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• 
  Contractors win construction packages for Egypt’s Ras El-Hekma

  17 August 2026

  Egypt’s Rowad Modern Engineering has announced that it has won new contracts to undertake construction works on two packages at the Ras El-Hekma master development on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

  Ras El-Hekma’s master developer, Modon Holding, awarded the contracts.

  The first contract covers construction works for Area 2 of the Wadi Yemm basement. The scope includes constructing multilevel basement structures that will support upcoming developments at the site.

  Rowad Modern Engineering is delivering the project in a joint venture with Lebanon’s Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).

  The second contract covers substation works, to be delivered in a joint venture with local contractor Elsewedy Electric.

  Wadi Yemm is the first of the 17 planned precincts to move into active delivery. It is a mixed-use cultural and hospitality district, anchored by the Ras El-Hekma Lighthouse and a 10,000-seat amphitheatre, designed to host cultural and entertainment programmes.

  Ras El-Hekma is located on a spur of land on Egypt’s northern Mediterranean coastline, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria.

  Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ appointed Modon Holding as the master developer for the Ras El-Hekma project in 2024. Modon will oversee the overall development, which covers more than 170 million square metres (sq m).

  Modon will develop the first phase of the project, covering 50 million sq m. The remaining 120 million sq m will be developed in partnership with private developers under the supervision of the recently established ADQ subsidiary Ras El-Hekma Urban Development Project Company and Modon.

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  Yasir Iqbal
• 
  Construction completed on $8.5bn Neom hydrogen project

  14 August 2026

  Construction work on the $8.5bn Neom Green Hydrogen project at Oxagon in Saudi Arabia has been completed, with the facility entering the commissioning stage ahead of commercial operations targeted for 2027.

  The project is being developed by Neom Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC), a joint venture of Saudi-listed Acwa, US-headquartered industrial gases group Air Products and Neom.

  Acwa's chief financial officer, Abdulhameed Al-Muhaidib, said during the company’s recent H1 2026 earnings call that construction has been completed and commissioning activities are now under way.

  "It’s really more now into commissioning and the target to go into commercial operation next year," he told investors.

  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 that is generated being used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis.

  As previously reported by MEED, Air Products is also the exclusive offtaker for green ammonia produced at the facility under a 30-year agreement.

  NGHC said in March that its renewable power generation assets, including the wind and solar farms, and transmission grid, had reached approximately 95% completion.

  India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project’s renewable energy and transmission and distribution package.

  L&T’s EPC scope includes a 2,200MW solar plant, a 1,370MW wind farm, a 400MW battery energy storage system and a transmission network extending 190 kilometres.

  The project reached financial close in 2023. Once operational, the facility is expected to produce up to 1.2 million tonnes a year of green ammonia for export.

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  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

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Lamprell announces Abu Dhabi offshore project contract

  14 August 2026

  

   

  Saudi Arabia/UAE-based Lamprell has announced it has won an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for a project in Abu Dhabi, for which it will “support the delivery of subsea pipeline infrastructure that will help strengthen offshore energy production and processing capabilities”.

  The project includes the engineering, procurement and fabrication of approximately 50 kilometres (km) of subsea pipeline systems, along with associated flowlines, subsea connections and testing, Lamprell said in a statement.

  With the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities having been completed, preparations are under way for the offshore installation phase, Lamprell added, without revealing further details about the project, its client or value of the contract.

  “Working alongside our sister company Algihaz Marine Contractors, the project demonstrates the value of combining complementary engineering, fabrication and offshore installation capabilities to deliver complex subsea infrastructure safely, efficiently and to a high standard,” the company said in a .

  MEED understands the contract award relates to the first package of the Umm Shaif Gas Cap development project in Abu Dhabi, for which Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group) and its foreign partners announced achieving a $6.2bn final investment decision (FID) in July.

  MEED previously reported that Adnoc had awarded the EPCI contract for the package related to EPCI and fabrication of a 30,000-tonne gas compression system and associated subsea pipelines, flowlines and other structures, to a consortium of India’s Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (L&TEH) and Lamprell.

