meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Gulf charts pathway to clean steel production

1 August 2024

 

Steel manufacturing accounts for 7%-9% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and is considered a hard-to-abate industry. With a forecast for strong growth in global steel production in the coming decades, changes need to be implemented to bring steelmaking in line with the UN Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The need for the international steel industry to slash CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions dominated the agenda at UN climate change summit Cop28 in Dubai last December, with about 35 companies and six industry associations, including the World Steel Association, endorsing the Industrial Transition Accelerator. The initiative aims to scale implementation and delivery of decarbonisation in the steel, aluminum, cement, transportation and energy sectors.

There are many levers for steel decarbonisation, including the electrification of heat generation, improving energy efficiency and increasing the utilisation of scrap steel. However, to reach net-zero, further steps are needed to address the emissions associated with coal’s role as a reducing agent in ironmaking. Breakthrough technologies that can accomplish this include hydrogen direct reduction to replace coal; carbon capture, utilisation and storage; and electrolysis-based, or green hydrogen-supported, production processes.

The Middle East and North Africa accounts for just 5% of global steel output. Despite this low market share, however, steelmakers in the region – particularly in the Gulf – have committed billions of dollars to investments in steel projects that could implement most proven clean technologies.

To reach net-zero, further steps are needed to address the emissions associated with coal’s role as a reducing agent in ironmaking

Saudi clean steel projects

Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth institution the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chinese steel manufacturing conglomerate Baoshan Iron & Steel Company (Baosteel) signed a joint venture agreement in May 2023 to establish an integrated steel plate manufacturing complex in Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al-Khair Industrial City.

The facility is expected to have a production capacity of up to 1.5 million tonnes a year (t/y). It will mainly cater to industrial sectors such as pipelines, shipbuilding, rig manufacturing, offshore platform fabrication and tank and pressure vessel manufacturing, as well as the construction, renewables and marine sectors.

The plant will be equipped with a natural gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI) furnace and an electric arc furnace to reduce CO2 emissions from the steelmaking process by up to 60% compared to a traditional blast furnace. The DRI plant will be compatible with hydrogen without major equipment modifications, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90% in the future, Aramco says.

The partners have invited contractors to submit engineering, procurement, installation and construction proposals for the project, which are due by 30 July.

Separately, Indian industrial conglomerate Essar Group is advancing its planned $4bn Green Steel Arabia project, which will also be located in Ras Al-Khair. Essar’s integrated steel complex will have a production capacity of 4 million t/y, and a cold rolling capacity of 1 million t/y, along with galvanising and tin plate lines. The complex will also have two DRI plants, each with a production capacity of 2.5 million t/y.

In September 2023, Essar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jeddah-based Desert Technologies to develop solar energy solutions to power its Green Steel Arabia project. Under the agreement, Essar and Desert Technologies will look to develop solutions for renewable energy generation – mainly solar photovoltaic power – and storage for the planned complex.

The parties will also explore opportunities for other similar projects in the region, Mumbai-headquartered Essar said at the time.

A third major clean steel project in the kingdom has been announced by Turkish steelmaker Tosyali Holding, which will invest up to $5bn in the venture. Tosyali said in January that it intends to produce steel with the help of green energy sources and will increase its solar energy output 10-fold to 2,500MW, up from the 240MW it currently uses.

Fuat Tosyali, Tosyali’s chairman, said the increase in solar output will be facilitated by a $1.5bn investment, as well as through plans to buy a stake in a hydrogen energy company.

UAE makes strides

Clean steel production efforts in the UAE have been led by Emirates Steel Arkan, the country’s largest steel manufacturer. The company has partnered with Japan's Itochu to develop a low-carbon iron processing plant in Abu Dhabi that will be capable of processing high-grade Brazilian iron ore into reduced iron, which will be sent to Japan.

The proposed plant will be built in collaboration with Japan’s JFE Steel and is expected to produce about 2.5 million metric tonnes a year of reduced iron starting in 2027. CSN Mineracao, a Brazilian company in which Itochu maintains a stake, will supply the iron ore.

