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MEED February 2023 Webinar: Saudi Arabia 2023 Outlook and 2022 Review

26 February 2023

The webinar focuses on discussing the economic outlook, investment opportunities, and business strategies in Saudi Arabia for the year 2023.

As a MEED subscriber, you will be invited to exclusive monthly webinars on the trending topics in the region’s top sectors.

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Saudi Arabia 2023 Outlook and 2022 Review brings together industry experts, government officials, and business leaders to share their insights and perspectives on the current state and future of the Saudi Arabian economy.

The discussion covers a range of topics, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, the government’s plans for economic diversification, and investment opportunities in various sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure, and renewable energy.

The webinar provides an interactive platform for participants to engage with the speakers, ask questions, and exchange ideas. It also offers networking opportunities for participants to connect with other business professionals and potential partners in Saudi Arabia.

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    15 May 2026

    Kuwait’s Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting has submitted the lowest bid for a contract to upgrade the country’s Mina Al-Ahmadi (MAA) refinery.

    The client is state-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC). The project scope covers upgrades to water transmission and storage infrastructure at the refinery.

    The contract will be delivered under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model. The tender was issued in October 2025 with an initial bid deadline of 4 January 2026, which was later extended several times. The most recent rescheduling moved the deadline from 19 April to 10 May.

    Alghanim submitted a bid of KD37.0m ($120m), significantly lower than the other two bidders, both Kuwait-based: Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco) at KD60.6m ($197m) and Gulf Spic General Trading & Contracting at KD63.9m ($207m).

    The project is expected to take two years to complete and will expand water storage capacity at the facility by extending existing tanks or constructing new ones. The contractor will also develop associated infrastructure and upgrade systems that transport desalinated water to the refinery, including pipelines and related equipment.

    In its 2024-25 annual report, KNPC said the project will help meet water demand for the facility’s refining and gas production units.

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  • Civil and piping work starts on Iraq field development

    15 May 2026

     

    Civil works and piping work have started for the project to develop a second central processing facility (CPF) at Iraq’s Ratawi oil and gas field, according to industry sources.

    The project is part of the $27bn Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which is being developed by TotalEnergies along with its partners Basra Oil Company (BOC) and Qatar Energy.

    Phase one of the GGIP is expected to be worth about $10bn.

    Work is progressing on the project despite logistical problems related to the regional conflict that broke out after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

    While early works are ongoing, equipment needed for later stages of the project is being delayed as it was due to be transported to the project site using ships that would have travelled through the Strait of Hormuz.

    Shipping through the Strait is still severely disrupted due to the regional conflict.

    In September, Turkiye’s Enka signed a contract to develop the second CPF at Iraq’s Ratawi field as part of the second phase of the field’s development.

    Enka did not give a value for the contract, but it is believed to be worth more than $1bn.

    In November, US-based KBR was selected by Enka to provide detailed design services for the project.

    Enka’s contract covers the engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning of the CPF for the project known as the Associated Gas Upstream Project Phase 2 (AGUP2).

    The aim of the AGUP2 project is to process oil and associated gas from the Ratawi oil field to increase production capacity to 210,000 barrels a day of oil and 154 million standard cubic feet a day of gas.

    GGIP masterplan

    The GGIP programme is being led by TotalEnergies, the operator, which holds a 45% stake.

    Basra Oil Company and QatarEnergy hold 30% and 25% stakes, respectively. The consortium formalised the investment agreement with the Iraqi government in September 2021.

    The four projects that comprise the GGIP 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 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 engineering, procurement and construction (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, 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 b/d of oil on completion of the first phase, according to a statement by Wood.

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  • Algeria awards major gas project contract

    14 May 2026

     

    The Chinese-Algerian joint venture Groupement Sonatrach-Sinopec (GSS) has provisionally awarded a major contract to upgrade the gas lift compression unit at Algeria’s Zarzaitine field.

    The $238.8m contract has been awarded to a consortium of the Chinese companies Tianchen Engineering Corporation and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum.

    The client on the project is a partnership between Beijing-headquartered Sinopec and Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach.

    The contract uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) model and has a 45-month term.

    The gas lift unit was first installed in 1988. It processes and injects gas into the field to help boost oil production at the Zarzaitine oil field.

    Under the terms of the contract, the unit will be upgraded to boost its performance.

    Its functions include gas separation, filtration, compression and condensate recovery.

    The latest contract award comes at a time when Sonatrach is taking advantage of concerns about global gas and crude supplies to sign deals and push ahead with major upstream projects.

