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  L&T announces major contract win from Adnoc Offshore

  4 August 2026

  Indian contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced that it has been awarded a major contract by the offshore business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore).

  Mumbai-headquartered L&T described the order as “ultra-mega”, a term the company uses for contracts valued at more than INR150bn ($1.57bn).

  The project will be executed through a consortium, with its subsidiary LTEH Offshore serving as the lead partner, L&T said in a statement on 4 August.

  MEED understands that the contract won by L&T relates to an offshore package that forms part of a major Adnoc Offshore project to produce up to 600 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas by developing the Umm Shaif gas cap in Abu Dhabi.

  L&T won the first offshore package of the Umm Shaif gas cap and surface pressure boosting project in a consortium with Saudi Arabia/UAE-based Lamprell, MEED reported in July.

  The following contractors have secured the two offshore packages and one onshore package of the Umm Shaif gas cap project, MEED previously reported:

  • First offshore package – fabrication of a 30,000-tonne gas compression system: Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
  • Second offshore package – fabrication of another 30,000-tonne gas compression system: McDermott (US)
  • Onshore package – EPC of gas inlet and processing systems on Das Island: China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (CPECC)

  “The project involves the development of multiple offshore facilities. As the lead consortium partner, LTEH Offshore will execute the major share of the project scope, covering engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the offshore facilities, in addition to the upgrade of existing facilities,” L&T said in its statement.

  “A significant portion of the fabrication work will be undertaken at L&T’s state-of-the-art fabrication yards, leveraging the company’s integrated EPCIC capabilities and extensive track record in delivering large and complex offshore developments across the region,” the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company added.

  Umm Shaif gas cap project

  Adnoc Offshore operates the Umm Shaif hydrocarbons development, which is located 150 kilometres (km) northwest of the city of Abu Dhabi. The field is located within Abu Dhabi’s offshore Umm Shaif and Nasr hydrocarbons concession, previously operated by former Adnoc Group companies Adma-Opco and Zadco.

  In March and April 2018, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) awarded a 10% stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore block to Italy’s Eni, 20% to France’s TotalEnergies and 10% to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Adnoc Group retained the majority 60% interest. The operators produce a total of about 460,000 b/d of oil from the Umm Shaif and Nasr block.

  Adnoc, along with its foreign partners, announced achieving a final investment decision (FID) worth $6.2bn on the Umm Shaif gas cap project on 21 July. The FID includes three EPC packages totalling $5.1bn for large-scale offshore infrastructure, “awarded to consortiums comprising major UAE and international contractors,” the state enterprise said without disclosing the contractors it had selected or the scope of work on the packages.

  Adnoc added that, as part of the FID, it has also awarded a $365m contract to its subsidiary Adnoc Drilling for a 14-well drilling and integrated drilling services scope, to be delivered over 18 months using three existing rigs.

  Production from the development is expected by 2030, the Abu Dhabi energy giant said.

  The primary objective of the Umm Shaif gas cap and surface pressure boosting project is to increase gas production by 550 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) and raise associated condensate output by 50,000 barrels a day (b/d).

  Adnoc Offshore intends to feed about 520 million cf/d of the additional produced gas into Adnoc Group’s sales gas grid.

  Adnoc Offshore is understood to have issued the main EPC tender for the Umm Shaif gas cap and surface pressure boosting project in the first quarter of 2025.

  Contractors submitted technical bids for the three EPC packages by the 30 October deadline last year, while commercial bids were submitted by the deadline of 2 February this year.

  The following contractors are among those understood to have been bidding for the three EPC packages, according to sources:

  Offshore package 1:

  • Saipem (Italy) / Seatrium (Singapore)
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
  • NMDC Energy (UAE) / Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

  Offshore package 2:

  • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC)
  • McDermott (US)
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
  • NMDC Energy (UAE) / Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

  Onshore package:

  • Archirodon (Greece)
  • China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (CPECC)
  • Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Enppi; Egypt)
  • Galfar Emirates (UAE branch of Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Construction)
  • Target Engineering Construction Company (UAE)

  Australian firm Worley has performed front-end engineering and design (feed) work on the project.

  Gas is produced from the Umm Shaif Khuff and Uweinat reservoirs, as well as from the Arab C and Arab D Early Production Scheme 2. The Umm Shaif Khuff reservoir is a formation that consists of dry gas volumetric reservoirs located in the Umm Shaif field.

