meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Adnoc spurs downstream gas expansions

13 October 2023

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

> Adnoc Gas picks site for planned LNG terminal
> Adnoc Gas receives prices for Estidama package
> Adnoc and Dusup sign key gas supply agreement
> Adnoc receives bids for gas pipeline packages
> Adnoc receives prices for sales gas pipeline packages
> Adnoc Gas awards $3.6bn Project Meram contract

 

Demand for natural gas has risen exponentially in this decade, with its share in the global energy mix set to grow further in the decades to come.

Regional energy producers are deploying major capital expenditure programmes to increase their gas production and processing capabilities to cater to growing demand.

The UAE is striving to achieve self-sufficiency in gas production by 2030. With this objective in mind, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has committed significant investment towards expanding its midstream and downstream gas capabilities.

These projects seek to increase the availability of gas for utility providers and industrial customers in the UAE and ramp up ethane output to grow the country’s petrochemical sector and its derivatives ecosystem.

Hail and Ghasha galvanises UAE upstream market

Ruwais LNG project

Adnoc Gas, the gas processing business of Adnoc, has finalised the location for its planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. The facility will have the capacity to produce about 9.6 million tonnes a year (t/y) of LNG from two processing trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 million t/y.

The overall value of the planned project is estimated to be upwards of $4.5bn, based on capital expenditure by operators on similar schemes worldwide.

Adnoc Gas received technical bids from contractors in May for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the project, which will be built in Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi’s Al-Dhafrah region.

Adnoc Gas had originally planned to build the LNG terminal in the UAE emirate of Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. In early May, however, the company announced it was shifting the location of the project from Fujairah to Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Sales gas pipeline network

Adnoc Gas is progressing the Estidama project, which is crucial to enhancing Adnoc’s sales gas pipeline network across the UAE. The project aims to cater to rising demand for gas from industrial consumers across the UAE, particularly in the Northern Emirates.

Contractors submitted commercial bids in August for combined package numbers 4 and 7. The combined package involves laying a new pipeline from the Al-Shuwaib pig launcher and pig receiver station to the Sajaa gas facility in Sharjah.

The scope also covers building a new gas pipeline between BVS-2/KP28.7 in Abu Dhabi to Dubai’s Margham gas facility to meet increased gas demand from Adnoc Gas’ customer Dubai Supply Authority (Dusup).

EPC works on the estimated $2bn-plus Estidama project have been divided into seven packages. Abu Dhabi-based contractor Integrated Specialised General Contracting Company (Iscco) won package 1, understood to have a contract value of $18m, in December 2021.

In early July, Adnoc Gas awarded contracts worth a combined $1.34bn for two other packages of the Estidama project. UK-headquartered Petrofac was awarded the EPC contract for package 2 of the Estidama project, estimated to be worth $720m.

A consortium of Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and Lebanon-headquartered CAT Group won Estidama package 3, which is valued at about $630m.

Contractors submitted technical bids for package 6 in August 2022 and commercial bids by 21 November. Work on package 6 entails the installation of a 52-inch, 74-kilometre pipeline from Sweihan to Al-Shuwaib in Abu Dhabi and building two block valve stations.

Package 5 is expected to be tendered separately to contractors as part of a planned second phase of the sales gas pipeline upgrade project.

As per the original project schedule, EPC works on the Estidama project are due to be completed in 2025.

Ramping up ethane output

Adnoc Gas is in charge of one of the world’s largest gas processing complexes in Abu Dhabi, with the capacity to process about 8 billion cubic feet a day from its Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa, Habshan and Ruwais plants.

Increased volumes of ethane production will allow the company to commercialise it to supply feedstock to Borouge for its under-construction Borouge 4 petrochemicals complex, as well as to derivatives plants in the upcoming Taziz complex. Adnoc Gas intends to achieve this through the Maximise Ethane Recovery & Monetisation (Meram) project.

Adnoc Gas awarded a $3.6bn contract for Project Meram to a consortium of NPCC and Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas in early August, with EPC work on the project starting later that month. The scope of work on the contract includes commissioning new gas processing facilities to enable an optimised supply to the Ruwais industrial complex, Adnoc Group said.

The strategic Meram project aims to achieve dual objectives, Adnoc stated.

The first goal is to increase ethane extraction by 35 to 40 per cent from Adnoc Gas’ existing onshore facilities in the Habshan gas processing complex by constructing new gas processing facilities.