    In recent weeks, the country has launched an oil and gas licensing round, taken steps to boost crude production in the short term and awarded a $1.1bn oil and gas field development project.

    This comes as shipping remains disrupted through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil and gas supply route. The disruption began after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February 2026, triggering a regional war.

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  • Kuwait continues to deploy oil drilling rigs

    14 May 2026

    Kuwait is continuing to deploy oil drilling rigs despite the ongoing crisis disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement from Kuwaiti drilling and oilfield services provider Action Energy Company (AEC).

    In a statement released on 13 May, the company’s chief executive, Ahmad Mohammad Al-Ajlan, said it had secured awards for an additional seven rigs announced in January 2026, before the US and Israel’s 28 February attack on Iran.

    He added that deployment of these rigs was “progressing in line with schedule”.

    The ongoing deployment of the rigs comes amid significant disruption to Kuwait’s oil and gas sector.

    Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been severely impacted by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which all of its crude exports are normally shipped.

    The country recorded zero crude oil exports in April for the first time since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, according to shipping monitor TankerTrackers.com.

    The inability to export crude has quickly filled domestic storage capacity, forcing production cuts at the country’s largest oil fields.

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    Despite the ongoing crisis, AEC has reported positive financial results for the first quarter of this year, which ended on 31 March.

    The company’s revenue grew by 69.2% year-on-year, primarily driven by the expansion of the operating rig fleet from 13 rigs in the first quarter of 2025 to 20 rigs in the first quarter of 2026, including the full-quarter contribution of 10 new rigs deployed during 2025.

    The company is benefitting from a substantial multi-year contracted backlog with the state-owned upstream operator, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

    Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the chairman of AEC, said: “Despite regional disturbances during the period, AEC delivered performance in line with expectations, ensured uninterrupted support to KOC operations, and continued to operate with safety as a core value.”

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    The first contract, worth KD4.8m ($15.6m), covers two 750-horsepower (HP) rigs, which are expected to be deployed in the second half of the year.

    The second contract, worth KD62.1m ($201.5m), covers four 1,500 HP rigs and one 1,000 HP rig.

    These are expected to start operations from the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.

    Together, these awards bring the company’s rig fleet backlog to 27 rigs once fully mobilised, according to AEC.

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  • Aramco aims to raise $10bn with real estate deal

    14 May 2026

    Saudi Aramco is considering plans to generate more than $10bn by leveraging its real estate assets, which include its headquarters and campus in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. The move could involve a sale-and-leaseback structure, which would provide the oil giant with a significant influx of capital while allowing it to retain use of the properties.

    According to Bloomberg, Aramco is working with advisers to facilitate the transaction, which is expected to attract interest from major infrastructure and real estate investment funds. The initiative follows an $11bn lease agreement signed last year with a group led by BlackRock for facilities supporting the Jafurah gas project.

    Aramco is also reportedly pursuing deals involving its gas-fired power plants, water infrastructure, and stakes in oil export and storage terminals.

    These efforts to unlock capital come as the firm supports the kingdom’s economic transformation under Vision 2030 amid rising costs and regional conflict.

    Aramco reported $12bn of capital expenditure in the first quarter of this year, which it said supports its growth objectives. It previously guided for capex of $50bn to $55bn for the full year.

    Aramco’s capex in Q1 2026 was down 4% from the same period last year. The company spent $13.37bn in Q4 2025 and $52.2bn for the full year.

    Offshore oil and gas projects are understood to have accounted for a significant share of Aramco’s first-quarter capex.

    The company reported a sharp rise in profit in Q1 2026, beating analyst expectations as higher oil prices and increased crude sales offset geopolitical disruptions linked to shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz.

    Aramco’s adjusted net income rose nearly 26% to $33.6bn in Q1 2026, from $26.6bn a year earlier.

    Net income rose more than 25% year-on-year to $32.04bn, compared with $25.51bn in Q1 2025, driven by higher crude oil prices and increased sales volumes.

    Revenue increased 7% to $115.49bn, supported by higher prices for crude oil, refined products and chemicals, as well as higher sales volumes of crude and chemical products.

    On a quarterly basis, net income jumped 72.9% from Q4 2025, rising from $18.53bn to $32.04bn, helped by stronger margins and lower operating costs despite higher taxes and zakat payments.

    Cash flow from operating activities totalled $30.7bn, while free cash flow came in at $18.6bn, down slightly from $19.2bn a year earlier. This reflected a strategic $15.8bn increase in working capital aimed at ensuring business continuity.

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