  Khuff reservoirs have been in production in Abu Dhabi since August 1989. Umm Shaif Khuff gas is currently produced from 28 active wells within the Umm Shaif field. A majority of these wells supply gas to Adnoc Group subsidiaries Adnoc LNG and Adnoc Gas Processing, with the rest supporting oil reservoirs at the Umm Shaif field through gas injection.

  The Umm Shaif Super Complex (USSC) processes and transports oil, condensates and natural gas in separate pipelines to Das Island for further processing and export. The condensates collected from the USSC are transported to Das Island through an 18-inch pipeline stretching 34.4km, or are spiked into the 36-inch Adnoc main oil line.

  The gas collected from the USSC is transported to Das Island through two 46-inch pipelines, which also run 34.4km.

  Pressure at the Umm Shaif Khuff gas reservoirs will start to decline by the end of 2028. The flowing wellhead pressures at some of the Khuff gas wellhead towers are likely to reduce, so boosting well deliverability and increasing the flowrates is necessary.

  Therefore, new Khuff surface pressure boosting facilities are required to maintain the plateau – with a goal of achieving a 90% gas recovery factor – and increase production beyond the end of the plateau by lowering pressure at the Khuff reservoirs.

  ALSO READ: Adnoc initiates oil production project at key offshore block

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Masdar renews $300m revolving credit facility

  4 August 2026

  Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has renewed its five-year $300m revolving credit facility with a syndicate of 25 international banks.

  The company said the refinancing strengthens its liquidity position and overall balance sheet resilience as it works towards its target of reaching 100GW of renewable energy portfolio capacity by 2030.

  According to Masdar, the lending syndicate comprises 14 banks from Europe, four from the US and seven from Asia.

  Masdar’s renewable energy portfolio reached 65GW earlier this year, placing the company about two-thirds of the way towards its 100GW target by 2030. Of that, Masdar said 45GW is operational, under construction or has reached final close, while a further 20GW comprises projects in advanced stages of development.

  The company has said it plans to deploy a further $30bn-$35bn in equity and project finance by 2030 to achieve its capacity target, adding an average of 10GW of new capacity each year.

  The next phase of growth will be funded through a combination of equity, green bonds and long-term project finance. 

  Last month, Masdar reached financial close on its $6.1bn round-the-clock renewable energy project in Abu Dhabi, securing a $5.1bn financing package from a consortium of 13 local and international banks.

  The project combines 5.2GW of solar generation with 19GWh of battery energy storage and is expected to begin operations in 2027.

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

  Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

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

  > AGENDA: Expo 2030 Riyadh construction gathers pace > WORLD CUP: What the 2026 World Cup means for Saudi Arabia 2034 > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge > INDUSTRY REPORT: GCC banks prove resilient amid turmoil > LEADERSHIP: Private capital and the GCC infrastructure inflection > PORTS: Geopolitical risk shapes $513bn of global ports projects > INTERVIEW: Developers look beyond standalone solar

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

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  Mark Dowdall
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  Chinese contractor wins Saudi power and gas contracts

  4 August 2026

  Chinese contractor Ningxia Power Construction has announced it has won two contracts in Saudi Arabia covering power and gas infrastructure projects with a combined value of about RMB280m ($39m).

  The awards cover the third phase of cable laying and connection works for Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System (MGS-III) project and the first phase of a 380kV transmission line for the Red Sea Aluminium project, the company said in a statement.

  The MGS gas booster station contract covers electrical, instrumentation and control, communications, pre-commissioning, commissioning and defect rectification works.

  The project is located northwest of Al-Mendassah in Medina Province. Construction is scheduled to last 670 days and continue through to partial mechanical completion and mechanical completion.

  The Red Sea Aluminium contract involves the first phase of a 380kV overhead transmission line project.

  The scope includes eight new transmission circuits. Four incoming double-circuit lines will extend about 15.2 kilometres from the connection point to the switchyard. Four outgoing double-circuit lines will run about 0.2 kilometres from the switchyard to the aluminium plant power station. Provision has also been made for two additional outgoing circuits in the future.

  The Red Sea Aluminium complex is a planned integrated aluminium production facility in Yanbu Industrial City being developed by Red Sea Aluminium Holdings (RSAH), a joint venture of Innovation Global Industries, Innovation New Materials and Shandong Innovation Group

  In June, RSAH awarded China’s Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (Sepco) an estimated $100m engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 380kV overhead transmission line project at the Red Sea Aluminium complex.