Emirates Steel and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) have also started the concept design for an electrolyser plant that they are jointly developing. Powered by renewable energy, the plant will have a hydrogen output capacity of 160MW, which will be used in the production of steel.

Abu Dhabi aims to establish a large-scale steel production hub with an overall capacity of 15 million t/y. This projected capacity will be in addition to Emirates Steel Arkan's existing production level of 3.5 million t/y, according to the firm's group chief projects officer, Hassan Shashaa.

Meanwhile, Dubai-headquartered Liberty Steel signed an MoU in December 2023 with Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group to invest in a green iron production facility in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi.

Under the MoU, the two companies will explore the establishment of a green iron production facility and related port infrastructure and conveyor system at Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi. The MoU is part of Liberty’s early-stage concept development to convert its magnetite ore into green iron in the UAE, using gas and transitioning to green hydrogen once it becomes available at scale in the next decade.

Green steel producers [in Oman] could benefit from cheap, locally available green hydrogen feedstock

Oman’s green steel plans

The largest green steel project in Oman is being developed by Vulcan Green Steel (VGS), the steel arm of Vulcan Green, which is owned by India’s Jindal Steel Group. VGS broke ground on the estimated $3bn project in December 2023.

The planned facility, covering 2 square kilometres in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad), will have two production lines of 2.5 million t/y each, comprising DRI units, an electric arc furnace and a hot strip mill. 

Set for completion by 2026, the planned facility will primarily utilise green hydrogen to produce 5 million t/y of green steel. This will make it the world’s largest renewable energy-based green steel manufacturing complex once it is commissioned.

Sezad could also host another large-scale green steel project if Japanese steel manufacturer Kobe Steel and Tokyo-based Mitsui & Company are able to achieve the final investment decision on a preliminary agreement they signed in April last year to develop a low-carbon iron metallics project.

The two Japanese firms agreed to conduct a detailed business study in line with the goal of commencing low-carbon dioxide iron metallics production by 2027. The project is expected to produce 5 million t/y of DRI using a process called Midrex, where DRI is produced from iron ores through a natural gas or hydrogen-based shaft furnace.

Green steel producers in the sultanate could benefit from cheap, locally-available green hydrogen feedstock if the Amnah consortium – which won the first land block contract that Hydrogen Oman (Hydrom) auctioned last year – achieves the financial investment decision on its planned project by 2026.

The estimated $6bn-$7bn project will supply green hydrogen to domestic and overseas steel producers, Amnah project director Mark Geilenkirchen told MEED last year.

The planned integrated facility is expected to have a capacity of 220,000 t/y of green hydrogen and will require up to 4.5GW of renewable energy capacity. Unlike other projects in the region that aim almost exclusively to export their green hydrogen derivative products such as ammonia, Amnah is considering converting or using green hydrogen to support sustainable steel production.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/12176557/main.jpg
Indrajit Sen

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Dubai seeks contractors for Metro Gold Line

    20 May 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has invited contractors to express interest in a contract to build the new Gold Line, as part of its expansion of the Dubai Metro network.

    The notice was issued in mid-May with a submission deadline of 13 June.

    Dubai officially announced the launch of the new Gold Line in April.

    In a post on social media site X, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said the project will cost about AED34bn ($9.2bn).

    The Gold Line will increase the total length of the Dubai Metro network by 35%.

    The project is scheduled for completion in September 2032.

    The Gold Line will be a fully underground network covering more than 42 kilometres, with 18 stations.

    It will pass through 15 areas in Dubai, benefiting 1.5 million residents.

    The project is expected to provide connectivity to over 55 under-construction real estate development projects.

    The Gold Line will start at Al-Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai and end at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

    It will be connected to Dubai Metro’s existing Red and Green lines and will integrate with the Etihad Rail passenger line.

    The contractor will be responsible for the design and build of all civil works, electromechanical equipment, rolling stock and rail systems.

    The selected contractor will also be required to assist in the systems maintenance and operations during an initial three-year period.

    In October last year, MEED exclusively reported that the RTA had selected US-based engineering firm Aecom to provide consultancy services for the Dubai Metro Gold Line project.

