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• 
  GCC grows stronger together

  5 December 2024

  Commentary
  Colin Foreman
  Editor

  Read the December 2024 edition of MEED Business Review

  The 2020s have so far been a tumultuous decade, with ongoing conflicts in the Levant and Ukraine still dominating the global news cycle. 

  The decade began with the Covid-19 pandemic battering economies, and with many nations struggling to recover, populist governments with protectionist policies have shunned globalisation. 

  The decline of US-led globalisation has coincided with the rise of China as the world’s largest economy, and over the past decade Beijing has begun to assert itself more actively on the international stage with its Belt and Road Initiative. 

  At the same time, climate change has become increasingly difficult to deny.

  As the new world order establishes itself, it poses challenges and opportunities for the GCC. Complex issues will not be resolved quickly, and the GCC has chosen to confront them together. After signing the Al-Ula Accords in January 2021, there has been a renewed sense of togetherness across the GCC that has manifested itself in several important ways.

  Simply exporting oil from a port to international markets no longer works

  Politically, the GCC has more weight on the international stage if it acts together. Economically, as the GCC diversifies away from exporting hydrocarbons with the development of new industries and services, it will need to be better integrated. Simply exporting oil from a port to international markets no longer works. The GCC economies of the future need to be intertwined with their neighbours and global supply chains. 

  This requires more infrastructure. One article of the Al-Ula Accords commits the GCC to develop its railway network.  

  Regional integration also supports the fight against climate change. For power grids to operate more efficiently, the GCC needs to connect its electricity grids so that when areas have a surplus of power, they can support other areas. 

  These projects will build resilience, which should shield the GCC from much of the upheaval the world faces today.

  ---

  Must-read sections in the December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review include:

  > AGENDA: 
  > Cooperation strengthens Gulf markets
  > Transport links stitch GCC together

  > CURRENT AFFAIRS:
  > Arab-Islamic summit demands Gaza ceasefire
  > Kuwait hopes new oil minister can push projects forward

  INDUSTRY REPORT: MEED's 2024 ranking of regional EPC contractors > Italian firms are top EPC contract winners > Contractors battle chronic problems

  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi Binladin Group makes a comeback

  > DATA CENTRES: Khazna expects to build more 100MW-scale data centres

  > GREEN HYDROGEN: Abu Dhabi bullish on green hydrogen

  > INTERVIEW: Sener eyes role in evolving Middle East infrastructure

  > LEGAL: Navigating energy disputes through international arbitration

  > BAHRAIN MARKET REPORT: 
  > COMMENT: Bahrain’s projects sector drags on economy
  > GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Bahrain’s economic growth momentum falters
  > BANKING: Bahrain banking works to scale up
  > OIL & GAS: Bapco Energies sets sights on clean energy goals
  > POWER & WATER: Manama jumpstarts utility sector
  ​​​​> CONSTRUCTION: Bahrain construction struggles to keep pace
  > INDUSTRY: Alba positions for the future

  > MEED COMMENTS: 
  > Riyadh may turn to different CEOs to run its projects
  > Warming Riyadh-Tehran ties herald regional shift
  > Decarbonising steel is hard to resist
  > Saudi Arabia power sector unlikely to disappoint

  > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market returns to strong growth

  > OCTOBER 2024 CONTRACTS: Region sets stage to break records this year

  > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

  > OPINION: Middle East faces a reckoning

  > BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

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

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Oman pursues utility and grid expansion

  5 December 2024

  

   

  Expanding renewable energy and water production capacity and interconnecting disparate grids have been key priorities for Oman’s main utility stakeholders, especially over the past two years.

  These efforts support a stated objective for renewable energy to account for 30% of Oman’s electricity generation capacity by 2030 – or an intervening milestone of about 3,000MW by 2027 – while ceasing to procure new thermal capacity.

  “As in every other GCC state, the role of renewables is enshrined in Oman’s overall energy production mix target,” notes a UAE-based infrastructure consultant.

  In addition to the longer-term renewable energy target, the sultanate expects new wind and solar projects to contribute to almost 11% of electricity production by 2025, according to the state offtaker Nama Power & Water Procurement Company’s (Nama PWP) latest seven-year statement covering 2023-29.

  The milestones appear manageable. While Oman’s operational renewable energy capacity, mainly from the Ibri 2 solar independent power project (IPP), is only around 500MW, a further 1,000MW is under construction through the Manah 1 and Manah 2 solar IPPs.

  The tendering process is also under way for around 1,000MW of wind IPP schemes.

  In September, Nama PWP invited firms to bid for a contract to develop and operate the first two wind farms it is procuring under an IPP framework.

  Located in South Sharqiyah Governorate, the Jalan Bani Bu Ali wind IPP will cater to Oman’s Main Interconnection System (MIS). It will have a capacity of 91MW-105MW and a commercial operation target of Q1 2027.