The second goal is to unlock further value from existing feedstock and deliver it to Ruwais via a 120km natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline.

LATEST NEWS FROM THE UAE's CHEMICALS SECTOR:
> Lummus seeks to expand Abu Dhabi office
> Firms express interest for Abu Dhabi methanol project
> Borouge and Borealis launch recycled products range
> Fertiglobe makes $84m profit in second quarter
> Borouge announces $231m profit in second quarter
> Adnoc opens formal chemicals integration talks with OMV

Taziz chemicals complex

Meanwhile, investors in the Taziz petrochemicals derivatives-producing industrial complex in Ruwais are pushing ahead with their projects.

Taziz – a 60:40 joint venture (JV) of Adnoc and Abu Dhabi’s industrial holding company ADQ – is overseeing the development of the sprawling industrial complex, which will mainly draw ethylene feedstock from the Borouge 4 facility to produce several in-demand chemicals.

A JV of UAE-based Fertiglobe, South Korea’s GS Energy and Japanese investment firm Mitsui awarded Italian contractor Tecnimont the main EPC contract for its planned blue ammonia project in the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in February.

The JV has appointed KBR to provide the technology licence, basic engineering design, proprietary equipment and catalyst for the low-carbon ammonia plant, which will have a capacity of 1 million t/y.

India’s Reliance Industries is also an investor in the Taziz complex, having forged a partnership with Taziz and Abu Dhabi-based Shaheen Chem Holdings Investment to invest $2bn in developing three chemical plants producing chlor-alkali (940,000 t/y), ethylene dichloride (1.1 million t/y) and polyvinyl chloride (360,000 t/y).

Switzerland-based Proman has committed to building the UAE’s first methanol plant at Taziz, with a planned production capacity of 1.8 million t/y. The Proman-Taziz JV completed the contractor prequalification process for the EPC tendering round for the methanol production project in August. The operator is expected to issue the main EPC tender later this year.

As projects in the first phase of the chemicals complex move forward, Taziz is also understood to be gearing up for a second phase to more than double the number of chemicals produced at the derivatives hub.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11214144/main.jpg
Indrajit Sen

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Saudi Arabia tenders next phase of King Saud Air Base

    10 September 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence & Aviation has started the tendering process for the next phase of the King Saud Air Base in the kingdom.

    Contractors have been given until 20 October to submit their bids.

    The scope of works covers the construction of the headquarters building, administrative buildings, operations and maintenance area, police camp facilities, weapons and ammunition area, residential facilities, airfield facilities and other associated facilities.

    The project duration is three years.

    The air base spans an area of 383 square kilometres (sq km) in the Hafr Al-Batin area of the kingdom’s Eastern Region.

    Contracts worth about SR6.6bn ($1.8bn) for the project’s first phase were awarded early last year.

    The joint venture of local firms Isam Khairi Kabbani Group and Alfanar Projects was appointed as the main contractor for the first package, which was worth about SR2.9bn ($783m).

    The consortium comprising Riyadh-based Albawani, Shibh Al-Jazira Contracting and Kuwait’s Alghanim International won the second package, worth about $1bn.

    According to GlobalData, Saudi Arabia’s defence budget is projected to grow from $68bn in 2027 to $86.3bn by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1%.

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

    Nuclear power ambitions gather pace; Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive despite war; Region invests in raising gas processing capacity.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the September 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19544241/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Sabic awards $3.47bn contract for ammonia and urea complex

    10 September 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients, an affiliate of chemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), has awarded the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its seventh project in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Industrial City, which will significantly expand its ammonia and urea production capacity.

    South Korea’s Samsung E&A has won the contract for the project known as San VII, valued at $3.465bn, Sabic Agri-Nutrients said in a filing with the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) on 10 September. It added that its board approved the final investment decision on the project on 9 September.

    The San VII project in Jubail Industrial City, in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, will have a production capacity of about 1.2 million metric tonnes a year (t/y) of conventional ammonia and 2.6 million metric t/y of urea. The complex will also feature a post-combustion carbon capture unit.

    Sabic had earlier announced receiving approval for feedstock allocation from the Saudi Ministry of Energy in March for the project, which will expand Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ urea production capacity by 54%, from approximately 4.8 million metric t/y to 7.4 million metric t/y.

