5 & GT-6) to the Rusayl industrial grid station.

    The tender is open to local companies with tender board registration and valid commercial registration, the authority said.

    Bids must be submitted electronically, with hard copies of the bid bond and other documents delivered to OETC’s head office in Muscat.

    The last date to obtain documents is 23 September, with bids due by 7 October. 

    The new cable tender forms part of OETC’s strategy to expand transmission in line with industrial growth. The Rusayl power plant, located near Muscat, is one of Oman’s key natural gas-fired generation facilities and supplies electricity to the Main Interconnected System (MIS), the country’s largest grid.

    The adjoining Rusayl Industrial City is a major manufacturing hub hosting companies across chemicals, textiles, electrical materials and food production, which has driven steady growth in power demand.

    OETC is undertaking several major transmission projects to reinforce the MIS. These include the construction of new 132kV grid stations, network reinforcements around Muscat and the Masirah Island interconnection, which is valued at about RO72m ($187m).

    Local firm Bahwan Engineering won the main contract for this project and started construction earlier this year.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14675720/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • QatarEnergy awards contract for 2GW Dukhan solar plant

    16 September 2025

    State-owned petroleum firm, QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with South Korea's Samsung C&T to build a 2,000 MW solar power plant in Dukhan, about 80 kilometres west of Doha.

    The plant will double Qatar’s solar generation capacity, suppling up to 30% of Qatar’s total peak electricity demand once complete. It will use a solar tracker system and inverters, capable of operating in high temperatures, to maximise efficiency.

    The project will be delivered in two phases and is expected to be fully operational by mid-2029.

    The first phase of the Dukhan solar plant will deliver 1,000 MW of power to the Kahramaa grid by the end of 2028. 

    The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and QatarEnergy CEO, and Sechul Oh, President & CEO of Samsung C&T.

    Senior officials from Kahramaa and executives from both companies also attended the ceremony.

    Under QatarEnergy’s Sustainability Strategy, the country plans to generate more than 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

    Qatar's first utility-scale solar PV, the 800MW Al-Kharsaah solar independent power producer project, has been operational since 2022.

    In August 2022, Samsung C&T won contracts for two other solar PV plants with a total combined capacity of 875MW.

    One of the solar plants, which has a capacity of 458MW, is located in Ras Laffan. The other plant is located in Mesaieed and will have a capacity of 417MW.

    Construction work on both projects was completed earlier this year.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14674775/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Oman LNG shortlists bidders for fourth liquefaction train

    16 September 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Oman LNG has shortlisted contractors to bid for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works for a new processing train at its Qalhat liquefied natural gas (LNG) production complex in Sur.

    The LNG train will be the fourth at the Qalhat complex, located in the sultanate’s South Al-Sharqiyah governorate, Oman LNG announced last July. The new train will have an output capacity of 3.8 million tonnes a year (t/y) and is expected to be commissioned in 2029, raising Oman LNG’s total production capacity to 15.2 million t/y.

    According to sources, Oman LNG has issued the main EPC tender for the fourth LNG train project and invited the following contractors to submit bids:

    • Chiyoda (Japan) / Samsung C&T (South Korea)
    • JGC Corporation (Japan)
    • Saipem (Italy) / Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)

    MEED previously reported that Oman LNG hosted site visits in June for prequalified contractors, according to sources.

    Oman LNG has performed the preliminary engineering study for the planned fourth LNG train. It awarded US-headquartered KBR a contract to execute front-end engineering and design (feed) works on the project in November.

    Separately, in June, Oman LNG awarded Japan-based Kanadevia Corporation a contract to perform pre-feed work for a pilot methanation plant, and a detailed concept study for future commercial scaling of the facility.

    The proposed facility is expected to produce 18,000 normal cubic metres of e-methane an hour.

    The pilot plant will comprise three components: a seawater desalination unit, equipment for producing hydrogen via water electrolysis and a methanation system that combines hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide to produce e-methane.

    The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding that Oman and Japan signed in March 2024, covering collaboration in hydrogen, fuel ammonia and carbon recycling. 

    Oman LNG operations

    Oman LNG is a joint venture of the sultanate’s Ministry of Energy & Minerals, which holds the majority 51% stake, and foreign stakeholders.

    The remaining 49% is held by UK-based Shell (30%); France’s TotalEnergies (5.54%); South Korea’s Korea LNG (5%); Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation (2.77%); Japan’s Mitsui & Company (2.77%); Thailand’s PTTEP, following the acquisition of Portuguese firm Partex (2%); and Japan’s Itochu Corporation (0.92%).

    Oman LNG presently operates three trains at its site in Qalhat, with a nameplate capacity of 10.4 million t/y. Following debottlenecking, total production capacity increased to approximately 11.4 million t/y.

    Oman LNG secured $2bn-worth of project financing in 1997 to set up its first LNG export terminal in the sultanate, the Qalhat LNG terminal, which was commissioned in 2000.

    On 1 September 2013, Qalhat LNG was integrated with Oman LNG to form a single entity.

    The terminal exports gas produced by state oil and gas producer Petroleum Development Oman from its central Oman gas field complex. Oman LNG’s customers are mainly based in Asia, although the company has been expanding its client base outside the continent in recent months.