    Stage one covers concept design, stage two covers preliminary design, stage three covers the preparation of tender documents, stage four encompasses construction supervision and stage five covers the defects and liability period.

    MEED’s May 2026 report on the UAE includes:

    > COMMENT: Conflict tests UAE diversification
    > GVT &: ECONOMY: UAE economy absorbs multi-sector shock
    > BANKING: UAE banks ready to weather the storm
    > ATTACKS: UAE counts energy infrastructure costs
    > UPSTREAM: Adnoc builds long-term oil and gas production potential
    > DOWNSTREAM: Adnoc Gas to rally UAE downstream project spending
    > POWER: Large-scale IPPs drive UAE power market
    > WATER: UAE water investment broadens beyond desalination
    > CONSTRUCTION: War casts shadow over UAE construction boom
    > TRANSPORT: UAE rail momentum grows as trade routes face strain

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16919605/main.png
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Iraq oil exports drop by 89% in April

    20 May 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Iraq exported 10 million barrels of crude in April, an 89% drop compared to the 93 million barrels that were exported the month before the Iran conflict, according to the country’s new Oil Minister, Basim Mohammed Khudair.

    Oil exports generated just over $1bn in April, down from $6bn in February, according to a separate statement from the ministry.

    The decline in export volumes and revenues is due to the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the US and Israel’s war with Iran, which started on 28 February.

    The country is exporting crude by sea through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as from Kirkuk through the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline (ITP).

    Iraq has plans to increase flows through the ITP to 500,000 barrels a day (b/d), according to Khudair.

    The minister said an increase in crude output from the north of the country depends on the return of global oil companies to the Kurdistan region.

    “The government is treating the energy file in the Kurdistan region as a priority,” he said.

    Many international companies in the Iraqi Kurdistan region suspended their operations in the wake of the US and Isreal attacking Iran on 28 February.

    Khudair said Iraq is currently producing a total of 1.4 million b/d of crude.

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

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

     

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16913742/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Iraq risks defaulting on payments for $10bn oil project

    20 May 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Iraq’s state-owned upstream operator Basra Oil Company (BOC) risks defaulting on payments for the $27bn Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

    Phase one of the GGIP is expected to be worth about $10bn and BOC holds a 30% stake in the project, while its partners France’s TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy hold 45% and 25%, respectively.

    The consortium formalised the investment agreement with the Iraqi government in September 2021.

    As part of the investment agreement, BOC was expected to make payments to fund the development of the project and the money from these payments was expected to come from oil revenues.

    Due to disruption to the shipping of oil via the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which started on 28 February, BOC’s revenues from oil have declined significantly, impacting the company’s ability to provide funds for the project.

    BOC could default on payments for the project within four to six months if disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues, according to industry sources.

    BOC has already informed TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy that it is going though liquidity problems because it is unable to export normal volumes of oil, sources said.

    When contacted about the project’s financial issues, TotalEnergies referred MEED to comments made by the company’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne on 29 April.

    He said: “We have maintained a team in Iraq, in Basra, of 20 TotalEnergies’ staff, who are supervising the progress of the GGIP projects on the ground, with around 5,000 workers there.”

    He added: “This conflict immediately has some impact on TotalEnergies' operations. And we have been, by the way, very transparent, since day one, to disclose all the impacts on our activities.”

    TotalEnergies declined to answer questions about potential changes to the schedule for the GGIP and whether there are alternative plans in place that provide for a situation where BOC could not deliver agreed funds.

    GGIP masterplan

    The GGIP programme is focused on developing four major projects in Iraq.

    These are:

    • The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP)
    • The Ratawi gas processing complex
    • A 1GW solar power project for Iraq’s electricity ministry
    • A field development project at Ratawi, known as the Associated Gas Upstream Project (AGUP)

    The CSSP is designed to support oil production in Iraq’s southern oil and gas fields – mainly Zubair, Rumaila, Majnoon, West Qurna and Ratawi – by delivering treated seawater for injection, a method used to boost crude recovery rates and improve long-term reservoir performance.