  The second scheme is the Dhofar wind IPP, catering to the smaller Dhofar Power System (DPS). It will have a capacity of 114MW-132MW and will be operational in Q2 2027.

  Three other wind schemes will be tendered over the following months, bringing the total capacity of wind IPPs to be developed in Oman over the next two to three years to over 1,000MW.

  Nama PWP is also expected to issue the request for proposals for the 500MW Ibri 3 solar IPP scheme shortly.

  Expiring capacities

  While Muscat has said it does not plan to procure further thermal power generation capacity in the foreseeable future, it successfully extended the contracts for several expiring thermal power generation and water desalination capacities earlier this year.

  These agreements collectively secured over 1,500MW of electricity and 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d) of desalinated water for up to nine years.

  The contract renewals follow the expiry or expected expiry of the power- or power and water-purchase agreements for the following plants:

  • Barka 1 independent water and power project (IWPP): 427MW (installed power generation capacity) / 101,000 cm/d (desalination capacity)
  • Barka 2 IWPP: 703MW / 120,000 cm/d
  • Rusail IPP: 184MW
  • Manah IPP: 179MW

  According to Saudi utility developer Acwa Power, the Barka 1 plant’s power and water purchase agreement extension is valued at $356m.

  It includes extending the operation of the power plant for eight years and nine months, starting from 1 June 2024, and the water desalination plant for three years from 1 September 2024. When it began operations in 2003, the facility contributed 6% of Oman’s electricity and 24% of its desalinated water.

  Nama PWP said “efficient utilisation of gas consumption will continue to improve” over the 2023-29 planning horizon.

  Peak demand forecast

  Peak demand in the MIS is expected to grow at an average of approximately 3.4% a year over the seven-year planning period, reaching about 8,350MW in 2029, up from 6,628MW in 2022.

  In the DPS, peak demand is anticipated to grow 5% a year, from 612MW in 2022 to 837MW in 2029.

  Oman has been implementing key projects to improve the efficiency of its electricity grids, addressing growing peak demand and intermittent renewable power.

  In 2023, Oman Electricity Transmission Company completed works on the $966m, 400-kilovolt (kV) first phase of the North-South Interconnection project – known as Rabt – enabling Oman’s MIS to connect with the Duqm Power System.

  The project is expected to stimulate the development of the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad) and the development of renewable energy projects in the Al-Wusta Governorate. The next phase to expand the Rabt project is expected by 2026.

  Oman’s second direct link to the GCC regional electricity grid is also planned to come onstream the same year.

  The 400kV Oman Direct Link project will extend the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority’s (GCCIA) 400kV transmission network to enable direct interconnection with Oman.

  According to energy consultancy firm Energoprojeckt, which is advising the GCCIA on this project, a new 400kV double circuit overhead line connection, with a total route length of 528 kilometres, will be constructed from the existing 400kV GCCIA Silaa substation in the UAE to the existing 400/220kV Ibri substation in Oman.

  Oman’s first link with the GCCIA became operational in November 2011. It comprises a 200kV line connecting the Mahadha grid station in Al-Wasit, Oman, to the Al-Oha grid station in Al-Ain, UAE.

  Water sector

  The sultanate’s water sector has been similarly buoyant. Contract awards for desalination and treatment capacity and the construction of water transmission pipelines are approaching record highs.

  According to MEED Projects data, close to $1bn-worth of contracts are in the bid evaluation stage, including the estimated $100m package for the wastewater network facilities on Masirah Island, as well as several water pipeline, desalination and dam projects across the sultanate.

  Oman’s Barka 5 independent water project (IWP) reached commercial operations in August, its owner and operator, Madrid-headquartered GS Inima, announced. Oman’s eighth IWP scheme has a design capacity of 100,000 cm/d.

  The project, which uses reverse osmosis technology, will serve 800,000 people in the sultanate’s most populated areas: Muscat, Dakhiliyah and Batinah.

  GS Inima, in a consortium with local contractor Sogex and Saudi Arabia’s Aljomaih, won the contract to develop another IWP in Oman, the 300,000 cm/d Ghubrah 3 IWP, in 2020. The project is expected to reach financial close soon.

  Peak water demand in the sultanate’s MIS is expected to increase by an average of 2% annually, from 1,172,000 cm/d in 2022 to 1,387,000 cm/d in 2029.

  A higher growth rate of 5% annually is expected in the sultanate’s Sharqiyah zone, and 7% is projected in Dhofar.

  Other upcoming projects

  In addition to Nama PWP’s plans, state-backed Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is procuring renewable energy capacity to support its target of 30% of its power capacity coming from renewable sources by 2026 and 50% by 2030.