  Larsen & Toubro (L&T) confirmed its contract award from Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Offshore earlier in August, describing the order as “ultra-mega”, a term the company uses for contracts valued at more than Rs150bn ($1.57bn).

  Mumbai-headquartered L&T added that the contract will be executed through a consortium, with its subsidiary L&TEH Offshore serving as the lead partner, without mentioning Lamprell.

  The Umm Shaif Gas Cap reserve is located within the offshore Umm Shaif and Nasr hydrocarbons concession, which is operated by Adnoc as the majority stakeholder. The other stakeholders in the concession are Italy’s Eni, France’s TotalEnergies and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

  Through this project, Adnoc and its concession partners intend to produce up to 600 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas by unlocking the Umm Shaif Gas Cap in Abu Dhabi’s Gulf waters.

  Adnoc, in its 21 July statement, said the FID includes three EPC packages totalling $5.1bn for large-scale offshore infrastructure, awarded to consortiums comprising UAE and international contractors. The company did not disclose the contractors or the scope of work.

  MEED reported in May that the following contractors had emerged as frontrunners for the two offshore packages and one onshore package of the Umm Shaif Gas Cap and surface pressure boosting project:

  • First offshore package – fabrication of a 30,000-tonne gas compression system: L&TEH (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
  • Second offshore package – fabrication of another 30,000-tonne gas compression system: McDermott (US)
  • Onshore package – EPC of gas inlet and processing systems on Das Island: China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company

  Adnoc added that, as part of the FID, it has also awarded a $365m contract to its subsidiary Adnoc Drilling for a 14-well drilling and integrated drilling services scope, to be delivered over 18 months using three existing rigs.

  Umm Shaif Gas Cap project

  Adnoc Offshore, the offshore oil and gas business of Adnoc Group, is the operator of the Umm Shaif Gas Cap and surface pressure boosting project.

  The primary objective is to increase gas production by 550 million cf/d and raise associated condensate output by 50,000 barrels a day (b/d).

  Adnoc Offshore intends to feed about 520 million cf/d of the additional produced gas into Adnoc Group’s sales gas grid.

  Adnoc Offshore is understood to have issued the main EPC tender for the Umm Shaif Gas Cap and surface pressure boosting project in the first quarter of 2025.

  Contractors submitted technical bids for the three EPC packages by 30 October last year, while commercial bids were submitted by the 2 February deadline.

  The following contractors are among those understood to be bidding for the three EPC packages, according to sources:

  Offshore package 1:

  • Saipem (Italy) / Seatrium (Singapore)
  • L&TEH (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
  • NMDC Energy (UAE) / Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

  Offshore package 2:

  • China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
  • McDermott (US)
  • L&TEH (India) / Lamprell (Saudi Arabia/UAE)
  • NMDC Energy (UAE) / Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)

  Onshore package:

  • Archirodon (Greece)
  • China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (China)
  • Engineering for the Petroleum & Process Industries (Egypt)
  • Galfar Emirates (UAE branch of Oman’s Galfar Engineering & Construction)
  • Target Engineering Construction Company (UAE)

  Australian firm Worley has performed front-end engineering and design (feed) work on the project.

  Umm Shaif gas production

  Adnoc Offshore operates the Umm Shaif hydrocarbons development, which is located 150km northwest of the city of Abu Dhabi. The field is located in Abu Dhabi’s offshore Umm Shaif and Nasr hydrocarbons concession, previously operated by former Adnoc Group companies Adma-Opco and Zadco.

  In March and April 2018, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs awarded a 10% stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore block to Eni, 20% to TotalEnergies and 10% to CNPC. Adnoc Group retained the majority 60% interest. The operators produce a total of about 460,000 b/d of oil from the Umm Shaif and Nasr block.

  Gas is produced from the Umm Shaif Khuff and Uweinat reservoirs, as well as from the Arab C and Arab D Early Production Scheme 2. The Umm Shaif Khuff reservoir is a formation that consists of dry gas volumetric reservoirs located in the Umm Shaif field.