    China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) won a $1.61bn contract in May to execute engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for the gas processing complex at the Ratawi field development.

    CPECC’s project team based in its Dubai office is performing detailed engineering work on the project.

    In August last year, TotalEnergies awarded China Energy Engineering International Group the EPC contract for the 1GW solar project at the Ratawi field. A month later, QatarEnergy signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to acquire a 50% interest in the project.

    The 1GW Ratawi solar scheme will be developed in phases, with each phase coming online between 2025 and 2027. It will have the capacity to provide electricity to about 350,000 homes in Iraq’s Basra region.

    The project, consisting of 2 million bifacial solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers, will include the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the photovoltaic power station site and 132kV booster station.

    Separately, in June, TotalEnergies awarded China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering an EPC contract worth $294m to build a pipeline as part of a package known as the Ratawi Gas Midstream Pipeline.

    Also, TotalEnergies awarded UK-based consultant Wood Group a pair of engineering framework agreements in April 2025, worth a combined $11m, under the GGIP scheme.

    The agreements have a three-year term under which Wood will support TotalEnergies in advancing the AGUP.

    One of the aims of the AGUP is to debottleneck and upgrade existing facilities to increase production capacity to 120,000 barrels a day of oil on completion of the first phase, according to a statement by Wood.

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

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16913732/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Contractors submit best offers for major Adnoc Onshore project

    20 May 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Contractors have submitted revised commercial offers to Adnoc Onshore, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), for a project involving the tie-in of several wells in the Bab and North East Bab oil field developments in Abu Dhabi.

    Located 84 kilometres southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi, the Bab field has been in production since 1960 and is the emirate’s first oil-producing asset. The North East Bab cluster comprises the Al-Nouf, Rumaitha and Shanayel fields. 

    The One Tie-In project at the Bab and North East Bab field developments is integral to Adnoc Onshore’s contribution to its parent company Adnoc Group’s objective of achieving an oil production capacity of 5 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2027 – a campaign known as Accelerated Integrated Programme 5. The Abu Dhabi energy giant currently has a spare capacity of 4.85 million b/d.

    According to sources, the following contractors are understood to be among those bidding for the project:

    • Galfar Emirates (UAE branch of Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Construction)
    • Jereh (China)
    • Kalpataru Projects International (India)
    • Matrix Construction (UAE)
    • Robt Stone Middle East (UAE)
    • Target Engineering Construction Company (UAE)

    Adnoc Onshore is understood to have started the tendering process for the Bab and North East Bab One Tie-In project last year, with contractors submitting technical and commercial bids this year.

    Following the evaluation of bids, Adnoc Onshore sought best commercial offers from the bidders, which contractors submitted earlier in May, sources told MEED.

    Adnoc Onshore’s budget for the project is estimated to be $1.2bn, according to sources.

    The broad scope of work on the project covers residual engineering, procurement of any material not part of free issued material, construction, site survey, installation, inspection and testing, pre-commissioning and commissioning support, to include new wellsite facilities, including a new mini-pad, well bay and cluster at the Bab and North East Bab field developments.

    Adnoc Onshore has divided the scope of work on the Bab and North East Bab One Tie-In project into 18 packages, which are as follows:

    Bab asset

    Package 1:

    Off-pad – Demolition and construction of existing oil producing wells as per high hydrogen sulphide (H2S) standard package.

    Package 2:

    Off-pad – Construction of new oil producing wells as per high H2S standard package.

    Package 3:

    On-pad – Demolition and construction of existing oil producing wells as per high H2S standard package.

    Package 4:

    On-pad – Construction of new oil producing wells as per high H2S standard package.

    Package 5:

    On-pad – Construction of facilities at mini-pad, pad or well bay for tie-in new oil producing wells as per high H2S standard package.

    Package 6:

    Off-pad – Construction of new oil producing wells (low H2S) as per standard package.

    Package 7:

    • Construction of water supply, disposal and injection wells as per standard package;
    • Construction of off-pad water injection wells;
    • Construction of on-pad water injection wells and water injection manifold.

