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• 
  Fujairah oil hub targeted in fresh drone strike

  17 March 2026

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  The Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) was hit by another drone attack early on 17 March, causing a fire, authorities in Fujairah said.

  No injuries have been reported in the attack, and the emirate’s civil defence teams are dealing with the situation and trying to control the fire, the official Emirates News Agency (Wam) reported, citing the media office of the Government of Fujairah.

  This is understood to be the fifth attack since the start of March that FOIZ has suffered from drone or debris resulting from interceptions by the UAE’s air defence systems, as Iran continues to hit energy and industrial facilities in the UAE.

  Fujairah benefits from its strategic geopolitical location outside the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded in its ongoing conflict with Israel and the US, choking about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

  Consequently, oil prices have soared since the start of the conflict on 28 February. Global benchmark Brent broke the $100 mark on 9 March, for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, rising to a high of $119 a barrel on that day. Prices have dropped since, but it is still trading well above the $100 mark, with Brent recorded at $103.87 a barrel as of 12pm GST on 17 March.

  Major midstream oil and gas companies operate key storage and export hubs for oil and refined products in Fujairah, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), Saudi Aramco – through its subsidiary Aramco Trading – Vopak Horizon, VTTI, Shell, Fujairah Oil Terminal, Brooge Petroleum & Gas Investment Company (BPGIC), Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc), Ecomar, Mount Row and GPS Chemoil.

  ALSO READ: Iran sees economic pressure as key to ending war

  Fujairah is crucial to the operations of Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Onshore, which operates a main oil terminal (MOT) there. Located approximately 300 kilometres north of Abu Dhabi, the terminal facilitates the import and export of various crude oil grades, particularly Murban, from the company’s onshore and offshore fields.

  Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (Adcop) connects milestone pole (MP) 21 at the Habshan oil facility in Abu Dhabi, where stabilised crude produced from Adnoc Onshore fields is gathered for dispatch, to the Fujairah MOT.

  BPGIC is an oil storage and services firm that was established in 2013 in Fujairah and started operations with a capacity of 400,000 cubic metres spanning 14 tanks. In March 2022, it announced its intention to increase the storage capacity of four of those storage tanks in the first phase complex.

  Separately, in September 2021, BPGIC began operations at the second phase of its Fujairah oil storage complex, adding 600,000 cubic metres of storage capacity across eight tanks. As a result of that expansion, BPGIC’s storage capacity more than doubled to 1 million cubic metres, or 6.3 million barrels, from 400,000 cubic metres.

  BPGIC then undertook a third expansion phase of its oil storage facility, which is understood to have been commissioned in 2023.

  The third phase increased BPGIC’s oil storage capacity by 3.5 times, raising it to 3.5 million cubic metres, or 22 million barrels, and making the firm the largest oil storage services provider in the UAE emirate of Fujairah.

  The third-phase expansion project consists of an oil storage facility with a capacity of 2.5 million cubic metres, a modular 25,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) refinery, and a larger 180,000-b/d conventional refinery.

  BPGIC also co-owns a topping refinery in Fujairah with Nigeria-based Sahara Energy Resources, which produces low-sulphur bunker fuel for ships and vessels. It is understood that the new naphtha upgradation unit could be integrated with the existing topping refinery unit.

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  Indrajit Sen
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  Oman signs $2bn real estate deals at Mipim 2026

  17 March 2026

  Oman has signed 17 international investment and development agreements worth over RO762m ($1.98bn) at the Mipim 2026 event held in Cannes, France.

  The deals were concluded through the Ministry of Housing & Urban Planning (MHUP) and partners at the Oman pavilion, and span mixed-use real estate, healthcare, agri-investment and digital planning tools.

  A key agreement was a memorandum of understanding with Turkiye’s Artas Holding for the Al-Khuwair Downtown project, with planned investments exceeding RO150m ($390m).

  In Sultan Haitham City, an agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia’s Retal Development to develop neighbourhoods 3, 15 and 17, covering more than 1.39 million square metres, with a combined investment of over RO320m ($832m).

  Other agreements include Vogue Homes Portugal investing more than RO25m ($65m) in the Al-Thuraya City project, and another residential scheme led by international firms including Avant Garde Properties, F&M International, Metrogramma and The One Atelier, with an investment of about RO50m ($130m).

  MoHUP also signed agreements covering smart planning and project delivery, including advanced 3D digital modelling, with investment exceeding RO408,000 ($1m).

  Healthcare-related agreements include a partnership between local Al-Daham Real Estate and Kubba to develop hospital and stem-cell treatment facilities, valued at RO11.5m ($30m), and a deal between local firm Al-Abrar Real Estate Group and Vienna Hospital & University to operate Ibn Al-Haitham Hospital in Sultan Haitham City, with an investment of more than RO40m ($104m).

  In Dhofar, investments will be made in planting one million olive trees under a usufruct arrangement, valued at RO15m ($39m), as part of agriculture sustainability plans.