    The San VII project replaces a previously planned low-carbon or blue ammonia project with a conventional ammonia and urea facility. The project, which was previously known as San VI, was slated to produce 1.2 million metric t/y of low-carbon ammonia and 1.1 million metric t/y of urea and specialised agri-nutrients.

    Before being restructured into its current form, MEED reported in March last year that Samsung E&A was the frontrunner to win the main EPC contract for the project.

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients expects construction on the San VII project to begin in Q4 2026, with commissioning scheduled to start in Q3 2030. The commissioning period will last four months, ahead of the start of commercial production and completion of the project in Q4 2030.

    The San VII project “is also expected to represent a significant step toward enhancing the company’s competitiveness and sustainability through the integration of advanced carbon capture technologies and the reduction of emissions intensity across its operations. This will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of its products, supporting the company’s sustainability and carbon neutrality ambitions”, Sabic Agri-Nutrients said in its Tadawul filing.

    “The project is considered one of the key pillars of the company’s 2040 strategy, which aims to strengthen the kingdom’s position in the agricultural nutrients export market and contribute to global food security, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030,” it added.

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients

    Formerly Saudi Arabian Fertiliser Company (Safco), Sabic Agri-Nutrients was the first petrochemicals company to be established in Saudi Arabia in 1965.

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients, in which Sabic owns the majority 50.1% share, is one of the leading global fertiliser producers, with a portfolio that includes urea, ammonia, phosphate and other specialised products.

    For the second quarter of 2026, the company reported a sharp decline in profitability, primarily driven by a drop in revenue and lower sales volumes compared with both the previous quarter and the same period last year.

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients saw its net profit fall by 64.25% to $101m, compared with $282.66m in the second quarter of last year, and by 69.11% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

    The company’s Q2 revenues were down by 26.65% year-on-year at $643m, and by 16.11% quarter-on-quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in Q2 stood at $165m, a drop of 51% year-on-year and 55% quarter-on-quarter.

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients further said its profitability suffered from a 31% quarterly decline in agri-nutrient sales volumes, recorded at 960,000 metric tonnes. Although global supply chain disruptions triggered a 27% price increase for agri-nutrients during the second quarter, the short-lived macro-driven bump was not enough to fully offset the slide in sales volumes.

    In December 2022, Saudi Aramco and Sabic Agri-Nutrients delivered the world’s first commercial-grade blue ammonia cargo to South Korea. Locally based Lotte Fine Chemicals received the shipment of 25,000 metric tonnes of independently certified blue ammonia in the southern city of Ulsan.

    Following that milestone, the company struck several deals in 2023 with customers worldwide to supply low-carbon ammonia and urea.

    In April 2023, Sabic Agri-Nutrients shipped the first independently certified low-carbon ammonia from Saudi Arabia to Japan, where it is being used as fuel for power generation. The ammonia cargo was produced with feedstock from Saudi Aramco, sold by Aramco Trading Company to Fuji Oil Company and transported by Mitsui OSK Lines.

    After that, Sabic Agri-Nutrients shipped 5,000 metric tonnes of low-carbon ammonia in May 2023 to a customer in India, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative.

    The company then shipped 5,000 metric tonnes of low-carbon ammonia to Taiwan Fertiliser Company in June 2023.

    Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ latest shipment is believed to have been in July 2023, when it shipped a 2,700-tonne cargo of low-carbon urea to Ravensdown, a New Zealand farmer-owned agricultural co-operative company.

    Separately, Sabic Agri-Nutrients announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Maaden Integrated Fertiliser Company (MIFC) on 18 August to explore potential collaboration opportunities.

    The non-binding MoU, which is valid for three years, “aims to establish a general framework for cooperation between the two parties in developing and investing in opportunities within the integrated value chain of agri-nutrients, including the production and manufacturing of value-added products”, Sabic Agri-Nutrients said in a Tadawul disclosure.

    MIFC is a limited liability company wholly owned by Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden). MIFC serves as the holding entity for all subsidiaries within Maaden’s phosphate business vertical.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19539503/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Contractor wins Riyadh airport sewage plant deal

    10 September 2026

     

    The local Safari Company has been selected to build a sewage treatment plant at the King Salman International airport (KSIA) development in Riyadh.