    Package 8:

    Off-Pad – Digitalisation of existing wells.

    Package 17:

    • Well bay: On-pad wells, flowline, common facilities (PSS, CI skid, WHCP), overhead line;
    • Mini-pad: On-pad wells, transfer line, blow down header, common facilities (PSS, manifold-OIL, MPFM, CI SKID, WHCP, drain oil network, pig launcher, receiver, potable water system), overhead line;
    • Off-pad: Gas lift oil producer well;
    • On-pad: Gas lift oil producer;
    • Electrical submersible pump (ESP) well: on-pad;
    • ESP well: off-pad.
    North East Bab asset

    Package 9:

    Cluster-based – Construction of new oil producing wells at Al-Nouf.

    Package 10:

    Cluster-based – Construction of new water alternating gas (WAG) injection wells at Al-Nouf.

    Package 11:

    Remote – Construction of oil producing wells.

    Package 12:

    Remote – Construction of WAG wells.

    Package 13:

    Cluster-based – Construction of oil producing wells at Rumaitha and Shanayel.

    Package 14:

    Cluster-based – Construction of WAG wells at Rumaitha and Shanayel.

    Package 15:

    Cluster-based – Construction and/or modifications of oil production/test manifold, gas injection/gas test manifold, let down gas manifold well head control panel, gas supply connection for injection, gas supply connection for gas lift. Chemical injection skid, water injection manifold, maintenance flare package. Installation of new pig traps, installation of hot tap and extension of cluster plot.

    Package 18:

    • Al-Nouf cluster: Common facilities (ETR, ITR, vent stack, overhead line, oil manifold, test manifold, gas lift manifold, drain oil tank, common pipe rack, etc.), gas lift oil producer wells, WAG injection wells;
    • Rumaitha cluster: Common facilities (ETR, ITR, vent stack, overhead line, oil manifold, test manifold, gas lift manifold, drain oil tank, common pipe rack, etc.), gas lift oil producer wells, WAG injection wells.
    Bu Hasa asset

    Package 16:

    Off-pad – Digitalisation of existing wells.

    Adnoc Onshore is Adnoc Group’s largest oil-producing subsidiary, accounting for 2 million b/d and about 7 billion cubic feet a day of associated gas production from four main onshore hydrocarbons field developments in Abu Dhabi – namely Bab, Bu Hasa, North East Bab and South East.

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

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16911726/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Majid Al-Futtaim to develop $17bn Dubai South community

    19 May 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Dubai-based developer Majid Al-Futtaim has signed an agreement with Dubai South to develop a AED62bn ($17bn) mixed-use community in the Dubai South area of the city.

    The 22-million-square-foot development will include residential and retail components, anchored by a shopping mall.

    Further project details and a construction timeline have yet to be disclosed.

    In October last year, Majid Al-Futtaim announced new investments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    It signed an agreement with Saudi gigaproject developer Diriyah Company to introduce a Vox Cinemas multiplex and seven retail brands to Diriyah Square, part of the Diriyah project in Riyadh.

    The retail outlets will cover approximately 5,534 square metres (sq m), while Vox Cinemas will occupy about 7,632 sq m.

    The developer will bring international brands to Diriyah, including Shiseido, Lululemon, Crate & Barrel, Abercrombie & Fitch, AllSaints, CB2 and Hollister.

    In Dubai, Majid Al-Futtaim also announced plans to launch Ghaf Woods Mall within its Ghaf Woods residential community in Dubailand. 

    According to an official statement, once completed, Ghaf Woods Mall will be the 30th mall in the developer’s portfolio and its 19th in the UAE.

    In April last year, Majid Al-Futtaim revealed plans to develop a mixed-use project in Riyadh at an estimated cost of about SR17.5bn ($4.6bn).

    According to media reports, the development will cover an area of 850,000 sq m and will include residential, commercial, office and entertainment components.

    In the same month, the firm said that it will invest AED5bn ($1.4bn) to upgrade Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates with new retail, dining, wellness and entertainment facilities.

    According to an official statement, the 20,000 sq m expansion will add 100 new stores.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16909504/main5915.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal