Related Articles

• 
  PDO allows more time for Al-Ghubar field project prices

  17 August 2026

  

   

  Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has allowed contractors additional time to prepare commercial bids for a project to build a new facility to handle additional oil production from the Al-Ghubar field in the sultanate.

  The Al-Ghubar field is located in the Ghaba Salt Basin at Qarn Alam, within majority state-owned PDO’s Block 6 concession area.

  The Al-Ghubar gas-oil gravity drainage (GOGD) facility will be designed as a sour (hydrogen sulphide) facility and is expected to handle maximum oil production of 1,800 standard cubic metres a day (cm/d), a maximum total water flow rate of 10,421 standard cm/d, and maximum gas lift of 256,934 standard cm/d. Production from the planned Al-Ghubar GOGD facility will be exported to PDO’s main oil line.

  Following receipt of the technical bids for the project in July, PDO granted contractors additional time – until 16 August – to submit commercial bids for the project, MEED recently reported.

  The project operator has now extended the deadline for submitting commercial bids to 1 September, sources told MEED.

  PDO floated the tender for the Al-Ghubar GOGD facility project in March, setting an initial bid submission deadline of 4 May, MEED previously reported.

  PDO later extended the deadlines for submission of technical and commercial bids to 26 July and 7 August, respectively. Contractors submitted technical proposals by the revised deadline, according to sources.

  The following contractors, among others, are understood to be bidding for the project:

  • Archirodon (Greece)
  • Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Egypt) / Petrojet (Egypt)
  • Jereh (China)
  • Kent (UAE)
  • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)

  The scope of work on the Al-Ghubar GOGD facility project covers the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the following:

  • On-plot scope consists of:
    • Production separator  
    • Test separator  
    • Concentric wash tank
    • Wet oil pump
    • Water bath heater
    • Surge tank
    • Gas injection/gas lift compressor (centrifugal)
    • Utilities (Instrument Air compressors, chemical injection skids, drain system, vent system) 
    • Suction scrubber
    • Air coolers
    • Discharge scrubbers
    • Condensate flash drum
    • Atmospheric pressure knock-out drum 
    • Flare system
    • Gas heater
    • Water disposal pump
    • Oil shipping pump
    • New 132kV substation and plant substation (housing 6.6kV & 415-Volt switchboard)
    • New control room
       
  • Off-plot scope consists of:
    • Off-plot pipeline network (bulk header, test header, gathering infrastructure/ gathering line header, instrument air header, water disposal header)
    • Two remote manifold stations 
    • Tie-in connection to main oil line
    • Tie-in to gas network pipeline

  PDO previously intended to tender the Al-Ghubar GOGD project under its framework structure with selected EPC contractors, but eventually tendered it separately.

  PDO is the operator of the Block 6 hydrocarbons concession in Oman, which is the sultanate’s largest and most prolific concession. Situated onshore and covering an area of 75,119 square kilometres, Block 6 contains 202 oil fields and 43 gas fields, with PDO producing a total of approximately 680,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil and condensates from those fields.

  The Omani government holds a 60% stake in PDO through Energy Development Oman (EDO). The other shareholders are UK-based Shell (34%), France’s TotalEnergies (4%) and Thailand’s state-owned PTTEP (2%).

  ALSO READ: PDO floats tender for major flare gas monetisation scheme

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18799485/main.jpg

  Indrajit Sen
• 
  L’imad eyes full takeover of AD Ports Group

  17 August 2026

  Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor, L’imad Holding, has announced its intention to take full ownership of AD Ports Group by offering to acquire the remaining 24.6% of its publicly listed shares through a voluntary, conditional, all-cash tender offer.

  The bid will be launched via L’imad’s wholly owned unit, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), which already controls 75.42% of AD Ports Group. The offer seeks to acquire 100% of the issued and paid-up share capital and take the port operator private.

  Shareholders would be offered AED6.25 per share in cash. L’imad said the offer provides investors with “an attractive opportunity to realise certain and immediate value”.

  Based on the proposed terms, the transaction values the remaining free float at about AED31.8bn ($8.66bn).

  Rothschild & Co’s local office has been appointed financial adviser.

  Emirates NBD Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank will act as joint lead receiving banks, while Emirates NBD Capital and First Abu Dhabi Bank will serve as joint lead managers.

  Cairo-headquartered EFG Hermes has been appointed co-lead manager, and UK-based Allen Overy Shearman Sterling is acting as legal adviser.

  The move comes shortly after AD Ports Group posted its strongest quarterly performance to date, reporting an 88% increase in second-quarter net profit to AED836m ($227m).

  Revenue for the second quarter of this year rose 47% to $2bn, supported by gains across maritime and shipping, economic cities and free zones, and logistics.

  In January, Abu Dhabi approved plans to consolidate ADQ’s investment portfolio into L’imad Holding under the chairmanship of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

  L’imad has been mandated to build, develop and manage a diversified portfolio of assets and projects in priority sectors in the UAE and internationally, with a focus on infrastructure and real estate, financial services, and asset and investment management.

  Once fully consolidated, the platform will encompass more than 25 investment companies and platforms, alongside over 250 subsidiaries.