    The contract for the facility is yet to be formally signed with King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC), a source close to the project told MEED.

    The facility will have a treatment capacity of 92,000 cubic metres a day and is estimated to be worth SR700m ($187m).

    In July, MEED reported that Safari was one of seven contractors awaiting a decision on a contract to build the sewage treatment plant.

    It is understood that bids were submitted in March, following the tender’s release earlier this year.

    The plant will treat wastewater generated by the airport and surrounding developments, including passenger terminals, runways, residential districts, commercial facilities and logistics areas.

    The bidders (all local) are:

    • Al-Rawaf Trading & Contracting
    • Almajal Alarabi
    • Nesma Water & Energy
    • Safari Company
    • Saudi Services for Electro-Mechanic Works
    • Washnah Contracting
    • Water & Environment Technologies (Wetico)

    The project scope includes the construction of the treatment plant, the installation of preliminary, secondary and tertiary treatment systems, sewage collection and conveyance pipelines, pumping stations, and electrical and control systems.

    US-headquartered Jacobs is acting as the main project consultant. Commercial operations for the plant are scheduled for 2029.

    The sewage treatment plant is one of several water infrastructure packages planned for the airport. KSIADC is also evaluating bids for a separate $30m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covering potable water and fire water tanks and an associated pumping station. The same seven companies submitted bids for that package.

    Earlier in July, MEED exclusively reported that a joint venture of Beijing-headquartered China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Dammam-based Mofarreh AlHarbi & Partners had won a deal to undertake the enabling and substructure works for Terminal 6 at KSIA.

    That same month, MEED exclusively reported that contract details were being finalised for the main construction contract for the expansion of Hail airport. It is understood that Safari Company was appointed as the contractor for this project.

    The terminal expansion works include the south expansion, which encompasses the construction of a new building covering 5,600 square metres. This building will connect to the existing terminal from the southern side.

    The expansion will increase the airport’s capacity to about 1.7 million passengers a year by 2030.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19539284/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Azizi to announce $8bn Sharjah residential community

    10 September 2026

    Dubai-based real estate developer Azizi Developments is preparing to launch Azizi Florence, a AED30bn ($8bn) masterplanned community in Sharjah.

    Named Azizi Florence, the project will mark the developer’s first venture in the emirate of Sharjah.

    The community will include 1,130 villas, over 6,000 townhouses and 3,500 apartments.

    Planned as a fully integrated destination, Azizi Florence will combine residential, retail, hospitality, education, leisure, and wellness components, anchored by a 1.7 million-square-foot central park.

    The development will be organised into six residential clusters, each featuring its own park, clubhouse, community centre and landscaped gardens.

    Azizi Florence is another major addition to the developer’s UAE portfolio. 

    In April last year, Azizi announced plans to develop the Azizi Milan community in Dubai’s City of Arabia area.

    According to media reports, the project will be developed at an estimated cost of AED75bn ($20bn) and will offer over 81,200 residential units.

    The developer said the project will cover an area of about 40 million square feet, making it one of the largest mixed-use communities in the UAE.

    In 2023, Azizi launched the Azizi Venice project in the Dubai South area. The estimated AED30bn ($8.17bn) mixed-use development will offer more than 30,000 residential units, including 100 mid-rise apartment complexes and 400 villas, two five-star hotels and an opera house.

    The development will also include schools, a hospital, cycling and jogging tracks, a 3-kilometre-long swimmable lagoon, water features and landscaped parks.

    Dubai real estate developments dominate the UAE’s construction market, with schemes worth over $323bn in the execution or planning stages.

    This is in line with a forecast by GlobalData, which projects that the output of the UAE construction sector will grow by 4.2% in real terms in 2025, supported by developments in infrastructure, energy and utilities and residential construction projects.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19535526/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows

    10 September 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s power market has seen a sharp fall in contract awards in 2026 following a major wave of renewable energy investment last year.

    According to regional project tracker MEED Projects, about $3.38bn of power sector contracts were awarded in the kingdom as of early September, compared with $27.5bn in 2025, $54.2bn in 2024 and $26.1bn in 2023.

    The relatively low level of contract awards this year has partly been influenced by a shift towards wider infrastructure such as battery energy storage systems (bess) and transmission projects, alongside delays in the procurement of renewable energy projects under the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) Round 7.