    In April, Oman LNG announced the start of turnaround activities at the third LNG processing train, which has an output capacity of 3.3 million t/y. The third train commenced operations in 2006 and primarily processes gas produced at the Saih Nihayda field in central Oman.

    ALSO READ: TotalEnergies studies expansion of Marsa LNG project in Oman

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14674434/main0940.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Transmission projects drive Saudi water sector growth

    16 September 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s water sector is on track for a strong year, driven by a surge in pipeline activity. 

    The market continues to be dominated by transmission projects, reflecting the kingdom’s focus on expanding networks to deliver water from supply facilities to cities and industrial hubs. 

    So far in 2025, $8.3bn of water contracts have been awarded, with pipelines accounting for $5.1bn, or more than 60% of total awards.

    Recent activity indicates that pipeline growth goes beyond awarded contracts, with major tenders pointing to more work ahead.

    Pipeline activity

    In September, Water Transmission Company (WTCO) opened bidding for the construction of two major water pipelines that will deliver over 1.38 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) of water across central and western Saudi Arabia. 

    The Jubail-Buraidah project, scheduled to begin construction in 2027, comprises approximately 348 kilometres of pipeline with a transmission capacity of 840,650 cm/d.

    The Ras Mohaisen-Baha-Mecca independent water transmission system project, which aims to supply the cities of Mecca and Al-Baha with desalinated water, has a maximum design flow rate of 542,000 cm/d. It requires a pipeline approximately 325km long, including four pumping stations. Both projects are being developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

    Saudi Arabia also has even larger independent water transmission pipeline (IWTP) initiatives under way. 

    One such project, valued at $2.3bn, also linking Jubail and Buraidah, spans 587km and will carry 650,000 cm/d. In June, the local Mutlaq Al-Ghowairi Contracting Company secured the engineering, procurement and construction contract for this project.

    Pipeline activity is set to dominate in the short to medium term, with $6.9bn of projects under bid evaluation related to transmission networks, more than 60% of all bids. 

    This includes the Alshuqaiq to Jizan water transmission system: phase 4, for which an award is expected to be made by the end of the year, having first been tendered in 2023. 

    The project, valued at $3bn and procured by WTCO, will require a water pipeline of 523km in length with a capacity of 600,000 cm/d.

    Broader sector

    While pipelines clearly dominate, the wider water sector in 2025 is showing robust performance. Total awarded contracts in the sector stand at $8.3bn to date, highlighting sustained investment. 

    For context, total contracts awarded were $15.5bn in 2023 and $15.5bn in 2024, placing this year on track for another significant period of sector activity.

    Other segments continue to attract notable investment, with desalination projects contributing $2.4bn and water treatment plants accounting for $428m of awards so far.

    In June, construction work began on the second phase of the Shuaibah seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant, following the appointment of Al-Fatah Water & Power as the main contractor.

    Located on the Red Sea coast south of Jeddah, the $521m project involves the construction of a SWRO desalination plant, with a capacity of 545,000 cm/d, over an area of 25 hectares.

    In September, a consortium of Saudi utilities provider Marafiq, the regional business of France’s Veolia and Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding won a $500m (SR1.875bn) contract to develop an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Jubail Industrial City 2, located in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

    The project follows a concession-style model, similar to a PPP, where the developer consortium invests in building and operating the wastewater plant over a 30-year period. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year.

    Key players

    Driving the market forward are a handful of key players, including Water Transmission & Technologies Company (WTTCO), which has awarded five contract awards worth $1.7bn in 2025.

    Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) is also active at the top end, with three contracts valued at $2.75bn, often implemented under PPP models. 

    Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company awarded one contract this year: a $1.1bn deal for a utilities relocation package for the King Saud University project located in the second phase of the Diriyah Gate development (DG2).

    The contract was awarded to the joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Railway Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction Group Central Plain Construction Company.

    The deal involves the construction of several water infrastructure projects, including a district cooling plant, water storage facilities, a sewage treatment plant and irrigation water storage tanks.

    Saudi Water Authority, meanwhile, accounts for 20 awarded projects worth $1.46bn, reflecting its focus on more localised or smaller-scale works, as is the case with several other entities.

    The split of a few large, high-value megaprojects versus a larger number of smaller, lower-value contracts suggests opportunities for both top-tier players delivering megaprojects and mid-tier contractors participating in more localised or bundled works.

    Looking ahead, $26.9bn of water projects are currently out for tender, suggesting significant activity in the years ahead, with water pipeline work ($11.9bn) continuing to lead the way.

    MEED’s October 2025 special report on Saudi Arabia also includes:

    > ECONOMY: Riyadh looks to adjust investment approach
    > BANKING: New funding sources solve Saudi liquidity challenge
    > OIL & GAS: Aramco turns attention to strategic projects
    > GAS: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait accelerate Dorra gas field development
    > POWER: Saudi Arabia accelerates power transformation
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction pivots from gigaprojects to events
    > TRANSPORT: Infrastructure takes centre stage in Saudi strategy

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14674379/main.gif
    Mark Dowdall