  The programme also includes architectural and branding collaborations involving international firms such as Chapman Taylor Architects, 3DTouch Studio, Hawk & Impact Communication and Atelier Entropic, alongside luxury brands including Pagani, Armani and Elie Saab for branded residential concepts.

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Ashghal tenders northern Smaisma infrastructure

  17 March 2026

  

   

  Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has issued a tender covering infrastructure development in the northern Smaisma area.

  The tender was floated on 14 March, with a bid submission closing date of 12 May.

  The scope includes the airstrip road, coastal road and connections to the existing Al-Khor Expressway, spanning an area of about 18.5 kilometres.

  The contract duration is four years from the start of construction works.

  The latest tender follows Ashghal’s announcement of contract awards for 12 new projects, with a total value exceeding QR4.5bn ($1.2bn).

  According to a notice published on its website, these include six building projects, most notably the redevelopment of Hamad General Hospital, with a contract value of about QR1.1bn ($301m).

  The other projects awarded include the construction of a post office building in Al-Thumama, the renovation of the Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club and the Qatar Equestrian Federation, as well as the implementation of phase four of the Al-Uqda Equestrian Complex development.

  In the roads and infrastructure sector, four projects have been awarded, led by packages one and two of the road and infrastructure development works in Izghawa and Al-Thumaid.

  The awards also include a project covering landscaping and an air-conditioned walkway at Qatar University, as part of broader public facilities improvement initiatives.

  According to UK analytics firm GlobalData, Qatar’s construction industry is expected to expand by 4.3% in 2026, supported by investments in renewable energy and transportation infrastructure.

  According to the Planning & Statistics Authority, Qatar’s construction value-add grew by 6.6% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. 

  GlobalData expects the industry to grow at an annual average growth rate of 4.6% in 2027-29, supported by investments in construction, energy and infrastructure projects.

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

  Riyadh urges private sector to take greater role; Chemical players look to spend rationally; Economic uptick lends confidence to Cairo’s reforms.

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

  > AGENDA: Saudi Arabia’s private sector picks up the baton > RAMADAN: Data disproves the Ramadan slowdown story > INDUSTRY REPORT: Chemicals producers look to cut spending > INDUSTRY REPORT: Global petrochemical project capex set to rise until 2030 > MARKET FOCUS: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival > LEADERSHIP: Delivering Saudi Arabia’s next phase of rail growth > POWER: Lessons learnt from a power plant decommissioning > INTERVIEW: Abu Dhabi’s Enersol charts acquisitions path > INTERVIEW: Lina Noureddin, CEO of Lamar Holding, on the evolving PPP landscape > INTERVIEW: Contract award marks Metito’s return to municipal projects

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

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  KBR office hit by drone strike on Iraq oil field

  17 March 2026

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  Two drone strikes have hit infrastructure at Iraq’s Majnoon oil field, increasing security concerns in the country’s energy sector.

  One of the drones hit a communications tower, and the other hit the office of the US engineering company KBR, according to local media reports.

  There were no casualties as a result of the attacks.

  Foreign workers were evacuated from the site days after the US and Israel’s war with Iran started, and only Iraqi staff are currently working at the site.

  Shortly before the war started, KBR announced that it had been awarded a “major contract” by Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Company to provide integrated field management services (IFMS) for the Majnoon oil field.

  Located in southern Iraq, Majnoon is one of the world’s largest oil fields, with estimated reserves of over 38 billion barrels.

  Under the IFMS contract, KBR will provide upstream engineering, project and operations management.

  The company said it will also provide maintenance services to enhance crude production, modernise field facilities, and implement advanced artificial intelligence and digital technologies to optimise reservoir performance.

  KBR’s scope includes subsurface drilling and reservoir engineering.

  It is unclear how the ongoing conflict will affect the contract.

  Prior to the war, KBR said the project was expected to generate local employment across Iraq’s engineering, construction and oilfield services industries, with an initial workforce of approximately 2,000 in-country personnel.

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  NESR announces Mena cementing contracts worth $300m

  17 March 2026

  US-based National Energy Services Reunited Corporation (NESR) has announced that it has been awarded cementing contracts in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region worth approximately $300m.

  They encompass a “significant award” in Kuwait and several prominent awards in North Africa, according to a statement issued by NESR.

  In the wake of the contract awards, the company said it is “honoured to now have such a solid position in Kuwait” and added that its new awards in North Africa demonstrated its ability to expand quickly outside of its “core Gulf footprint”.

  Sherif Foda, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, said that the awards “underscore the growth potential in Libya and beyond”.

  Cementing, in oil and gas, is the process of pumping cement into a wellbore to secure the steel casing and isolate different underground zones. It is a critical step in drilling and completing a well.

  NESR was founded in 2017 with a focus on providing oilfield services in the Mena and Asia Pacific regions.

  It is headquartered in Houston and listed on Nasdaq.

  The company has more than 6,000 employees and offers a range of services, including hydraulic fracturing, cementing, coiled tubing, filtration, completions, stimulation, pumping and nitrogen services.

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  Wil Crisp