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

  Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

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

  > AGENDA: Expo 2030 Riyadh construction gathers pace > WORLD CUP: What the 2026 World Cup means for Saudi Arabia 2034 > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge > INDUSTRY REPORT: GCC banks prove resilient amid turmoil > LEADERSHIP: Private capital and the GCC infrastructure inflection > PORTS: Geopolitical risk shapes $513bn of global ports projects > INTERVIEW: Developers look beyond standalone solar

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

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Contractors submit bids for key Aramco offshore tenders

  4 August 2026

  

   

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Contractors in Saudi Aramco’s Long-Term Agreement (LTA) pool of offshore service providers have submitted bids for five offshore tenders covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of structures at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan, Safaniya and Zuluf offshore oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia.

  The tenders are numbers 167, 168, 169, 170 and 171 on Aramco’s Contract Release and Purchase Order (CRPO) system, according to sources.

  Aramco issued the five CRPOs to its offshore LTA contractors in December, setting an initial bid submission deadline of 3 February.

  The Saudi energy giant has since extended the bid submission deadline several times – to 31 March, 1 June, 1 July and then 30 July – to allow LTA contractors sufficient time to prepare proposals.

  At the request of certain bidders, Aramco granted a final two-day extension, with LTA contractors submitting their proposals for the five CRPOs on 1 August, sources told MEED.

  The basic scope of EPCI work on the tenders is as follows:

  • CRPO 167 – eight jackets at the Marjan field development
  • CRPO 168 – four production deck modules (PDMs) at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa and Safaniya fields
  • CRPO 169 – three PDMs at the Marjan field development
  • CRPO 170 – three PDMs at the Marjan field development
  • CRPO 171 – three PDMs at the Zuluf field development

  Offshore contract awards

  Aramco spent almost $11bn on offshore EPCI contracts last year, more than double its capital expenditure on offshore projects in 2024, marking another year of robust upstream project spending in Saudi Arabia.

  In July, Aramco selected contractors for five CRPOs – numbers 150, 157, 158, 159 and 160 – worth over $3bn. These involve EPCI work and infrastructure upgrades at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf offshore fields.

  The Saudi energy giant then picked contractors for four more CRPOs that are part of the large-scale project to expand infrastructure at the Zuluf offshore field development. The tenders are CRPOs 145, 146, 147 and 148, and their combined value is estimated to be almost $6bn.

  In late December last year, Italian contractor Saipem announced securing contracts for CRPOs 162 and 165. The scope of work on CRPO 162 covers the EPCI of two rigid pipelines – a 30-inch pipeline stretching 23.98 kilometres (km) and a 20-inch pipeline, 10.23km-long; replacement of a flexible 10-inch pipeline that spans 5.1km; and modification work on topsides at the Berri and Abu Safah field developments. The duration of this contract is 32 months, Saipem said.

  The scope of work on CRPO 165, lasting 12 months, includes subsea interventions at the Marjan field development and the EPCI of 300 metres of onshore pipeline and associated tie-ins.

  In early January 2026, MEED reported that Aramco had selected US-based McDermott International for CRPO 166. The scope of work is understood to have been carved out of the $15bn Marjan offshore field development project, under which Aramco issued contracts for 20 EPCI packages in 2019. McDermott won the largest share of work on the project, securing an estimated $4.5bn of contracts across two packages.

  The contract for CRPO 166 was single-sourced to McDermott without a competitive tendering process and issued as a change order, sources told MEED.

  Aramco then awarded its second offshore contract of the year, CRPO 156, to Saipem. The scope of work covers the EPCI of a 48-inch trunkline, spanning roughly 65km offshore and 12km onshore, from the Safaniya offshore oil field to the onshore processing facility, plus associated works such as subsea hook-ups.

  CRPO 156 comprises the third package in Aramco’s latest expansion phase at Safaniya – the world’s largest offshore oil field, with a production capacity of nearly 1.2 million barrels a day (b/d). Discovered in 1951, the field is located in Gulf waters approximately 265km north of Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran.

  MEED also reported that Saipem was selected by Aramco for two more tenders as part of the Safaniya field development expansion phase – CRPOs 154 and 155. The combined contract value for CRPOs 154 and 155 is estimated at $600m, sources said.

  In April, state-owned China Offshore Oil Engineering Company won CRPO 161, which covers the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan offshore fields.

  Healthy contract award pipeline

  Looking ahead, in addition to CRPOs 167-171, which are currently under bidding, Aramco is evaluating bids submitted by its offshore LTA contractors in July and August last year for at least two additional tenders.