  Khuff reservoirs have been in production in Abu Dhabi since August 1989. Umm Shaif Khuff gas is currently produced from 28 active wells within the Umm Shaif field. A majority of these wells supply gas to Adnoc Group subsidiaries Adnoc LNG and Adnoc Gas Processing, with the rest supporting oil reservoirs at the Umm Shaif field through gas injection.

  The Umm Shaif Super Complex (USSC) processes and transports oil, condensates and natural gas in separate pipelines to Das Island for further processing and export. The condensates collected from the USSC are transported to Das Island through an 18-inch pipeline stretching 34.4km, or are spiked into the 36-inch Adnoc main oil line.

  The gas collected from the USSC is transported to Das Island through two 46-inch pipelines, which also run 34.4km.

  Pressure at the Umm Shaif Khuff gas reservoirs will start to decline by the end of 2028. The flowing wellhead pressures at some of the Khuff gas wellhead towers are likely to reduce, so boosting well deliverability and increasing the flowrates is necessary.

  Therefore, new Khuff surface pressure boosting facilities are required to maintain the plateau – with a goal of achieving a 90% gas recovery factor – and increase production beyond the end of the plateau by lowering pressure at the Khuff reservoirs.

  Project tendering exercise

  Adnoc Offshore has been working to advance the Umm Shaif Gas Cap project since at least 2019 and has experimented with several project execution models.

  According to the original schedule, the project was due to be commissioned in 2023, but progress slowed down, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  Adnoc Offshore launched a feed-to-EPCI competition for the project in May 2019 and selected the following three entities based on their feed submissions:

  • McDermott (US)
  • National Petroleum Construction Company (UAE; now NMDC Energy) / TechnipFMC (France)
  • Saipem (Italy) / Petrofac (UK)

  Technical bids for the EPCI works on the estimated $1.5bn project were submitted in January 2020 and commercial bids were submitted by August of that year.

  The Saipem/Petrofac consortium emerged as the lowest bidder for the project in September 2020, MEED reported.

  Petrofac is understood to have ultimately withdrawn from the consortium and was replaced by state-owned China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (CPECC).

  In 2022, the Saipem/CPECC consortium was understood to be the sole remaining bidder for the Umm Shaif Gas Cap project. Adnoc Offshore engaged the consortium for a revised feed exercise and subsequently received commercial offers on a single-source basis.

  In 2023, Adnoc Offshore cancelled the tendering process for the project and later decided to proceed with a conventional EPC-based project execution model.

  The operator then appointed Worley to undertake feed works on the renewed Umm Shaif Gas Cap project in 2024. Worley has a legacy of involvement in the Umm Shaif hydrocarbons development.

  ---

  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

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Contracts signed for Algerian phosphate project

  14 August 2026

  Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and the Algerian Chinese Fertilisers Company (ACFC) has signed two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the country’s planned phosphate integrated project in Tebessa Province.

  ACFC was created in March 2022 by Algerian companies Asmidal and Manadjim El-Djazair (Manal), which own 56% of the company, and Chinese groups Wuhuan and Tianan, which own the remaining 44% stake.

  Manal and Asmidal are both subsidiaries of Sonatrach.

  The new contracts are part of the Bled El-Hadba phosphate development project, which is expected to be worth $7bn.

  The contracts were signed by Italy’s Saipem and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) as part of the first phase of the integrated phosphate project.

  Saipem’s contract is worth approximately €500m ($577m), according to a statement released by the Italian company.

  Saipem was previously awarded a front-end engineering and design (feed) contract for the same project in June 2025.

  The signing ceremony for the latest two EPC contracts took place at the headquarters of Sonatrach's general directorate, in the presence of members of the government, Sonatrach CEO Nour Eddine Daoudi, the ambassadors of Italy and China in Algeria, as well as officials from Saipem and CHEC.

  The first phase of the project involves the construction of industrial and port infrastructure, including a phosphate extraction and enrichment complex in Bled El-Hadba with an extraction capacity of 5.5 million tons a year (t/y) and an overall production capacity of concentrated phosphate estimated at 3.2 million t/y.

