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• 
  Engineering progresses on Ras Laffan LNG terminal berths

  16 September 2026

  

   

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  Front-end engineering and design (feed) works are progressing on a QatarEnergy LNG project to build 13 liquefied natural gas (LNG) loading berths at the south export terminal in Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City.

  Ras Laffan Industrial City, which lies about 90 kilometres north of Doha, is the world's largest integrated LNG production and export complex, comprising 15 processing trains with a total capacity of 77.5 million tonnes a year (t/y). QatarEnergy began LNG operations at the facility, which houses all its processing trains and export infrastructure, in 1984.

  According to sources, QatarEnergy LNG, a subsidiary of state enterprise QatarEnergy, awarded the feed contract for the project to build 13 LNG berths at the south export terminal at Ras Laffan to Australia-headquartered Worley.

  The contract was awarded to Worley in the second quarter of this year. Its duration is estimated to be 200,000-250,000 man hours, sources told MEED.

  Ras Laffan’s LNG processing and export capabilities will increase by up to about 63% when the three phases of QatarEnergy’s estimated $40bn North Field LNG expansion project come into operation by the end of this decade. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on all three projects are progressing.

  QatarEnergy is understood to have committed nearly $30bn to the first two phases – North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) – which will lift Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77.5 million t/y to 126 million t/y by 2028.

  QatarEnergy awarded the main EPC contracts for NFE in 2021. The project was intended to raise LNG output to 110 million t/y by 2025. The $13bn EPC package – covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of four LNG trains, each with a capacity of 8 million t/y – was awarded in February 2021 to a consortium of Japan’s Chiyoda and France’s Technip Energies.

  In May 2023, QatarEnergy awarded the $10bn main EPC contract for NFS to a consortium of Technip Energies and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). The contract includes two LNG trains, each with a capacity of 7.8 million t/y.

  Once fully operational, the first two phases are expected to add 48 million t/y of LNG supply to the global market.

  QatarEnergy took the final investment decision on the third phase, North Field West (NFW), this year, awarding an EPC contract estimated at $8bn to a joint venture comprising Technip Energies, CCC and Gulf Asia Contracting in February.

  Chiyoda carried out the feed work for the NFW LNG project.

  The NFW scope covers the EPC of two LNG trains with a combined capacity of 16 million t/y, as well as associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery and helium extraction.

  In addition to LNG, NFW is expected to produce about 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day of condensate, ethane and liquefied petroleum gas.

  With all three phases under EPC execution – and NFE scheduled for commissioning later this year – QatarEnergy is positioning itself to remain one of the world’s largest LNG suppliers in the long term.

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  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:

  > AGENDA: Gulf nuclear revival takes shape > MARKET FOCUS: Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive under fire > INDUSTRY REPORT: Gas processing takes centre stage in Mena region > INTERVIEW: Emsteel persists with business productivity and efficiency > TUNNELS: The Gulf’s next construction boom is happening underground

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

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Neom plans Oxagon freight rail connection with SAR network

  15 September 2026

  

   

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  Saudi gigaproject developer Neom has floated an expression of interest (EoI) notice to consultants for the design of a freight rail network connecting to the Port of Neom at Oxagon.

  The scope of work includes project feasibility studies, concept design and route alignment.

  The EoI notice was issued on 14 September, with a submission deadline of 16 September.

  The estimated 400-kilometre (km)-plus rail line is expected to connect the Port of Neom with Saudi Arabia Railways’ (SAR) North-South Railway at the Al-Baseeta junction.

  SAR’s North-South Railway is a 2,750km network built primarily to move minerals from mines in the north of the kingdom to industrial and export hubs on the Gulf coast. Its core route links the Al-Jalamid and Baitha phosphate and bauxite mines to Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam, with branch lines to Riyadh and to the Jordanian border at Al-Haditha.

  Al-Baseeta junction, where Oxagon's proposed line would connect, sits on this network in Al-Jawf province, in the northwest of the country. The railway also carries a passenger service between Riyadh and Qurayyat, and has transported commercial freight such as sulfur and phosphoric acid.

  The Port of Neom currently has no rail link to the rest of Saudi Arabia, meaning cargo landing there depends on road transport or a further sea leg to reach Riyadh, the Gulf coast or export markets beyond.

  Connecting to the North-South network at Al-Baseeta would give the port direct rail access to the kingdom’s interior and, via existing branch lines, to Jordan and the Gulf coast industrial cluster around Ras Al-Khair, Jubail and Dammam.

  The proposed link would also give SAR’s network a new outlet to the Red Sea. Until now, the North-South Railway has been oriented around Gulf coast export points, but a connection to Oxagon would provide a second maritime gateway on the opposite coast, allowing mineral and freight traffic from the north of the kingdom to reach either coastline.

  The latest development follows Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) naming Neom as one of six strategic ecosystems in its 2026-30 strategy.

  The backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods.