    In September, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) awarded four Group 1 storage service agreements representing more than SR4.35bn ($1.16bn) of investment. The projects will provide a combined 2,000MW of capacity and 8,000MWh of storage.

    Three bess projects, Al-Muwyah, Haden and Al-Kahafa, were awarded to a consortium of Saudi Energy, Acwa and Al-Sharif Contracting & Commercial Development Company. Another consortium of France’s Engie and Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co won the contract for the remaining Al-Khushaybi bess project.

    Transmission awards

    The battery storage projects are part of a broader shift towards the infrastructure needed to support Saudi Arabia’s expanding power system, with transmission accounting for most of the contracts awarded this year, reaching $3.35bn in new awards.

    The largest is the estimated $500m contract awarded to Alfanar Projects in March for the 500kV overhead transmission line linking Saudi Arabia’s Eastern and Central operating areas. The 508-kilometre project will have a transmission capacity of 3,000MW.

    Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, is implementing a $58.7bn grid investment programme through 2030, including 130 high-voltage substations, about 12,900km of overhead transmission lines and 1,100km of underground cables.

    Saudi Energy is the largest owner by value so far this year, accounting for about $1.9bn of contract awards, while SPPC has awarded more than $1.1bn in new contracts.

    The focus on storage and transmission follows strong growth in renewable generation investment in 2025. Wind power contract awards reached $4.4bn, while 11 major solar contracts were also awarded.

    In May 2025, developers signed $8.3bn of power purchase agreements with SPPC for five solar plants and two wind farms with a combined capacity of 15,000MW, somewhat inflating last year’s figures. The projects, backed by the Public Investment Fund, reached financial close in November.

    Renewables projects

    The next major phase of renewable procurement is now moving through the tender process. The seventh round of NREP, tendered in January, will add 5,300MW through four solar and two wind projects.

    Based on the procurement timeline for the Round 6 projects, which were tendered and awarded in 2026, it was reasonable to expect Round 7 to follow a similar schedule.

    However, according to one developer, rising supply costs have been a factor in recent deadline extensions for these projects, with those involved “waiting till these come down”.

    With the latest bid submission deadlines set for September, the timing of the procurement process means contracts from NREP Round 7 may now fall into 2027 rather than materially lifting this year’s total.

    The solar projects comprise the 1,400MW Tabarjal 2, 600MW Mawqqaq, 600MW Tathleeth and 500MW South Al-Ula independent power projects (IPPs). The round also includes the 1,300MW Bilgah and 900MW Shagra wind IPPs.

    This helps explain why Saudi Arabia’s power sector contracting could remain relatively subdued in 2026 despite a substantial volume of projects progressing through procurement.

    Project pipeline

    According to MEED Projects, about $5.1bn of power projects are currently under bid evaluation and a further $7.3bn are at the main contract tender stage.

    Solar projects make up the largest share, at about $5.1bn, or 41% of the total. There continues to be relatively strong diversification, with cable and overhead-line projects accounting for about $3bn, followed by wind at $2.2bn, oil and gas-fired power at $1.1bn and substations at about $1bn.

    Renewable energy remains a particularly significant part of the development programme. Saudi Arabia raised its renewable energy target to 130GW by 2030 in 2023 and needs to add roughly 20GW of capacity a year to meet it.

    Large-scale storage is also expected to continue expanding. The latest SPPC projects build on five bess facilities awarded by Saudi Energy through National Grid Saudi Arabia to Alfanar in 2025. The facilities have a combined capacity of up to 2,500MW, equivalent to about 10,000MWh.

    SPPC has also issued the request for proposals for the second phase of its independent bess programme in Saudi Arabia. The Group 2 programme comprises six independent storage provider projects with a total capacity of 3GW, equivalent to 12,000MWh based on a four-hour storage duration. Developers are due to submit bids in October. 

    The timing means the Group 2 projects could contribute to contracting activity in 2027, alongside this next batch of renewable projects under NREP Round 7.

    Nuclear power could provide another potential source of activity over the next 12 months. The US and Saudi Arabia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in July, providing the legal foundation for a long-term, multibillion-dollar nuclear partnership.

    While the agreement is unlikely to translate immediately into major contract values, further progress on Saudi Arabia’s nuclear programme could add another area of activity in the sector as the kingdom moves into 2027.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/19535830/main.gif
    Mark Dowdall