  PDO floated a tender for two 100MW wind projects in April 2023. It is understood that PDO is in discussions with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) for the contract to develop the Riyah-1 and Riyah-2 wind projects.

  PDO has also appointed a team comprising Beijing-headquartered Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and its subsidiary, Huadong Engineering Corporation (HDEC), to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for the two wind projects.

  PDO plans to develop its second solar photovoltaic project near Saih Nihayda, next to Qarn Alam airport, in the northern region of Oman. The project is expected to come onstream late next year, nearly five years after its first 100MW Amin solar project began operating.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Read the December 2024 MEED Business Review

  4 December 2024

  Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access

  Regional integration is crucial to the GCC’s ongoing economic success story.

  After signing the Al-Ula Accords in January 2021, there has been a renewed sense of togetherness across the GCC that has manifested itself in several important ways.

  The December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review examines how close collaboration between the GCC states is driving regional growth and attracting investment.

  In 2024, the six GCC states have enjoyed warm relations, and tensions with Iran have cooled following a series of diplomatic rapprochements involving Tehran, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. 

  These diplomatic efforts have resulted in a more stable business environment that has produced robust economic growth, record levels of inward investment and record spending on projects.

  At the same time, transport projects, including the GCC railway, causeways and road links, are being driven forwards to connect the GCC states. Once built, these schemes should provide a catalyst for further economic activity. Read more about the transport links that are stitching the GCC together here. 

  The December issue also includes our annual engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor ranking. 

  The past four quarters have seen the award of an unprecedented value of oil, gas and chemicals projects in the Middle East and North Africa. Between Q4 2023 and Q3 2024, the combined value of regional schemes reached $94bn, soaring above the already elevated $67bn of awards in the previous four quarters.

  The surge in contract awards over the past two years is a boon for the EPC sector, with Italian firms emerging as the top EPC contract winners.

  This month’s exclusive 15-page market report focuses on Bahrain, where the projects sector is dragging on the economy. MEED’s analysis finds that Manama must course correct after seven straight years of project sector value contraction. 

  Meanwhile, in this month’s issue, the team assesses the potential impact of the joint resolution issued by Arab and Islamic leaders from across the Middle East and North Africa region when they gathered in Riyadh on 11 November, calling for a ceasefire to end the expanding regional conflict centred on Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

  We also examine Kuwait’s hopes that newly appointed Oil Minister Tariq Suleiman Al-Roumi can push forward key hydrocarbons projects after years of stalled progress, look at how the award of high-profile construction contracts and financial support from the Saudi government have helped Jeddah-based Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) to make a comeback in 2024, and learn why international arbitration is becoming the mechanism of choice for resolving legal disputes arising in the energy sector amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

  The December issue is also packed with exclusive interviews. Gregory Jasmin, Khazna Data Centres’ senior director of business development strategy, tells MEED about the firm’s plans to build more 100MW-scale data centres; Mohammad Abdelqader El-Ramahi, chief green hydrogen officer at Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), discusses Abu Dhabi's low-carbon hydrogen agenda; and Sener’s Middle East managing director, Mario Neves, details the Spanish engineering company’s plans for the Middle East region.

  We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review. 

  

   

  Must-read sections in the December 2024 issue of MEED Business Review include:

  > AGENDA: 
  > Cooperation strengthens Gulf markets
  > Transport links stitch GCC together

  > CURRENT AFFAIRS:
  > Arab-Islamic summit demands Gaza ceasefire
  > Kuwait hopes new oil minister can push projects forward

  INDUSTRY REPORT: MEED's 2024 ranking of regional EPC contractors > Italian firms are top EPC contract winners > Contractors battle chronic problems

  > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi Binladin Group makes a comeback

  > DATA CENTRES: Khazna expects to build more 100MW-scale data centres

  > GREEN HYDROGEN: Abu Dhabi bullish on green hydrogen

  > INTERVIEW: Sener eyes role in evolving Middle East infrastructure

  > LEGAL: Navigating energy disputes through international arbitration

  > BAHRAIN MARKET REPORT: 
  > COMMENT: Bahrain’s projects sector drags on economy
  > GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY: Bahrain’s economic growth momentum falters
  > BANKING: Bahrain banking works to scale up
  > OIL & GAS: Bapco Energies sets sights on clean energy goals
  > POWER & WATER: Manama jumpstarts utility sector
  ​​​​> CONSTRUCTION: Bahrain construction struggles to keep pace
  > INDUSTRY: Alba positions for the future

  > MEED COMMENTS: 
  > Riyadh may turn to different CEOs to run its projects
  > Warming Riyadh-Tehran ties herald regional shift
  > Decarbonising steel is hard to resist
  > Saudi Arabia power sector unlikely to disappoint

  > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects market returns to strong growth

  > OCTOBER 2024 CONTRACTS: Region sets stage to break records this year

  > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

  > OPINION: Middle East faces a reckoning

  > BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

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

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  MEED Editorial
• 
  Aramco housing PPP reaches financial close

  4 December 2024

  

   

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  A team led by Saudi-headquartered Lamar Holding has reached financial close on the project to develop Saudi Aramco’s staff accommodation on Saudi Arabia’s Abu Ali Island, according to sources close to the project.