  Oxagon project progress

  Several major projects have made steady progress at Oxagon. Earlier this month, Saudi artificial intelligence (AI) company Humain and data centre developer DataVolt started construction on an AI data centre at Oxagon. 

  Last month, construction works on the $8.5bn Neom Green Hydrogen project at Oxagon were completed, and the facility has now entered the commissioning stage ahead of commercial operations targeted for 2027.

  The project is designed to produce up to 600 tonnes a day of green hydrogen, which will be converted into green ammonia for export. It is supported by about 4GW of solar and wind power generation capacity, with the renewable power generated being used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis.

  In 2024, Neom awarded an estimated SR4bn ($1bn) contract to a joint venture of El-Seif Engineering Contracting, Hassan Allam Construction and China Harbour Engineering Company for Terminal 1.

  The Duba port expansion has progressed in two phases, awarded respectively to Boskalis/Besix/Modern Building Leaders and Deme/Archirodon.

  The port has operated since 2022 and currently handles 250,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with capacity planned to reach 1.5 million TEUs by 2030.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  NextChem wins Sabic ammonia-urea project role

  15 September 2026

  Italy-based NextChem, a subsidiary of oil and gas contractor Maire, has been selected to provide nitrogen technology licensed by Stamicarbon, for Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ seventh fertiliser plant in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Industrial City.

  Sabic Agri-Nutrients, an affiliate of chemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), recently awarded the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project, known as San VII, to South Korea’s Samsung E&A. It was valued at $3.47bn.

  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 previously announced that it had received approval for feedstock allocation for the project from the Saudi Energy Ministry in March. The project 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.

  NextChem said the total value of the technology package it secured is about €125m ($144.46m).

  The grassroots fertiliser plant will comprise two urea production units, each with a capacity of 3,850 metric tonnes a day.

  The scope of work for Stamicarbon, which is NextChem’s nitrogen technology licensor, includes a licensing agreement with Sabic, as well as contracts with the EPC contractor covering the process design package and proprietary equipment supply, leveraging proprietary NX Stami urea technology.

  In addition to NextChem securing a technology licensor role for the San VII project through Stamicarbon, the following firms have also won contracts to provide their patented process technologies for the project to Sabic Agri-Nutrients:

  • KBR (US) – ammonia production technology
  • Thyssenkrupp Uhde Fertilizer Technology – urea production technology
  • Shell Global Solutions International (Netherlands) – carbon capture technology

  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 a Saudi Stock Exchange (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.

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  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:

  > AGENDA: Gulf nuclear revival takes shape > MARKET FOCUS: Kuwait keeps dealmaking alive under fire > INDUSTRY REPORT: Gas processing takes centre stage in Mena region > INTERVIEW: Emsteel persists with business productivity and efficiency > TUNNELS: The Gulf’s next construction boom is happening underground

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

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Aramco upstream spending gathers pace

  14 September 2026

  

   

  Saudi Aramco has committed capital expenditure (capex) of $50bn-$55bn in 2026, with about 65%-70% of the budget earmarked for upstream oil and gas projects.

  The spending will support the Saudi energy giant’s strategy of maintaining its oil production capacity at 12 million barrels a day (b/d) while increasing gas production capacity by 80% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline.

  Aramco has already spent $12.25bn on upstream oil and gas projects so far in 2026, according to data from MEED and MEED Projects. 

  The largest share of spending this year has been on the Dorra gas field development, being undertaken by Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO), a joint venture of Saudi Aramco subsidiary Aramco Gulf Operations Company and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation subsidiary Kuwait Gulf Oil Company.

  The offshore Dorra gas field is located in the waters of the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone. KJO has divided the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope for the field development into four packages, comprising three offshore packages and one onshore package.

  KJO awarded contracts for offshore packages 2A and 2B and onshore package 3, with a combined estimated value of about $6.5bn, in August.

  US-based McDermott International secured offshore package 2A, valued at about $1.5bn. The contract covers the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of wellhead topsides, flowlines and umbilicals.

  A consortium of India’s Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (L&TEH) and Italian contractor Saipem secured package 2B, estimated to be worth about $3.4bn.

  The largest of the offshore packages, the contract covers the EPCI of the Dorra central gathering platform complex, together with export pipelines and cables.

  KJO had previously awarded L&TEH offshore package 1, estimated at $140m-$150m, in October last year. The scope covers the EPC of seven offshore jackets and the installation of intra-field pipelines.

  Separately, Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas secured onshore package 3, valued at $1.65bn. The contract covers the EPC of onshore gas processing facilities.

  The scale of the Dorra awards illustrates the importance of gas development to Aramco's wider upstream investment programme.

  Jafurah unconventional gas scheme

  Aramco, meanwhile, continues to move forward with its multi-phased Jafurah unconventional gas scheme, for which it received a capex grant of $100bn from the Saudi government at the start of this decade.

  During the second quarter of this year, Aramco awarded the main EPC contract for the fourth expansion phase of the Jafurah development to L&TEH.

  The project involves the EPC of two gas compression trains at the giant gas basin in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Each train will have the capacity to process up to 200 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas.