  These are CRPOs 163 and 164, relating to the EPCI of infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.

  Separately, the offshore LTA contractors are also bidding for a new tender – CRPO 176 – that was issued by Aramco in May, according to sources.

  The scope of work on CRPO 176 covers the EPCI of seven flexible subsea pipelines with a combined length of 17km at the Berri and Marjan offshore field developments.

  Aramco’s LTA pool of offshore service providers comprises the following entities:

  • Saipem (Italy)
  • McDermott International (US)
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH, India) / Subsea7 (UK)
  • NMDC Energy (UAE)
  • Lamprell (UAE/Saudi Arabia)
  • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
  • Dynamic Industries (US)
  • Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
  • TechnipFMC (France) / MMHE (Malaysia)
  • Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

  In April 2025, Aramco renewed its LTAs with the following contractors, whose contracts had either lapsed or were close to expiry:

  • Saipem
  • McDermott International
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon / Subsea7
  • NMDC Energy
  • Lamprell
  • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company

  ALSO READ: Aramco moves apace with Jafurah unconventional gas campaign

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Credit ratings key to infrastructure finance

  4 August 2026

  A global convergence in how infrastructure is financed is creating new pools of capital for Gulf projects, but the region’s non-OECD status means credit ratings will be central to unlocking the largest of these, according to Fitch Ratings.

  The ratings agency said the boundaries between project finance, corporate credit and structured finance are blurring as investors seek to optimise financing for the infrastructure required to support the digital buildout and energy transition. Rising interest from institutional investors in private credit, particularly asset-backed lending, is accelerating the adoption of tailored financing structures.

  For the GCC, the shift is important because of a specific regulatory constraint. Under EU Solvency II rules, unrated infrastructure debt sourced from outside the OECD cannot be treated as qualifying infrastructure. Fitch said this means that for investors seeking to access infrastructure opportunities in Saudi Arabia, India and other non-OECD markets, a credit rating is necessary for regulatory capital treatment.

  The distinction is significant for a region running one of the world’s largest project pipelines. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their neighbours are financing large-scale projects across the power, water, transport and digital infrastructure sectors, and much of the incremental capital Fitch identifies is held by regulated institutions for which ratings determine capital charges.

  Insurers pivot

  Insurers and pension funds are among the most significant structural sources of infrastructure capital, with global aggregated assets of about $45tn and $40tn respectively. Fitch says their increasing involvement is directly intertwined with the role of credit ratings, as cost-of-duration mismatches within solvency regimes push insurers towards liability-driven investment strategies that better match assets with liabilities.

  Insurer allocations to infrastructure have historically been low, at a global median of about 1% of investment portfolios. Fitch said this is changing rapidly. It cited a Nuveen survey conducted at the end of 2025 indicating that private market infrastructure debt is set to be the most favoured destination for fixed-income allocation for the third consecutive year, with 46% of respondents planning to grow allocations over the next two years.

  Sovereign wealth funds also play a major role, with over 30% of their private market fund allocations going to infrastructure, with AI-linked infrastructure the dominant sub-theme, displacing transport and logistics for new commitments. Energy transition ranked a close second, often aligned with national strategic objectives.

  Larger funds with more than $100bn in assets are deploying directly and through co-investments, bypassing fund structures to reduce fees and increase control. Fitch said such funds are increasingly price-setters in large infrastructure deals, and that their strategic national mandates mean they will absorb assets at returns that pure financial investors would reject.

  Regional outlook

  For the GCC specifically, Fitch said additional investment is likely to support security enhancements for core infrastructure assets in response to conflict in the region, alongside upgrades to transport and social infrastructure. It expects increased renewable power capacity and enhanced oil and gas-related infrastructure.

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

  Saudi Arabia builds for the global stage; Rising uncertainty creates fresh set of challenges in the Maghreb; Gulf banks remain robust in the face of geopolitical tensions.

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

  > AGENDA: Expo 2030 Riyadh construction gathers pace > WORLD CUP: What the 2026 World Cup means for Saudi Arabia 2034 > MARKET FOCUS: Maghreb fortunes diverge > INDUSTRY REPORT: GCC banks prove resilient amid turmoil > LEADERSHIP: Private capital and the GCC infrastructure inflection > PORTS: Geopolitical risk shapes $513bn of global ports projects > INTERVIEW: Developers look beyond standalone solar

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

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  Colin Foreman