  The Abu Ali Services Residential Compound public-private partnership (PPP) project is expected to house 500 employees across 260,000 square metres of land.

  The contract, which comprises six residential buildings with support facilities, is estimated to be worth SR860m ($229m).

  One of the sources said the local Riyad Bank agreed to provide long-term debt to the project.

  Debt will account for roughly 80% of the project cost, with the rest accounted for by equity. 

  The project is scheduled for completion within 28 months.

  US/India-based Synergy Consulting provided financial advisory services to the developer team.

  Aramco awarded the contract to develop the Abu Ali housing PPP in early 2023.

  The winning consortium contains the local Arabian Castles for General Contracting as the operation and management contractor and China’s Sepco as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. 

  Aramco has so far awarded two other housing PPP projects.

  In December 2022, a team comprising Lamar Holding and Asyad Group won the contract to develop PPP accommodation complexes at Haradh and Wudayhi in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

  The contract is valued at $450m. The project reached financial close in July this year.

  The complexes are expected to house up to 2,800 workers across 11 residential buildings, with two mosques and a clinic, as well as a refurbished recreational facility and an expanded medical facility at each complex.

  The scope of the contract also includes the construction of a sewage treatment plant operations building and the installation of chiller plants, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

  A team led by El-Seif Engineering & Contracting was awarded the contract to develop and implement the Tanajib housing PPP project in early 2022. The project scope includes the development of 2,500 housing units, in addition to a food court, parking facilities and infrastructure.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo
• 
  Saudi Arabia awards Rabigh 2 solar contract

  4 December 2024

  Register for MEED's 14-day trial access 

  A team comprising the local AlJomaih Energy & Water and France’s TotalEnergies Renewables has signed the power-purchase agreement (PPA) with Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for the 300MW Rabigh 2 solar independent power project (IPP) in Saudi Arabia.

  The Rabigh 2 IPP is one of four solar IPPs procured under round five of the kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP). 

  The signing of the PPA coincided with the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Riyadh on 3 December.

  The local/French team proposed developing the project at a levelised electricity cost of  $c1.78 a kilowatt-hour (kWh).

  It saw off competition from the second-lowest bidder, a team of the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and the local Nesma Renewables, which offered $c1.89/kWh.

  Other schemes under the NREP round five are the 2,000MW Al-Sadawi solar IPP, the 1,000MW Al-Masaa solar IPP and the 400MW Hinakiyah 2 solar IPP.

  A developer team that includes Masdar, Kepco and China’s GD Power Development submitted a levelised cost of electricity of hals 4.847 ($c1.29) a kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the contract to develop the Al-Sadawi solar scheme.

  SPPC signed the PPA for the Al-Sadawi solar IPP, which is located in the Eastern Province, on 18 November. 

  SPPC received six proposals from companies for the contracts to develop and operate four solar photovoltaic (PV) IPP projects in Saudi Arabia in August.

  According to SPPC, the lowest and second-lowest bidders in the remaining schemes under round five of the NREP are:

  Al-Masaa solar IPP (Hail): 1,000MW

  • L1: SPIC/EDF Renewables (France): $c1.36/kWh
  • L2: AlJomaih Energy & Water (local) / TotalEnergies Renewables (France): $c1.40/kWh

  Al-Hinakiyah 2 solar IPP (Medina): 400MW

  • L1: SPIC/EDF: $c1.51/kWh
  • L2: Masdar/Kepco/Nesma:  $c1.57/kWh

  US/India-based Synergy Consulting is providing financial advisory services to SPPC for the NREP fifth-round tender. Germany’s Fichtner Consulting is providing technical consultancy services.

  The round five solar PV IPPs take the total capacity of publicly tendered renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia to over 10,300MW. Solar PV IPPs account for 79%, or about 8,100MW, of the total capacity.

  Four wind IPPs, one of which has yet to be awarded, account for the remaining capacity.

  SPPC recently prequalified companies that can bid for the contracts to develop wind and solar schemes under the sixth round of the NREP.

  SPPC is procuring 30% of the kingdom’s target renewable energy by 2030. Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is procuring the rest through the Price Discovery Scheme. The PIF has appointed Acwa Power, which it partly owns, as principal partner for these projects.

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  Jennifer Aguinaldo