  L&TEH confirmed the contract award in August, saying the scope includes gas inlet facilities, gas compression systems, condensate and produced-water handling systems, propane refrigeration systems and associated utilities.

  Alongside the fourth expansion phase, Aramco is nearing a decision on the main EPC contract for the fifth expansion phase of the Jafurah programme.

  MEED has reported that a frontrunner has emerged for the contract, with the scope understood to be similar to that of the fourth expansion phase.

  Offshore spending

  Offshore projects remain another major component of Aramco’s upstream investment programme.

  The company 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.

  Aramco has maintained that momentum in 2026.

  In early January, the company selected US-based McDermott for Contract Release and Purchase Order (CRPO) 166. The scope is understood to have been carved out of the estimated $15bn Marjan offshore field development project, under which Aramco awarded contracts for 20 EPCI packages in 2019.

  McDermott secured the largest share of work on the overall project, winning two packages with a combined estimated value of about $4.5bn.

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

  Aramco awarded its second offshore contract of the year to Saipem for CRPO 156, estimated to be worth about $500m.

  The contract covers the EPCI of a 48-inch trunkline comprising about 65 kilometres offshore and 12km onshore, together with associated subsea facilities at the Safaniya oil field, one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields.

  Looking ahead, Aramco is also evaluating bids from its offshore long-term agreement (LTA) contractors for up to 11 further tenders.

  These include CRPOs 154 and 155, covering the next phase of infrastructure expansion at Safaniya; CRPO 161, which involves the EPCI of four gas jackets at the Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan fields; and CRPOs 163 and 164, covering infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Karan, Marjan and Safaniya fields.

  LTA contractors also submitted bids between July and August for a further six CRPOs – 167, 168, 169, 170, 171 and 176 – covering the EPCI of infrastructure at the Abu Safah, Berri, Manifa, Marjan and Zuluf fields.

  With further offshore contract awards expected before the end of the year, Aramco’s upstream investment programme is set to remain one of the main drivers of project activity in Saudi Arabia.

  The combination of major gas developments, including Dorra and Jafurah, and a substantial pipeline of offshore oil and gas projects suggests that 2026 is on course to become another strong year for upstream investment in the kingdom.

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Miral commits $3.2bn Yas Island investments

  14 September 2026

  Abu Dhabi’s Miral has announced plans to invest over AED12bn ($3.2bn) in Yas Island over the next five years.

  According to a statement, the investment will fund a pipeline of new projects, as well as expansions and enhancements to existing attractions, supporting Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Strategy 2030.

  The next phase of development will focus on expanding Yas Island’s theme parks and attractions, while introducing new immersive rides and experiences that reflect changing visitor expectations.

  The investment will also strengthen the island’s hospitality offering through additional hotel rooms and enhancements to its overall accommodation portfolio.

  The investment is separate from the previously announced Disney project. 

  Miral recently started the expansion works of its Harry Potter-themed expansion at the Warner Bros World Yas Island entertainment destination in Abu Dhabi.

  The scope of the Warner Bros World phase two expansion includes adding 63,000 square metres (sq m) to the existing theme park.

  This will include a Harry Potter-themed zone with three new rides called Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Castle and The Forbidden Forest, along with retail outlets and food and beverage facilities.

  Yas Waterworld

  Miral has developed a series of theme parks and other entertainment-related attractions on Yas Island, working with several local and international contractors.

  In July last year, Miral opened a new 16,900 sq m expansion of its Yas Waterworld park to the public.

  The expansion added 3.3 kilometres of slide sections to the park. The addition of 18 new rides and attractions, bringing the total number of rides to more than 60, is expected to increase visitor capacity by 20%.

  Construction was carried out by local contractor Alec.

  Disney park

  The Walt Disney Company and Miral signed an agreement in May to build a Disney theme park resort on Yas Island.

  Disney, which is based in the US, said the Abu Dhabi site will be its seventh theme park resort. The others are in California and Florida in the US, Paris in France, Hong Kong and Shanghai in China, and Tokyo in Japan.

  In a statement, Disney noted that the UAE is located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population, making it a significant gateway for tourism. It is also home to one of the world’s busiest airline hubs, with 120 million passengers travelling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year.

  The Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi will include entertainment areas, themed accommodations, dining venues and retail experiences.

  In 2023, Miral opened SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, also on Yas Island. Alec was the contractor for the estimated $565m project.

  In 2018, Miral opened the Warner Bros theme park on Yas Island. Belgium’s Besix was the contractor for the estimated $531m project.

  Other Miral projects have included the Etihad Arena and the indoor climbing and skydive centre Clymb. Bam International of the Netherlands was the contractor for the arena and Germany’s Zublin was the contractor for Clymb.

  Yas Island was launched as a project in 2006 by local developer Aldar Properties. The original centrepiece attractions were the Yas Marina Circuit, which hosts Formula 1 motor racing’s annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and the Ferrari World theme park.

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  Yasir Iqbal