  L’imad’s portfolio includes Taqa (utilities and power), Modon Properties (real estate), Etihad Airways (aviation), PureHealth (healthcare), Etihad Rail (transport infrastructure), Wio Bank (digital finance), AD Ports (logistics and maritime trade), McLaren (motorsport) and Louis Dreyfus (agricultural commodities).

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18798489/main.jpg

  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Saudi firms to build Expo 2030 power infrastructure

  17 August 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, has named four contractors that will deliver electricity infrastructure for the Expo 2030 Riyadh site.

  The local Al-Babtain, Haif Company, Alfanar and Trading & Development Partnership (TDP) will construct several substations and connect them to the national grid under an agreement signed between Saudi Energy and Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC).

  Saudi Electricity Projects Development Company (PDC), Saudi Energy’s project development arm, will oversee implementation.

  The scope includes a main 380/132kV supply station and three primary 132/13.8kV substations as well as associated electricity infrastructure.

  In March, MEED reported that Saudi Energy was moving forward with procurement of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for three 132/13.8kV substations in Riyadh to support Expo 2030.

  The latest agreement is understood to relate to the same substations. According to sources, nine companies submitted bids for the project in June.

  These included the following local firms: Al-Babtain Contracting, Al-Gihaz Holding, Al-Haider Company, Alfanar Projects, Haif Company, Mohammed Al-Ojaimi Group, Nesma Infrastructure & Technology and Tareg Al-Jaafari Contracting Establishment.

  India’s Larsen & Toubro also submitted a bid for the project.

  The infrastructure will provide electricity to the Expo site ahead of the event and allow testing and trial operations to be completed before the Expo opens.

  In January, the local firm Nesma & Partners won an estimated SR1bn ($267m) contract to deliver the initial infrastructure works at the Expo site.

  Expo 2030 Riyadh is scheduled to take place from 1 October 2030 to 31 March 2031. The event is expected to attract about 42 million visits and will involve 197 participating countries.

  ---

  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

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18798653/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Design contract awarded for Algerian gas project

  17 August 2026

  

   

  Indonesia’s Synergy Engineering has been provisionally awarded a design contract for a planned gas project in Algeria.

  The front-end engineering and design (feed) contract was awarded by Pertamina Algeria Eksplorasi Produksi (PAEP), which is a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned energy company.

  The contract was awarded by PAEP in association with Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Spain’s Repsol.

  Sonatrach, Pertamina and Repsol are partners in Block 405a of the Menzel Ledjmet Nord (MLN) field.

  The feed contract covers developing a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant and a water injection facility at the MLN field as part of the field’s fifth development phase.

  Block 405a is situated onshore in the Illizi-Ghadames Basin in eastern Algeria. It comprises eight oil and gas fields split over three onstream development areas.

  Algeria is home to Africa’s second-largest proven natural gas reserves after Nigeria. It is also Africa’s largest natural gas producer.

  Amid ongoing issues exporting oil and gas from the GCC due to disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Algeria is seeking to increase its oil and gas exports to meet European demand.

  In July, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune oversaw the signing of dozens of bilateral agreements as part of a wider push to bolster political and economic ties between Germany and Algeria.

  The agreements included several focused on oil, gas and energy.

  On 2 July, Sonatrach delivered its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly to Germany’s Wilhelmshaven 1 floating LNG import terminal.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18756842/main.jpg

  Wil Crisp
• 
  China Power wins $1.32bn deal for Iraq water project

  17 August 2026

  A subsidiary of China Power Construction Corporation (PowerChina) has won a contract to develop the water transmission system for a seawater desalination project in Iraq.

  The project is known as the Basra Seawater Desalination Project (BSDP). The contract, awarded by Iraq’s Al-Ridha Group, is worth RMB8.925bn ($1.32bn), according to a statement from PowerChina.

  The PowerChina subsidiary that secured the contract is China Water Resources & Hydropower Fifth Engineering Bureau Company.

  Located in Iraq’s Basra Province, the project’s main scope involves designing and constructing a water transmission system with a daily supply capacity of 1 million cubic metres.

  This includes approximately 240 kilometres of transmission pipeline, one main pumping station and nine receiving pumping stations.

  The project duration comprises a six-month limited commencement period and a 1,350-day main construction period, followed by a 24-month defects liability period.

  The contract has been signed, but work commencement is subject to certain preconditions, according to the statement.

  Desalination projects

  The contract signed with Al-Ridha Group is a subcontract for the water conveyance system under the wider Basra desalination project.

  Iraqi officials have described the project as one of the world’s largest of its kind.

  The BSDP is one of two major desalination projects currently under development in Iraq. The other is the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP).

  In September last year, Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Company and China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering signed a $2.5bn contract to build a 950km seawater pipeline network to supply a planned water processing facility that is part of the CSSP.

  Austria’s ILF Consulting Engineers will supervise the project.

  Water from the processing plant is expected to be injected into some of the country’s largest oil fields, including Rumaila, Zubair, West Qurna 1, West Qurna 2 and Majnoon. It is also expected to be used in the Maysan and Dhi Qar fields.

  According to a statement from Iraq’s Oil Ministry, the injected water will help maintain reservoir pressure and sustain crude oil production at these fields.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18757691/main.jpg

  Wil Crisp