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Mena LNG infrastructure spending rises

27 October 2025

This package also includes: Gulf LNG sector enters a new prolific phase

 

The Gulf states – in particular Qatar, Oman and the UAE – are dominating the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export race in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, as well as globally. 

With the energy transition gaining momentum worldwide, and driven by a need to increase the share of gas in their energy mixes, other regional countries are also investing in building LNG import infrastructure.

Kuwait’s state-energy conglomerate, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), is going through the final approval processes for a planned project to add a natural gas reliquefaction unit to Kuwait’s permanent LNG import facility.

The final investment decision for the project was approved by KPC subsidiary Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (Kipic) in January. The front-end engineering and design (feed) study for the project was completed in November 2024, according to Kipic.

This project is being developed to eliminate the flaring of boil-off gas, which occurs when supply rates from LNG import facilities drop below minimum design thresholds. The new unit will reliquefy natural gas through cooling processes and return it to storage tanks in liquid form.

Importing gas

Iraq is presently reliant on imported gas from Iran in order to address its domestic needs. The country has sufficient gas reserves to meet its domestic demand, but it has failed to develop the necessary infrastructure to capture, process and transport the gas to end-users.

However, in October, US-based Excelerate Energy announced that it had won a contract to develop an integrated floating LNG (FLNG) import terminal in Iraq. Development of the project will be led by Excelerate in coordination with the Iraqi government.

The FLNG facility will be developed at Khor Al-Zubair port in Basra and will have a capacity of 500 million standard cubic feet a day (cf/d).

Plans are also under way to build further LNG reception infrastructure, including a jetty and a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), at Iraq’s Al-Faw Grand Port. 

Jordan, which also relies heavily on natural gas for its power and industrial needs, has pushed ahead with plans to increase LNG imports by developing a new LNG terminal.

In August 2024, Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) awarded the main contract for a project to develop the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah LNG onshore regasification facility at the port of Aqaba.

The contract was won by a consortium of Singapore-based AG&P and South Korea’s Gas Entec, along with their local partner, Jordan’s Issa Haddadin. AG&P has majority ownership of Gas Entec and ADC is owned by the Government of Jordan and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.

The facility will have the capacity to process 720 million cf/d of natural gas. The project is scheduled to be completed, commissioned and delivered within 22 months, with the project due to be commissioned by the second quarter of 2026. 

The new permanent LNG import terminal is expected to replace an existing FSRU located in Aqaba port that began operations earlier this year.

Jordan … has pushed ahead with plans to increase LNG imports by developing a new LNG terminal

Building infrastructure

Egypt already has two LNG export terminals, located at Idku and Damietta. The facilities enable the export of LNG from domestic fields and from regional partners.

The country is now exploring plans for an LNG terminal in Port Said, according to a recent statement from the Petroleum & Mineral Resources Ministry. Karim Badawi, the petroleum & mineral resources minister, has met with the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, to discuss the establishment of the terminal, which will supply the authority’s vessels.

In Algeria, national oil and gas company Sonatrach has brought a processing train back online at the Arzew-Bethioua LNG terminal as part of a major project to upgrade the facility.

The Arzew-Bethioua terminal is one of the oldest operational LNG export terminals. The train, known as T-300, became operational after a new main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE) was commissioned.

The upgrade is part of a contract with US-based Honeywell to replace four MCHEs at the facility. Originally signed with Air Products, Honeywell acquired the contract when it bought Air Products’ LNG process technology and equipment business in September 2024.

The work on the Algerian LNG terminal is being led by state-controlled Societe de Maintenance Industrielle d’Arzew (Somiz). As part of the upgrade, each of the train’s existing capacities of 75,000 tonnes a year (t/y) is being increased to 1.3 million t/y. A total of 5.2 million t/y of LNG capacity is set to return once all four units are fully back online.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Energy Transition & Sustainable Development Ministry is progressing with an LNG infrastructure project that includes an import terminal, pipelines and a gas power station. Located at Nador West Med Port, the terminal is expected to have the capacity to import 500 million cf/d.

The scope of the LNG terminal portion of the project includes the design, construction, equipment, operation and maintenance of all offshore and onshore infrastructure elements of the terminal. It also includes all high-pressure gas systems.

A dedicated berth is expected to be developed at the port. The terminal will either be an FSRU or a floating storage unit that has the regasification element developed on the jetty.

Nador West Med Port is currently under construction and is expected to achieve commissioning by the end of 2026.

Gulf LNG sector enters a new prolific phase 

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Indrajit Sen

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    The Aramco Stadium in Khobar is moving forward at an impressive pace as the fast-track project races towards completion in 2026.

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    A key technological advancement is the crane collision prevention system, which means the cranes talk to each other and shut down if they become too close

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    “We have used drones for the inspection of the cranes and inspection of the steel structure itself to minimise the risk of working at height,” said Subhi.


    Drones have been adopted on-site to mitigate the risk of working at height

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    The relationship with the joint-venture contractor is defined by collaboration rather than traditional client-contractor hierarchy. “We are one team, working together,” said Subhi. This approach has fostered a cooperative environment that is accelerating the on-site progress towards the 2026 completion goal. 

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    Colin Foreman