  Phase one also includes the construction of an integrated industrial complex in Oued Kebrit with the capacity to produce 2.4 million t/y of phosphate fertiliser and 570,000 t/y of nitrogen fertiliser.

  The facility in Oued Kebrit will also produce quantities of other intermediate products.

  Port infrastructure will be constructed in Annaba with the aim of enabling the establishment of an integrated industrial and logistics ecosystem.

  During the signing ceremony, Minister of State and Hydrocarbons Minister Mohamed Arkab said that the project benefits from special attention from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, within the framework of his vision to exploit natural resources, strengthen national industrialisation, create added value, diversify the national economy and promote the country’s non-hydrocarbons exports.

  He said that the project will be carried out according to an “accelerated EPC fast-track method”, in order to reduce completion times and bring production online faster.

  This is expected to allow the first quantities of enriched phosphate to be produced in the first quarter of 2027 and fertiliser production is expected to start during the fourth quarter of the same year.

  When the project is fully operational, it is expected to produce approximately 6 million t/y of enriched phosphate and 4 million t/y of different types of phosphate and nitrogen fertilisers.

  It will also produce industrial materials such as sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid and ammonia, according to Arkab.

  He said that Algeria's ambition is not limited to the production of phosphate and fertilisers and also includes the establishment of an integrated industrial chain capable of creating added value, developing skills, supporting the national economy and opening new horizons for Algerian products on international markets.

  Daoudi, the chairman and chief executive of Sonatrach, said that the signing of the two contracts marked the effective transition to the implementation phase of this project, which "undoubtedly constitutes a key milestone in the industrial development process in Algeria".

  The scope of the EPC contract signed by Saipem covers the construction of project facilities at the Bled El-Hadba site and the Oued Kebrit site.

  Saipem’s chief executive Alessandro Puliti said that his company will try to deliver the project on time and will work with three local companies on the project.

  The three companies are pipeline specialist Cosider Canalisations; Algerian Industrial Projects Realisation Company, which is a subsidiary of Sonatrach; and state-owned National Civil Engineering & Building Company.

  The scope of the EPC contract signed by CHEC is focused on developing the Annaba port infrastructure project.

  Speaking at the signing ceremony, CHEC's deputy general manager Chen Zhong said his company is committed to completing the first and second phases of the Annaba port project within the allotted timeframe.

  The wider integrated phosphates project has four main focus areas.

  These are:

  • The Bled El-Hadba phosphate mine
  • Phosphate enrichment units
  • The Oued Kebrit chemicals processing complex
  • Logistics facilities, including the extension of the port of Annaba and a railway network dedicated to the transport of raw materials and finished products

  In its statement, Saipem described the document that it signed with Sonatrach as a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) for the execution of phase one of the integrated phosphate project in Algeria.

  It said: “The full EPC contract will be based on a contractual framework which will allow both parties to share risks and rewards during the execution, including the LNTP period which will enable Saipem to start the preliminary activities that are preparatory and critical for achieving the first project milestones.

  “These include but are not limited to feed completion and detailed engineering, procurement of long lead items, as well as preliminary project mobilisation and organisation activities, pending the negotiation and finalisation of the EPC contract.”

  Saipem has been present in Algeria since 1968 and has developed infrastructure for hydrocarbons treatment and transportation, power generation plants and oil well drilling.

  The Bled El-Hadba phosphate mine has over 1.2 billion tonnes of estimated total reserves, including 800 million tonnes of estimated exploitable reserves, making it one of the biggest mines of its kind in the world.

  ---

  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

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  Contractors prepare prices for Al-Ghubar field facilities project

  13 August 2026

  

   

  Contractors are preparing commercial bids for a key Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) project to build a new facility to handle additional oil production from the Al-Ghubar field in the Ghaba Salt Basin at Qarn Alam, within its 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.

  Majority state-owned 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.

  Following receipt of the technical bids, PDO has granted contractors additional time – until 16 August – to submit commercial bids for the project, sources told MEED.

  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

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  Indrajit Sen