Mena pushes for nuclear future
2 August 2023

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is set to register a rise of at least 30 per cent in power generation capacity by 2030 due to population growth and industrial expansion.
The rapid increase requires a strategy to advance energy security while reducing carbon emissions and fossil-fuel dependence, creating strong interest in nuclear power and renewable energy.
Iran has a 1GW nuclear plant in Bushehr and construction is under way for a second 300MW reactor in Khuzestan.
In the UAE, three of the four 1.4GW reactors at the GCC region’s first multi-unit nuclear power plant in Barakah, Abu Dhabi, are now connected to the electricity grid.
Egypt, in partnership with Russia’s Rosatom, is building its first nuclear power plant in El-Debaa.
Riyadh, meanwhile, tendered the contract to build its first large-scale power plant in Duwaiheen last year.
Beyond the GCC, Jordan has announced the production of 20 kilograms of yellowcake from 160 tonnes of uranium ore at a newly operational processing facility, while Morocco has completed a study supporting a plan to go nuclear.
Alternative base load
Apart from Saudi Arabia, these countries have significant renewable capacity as of 2023. All aim for renewables to account for up to half of installed capacity by the end of the decade.
Nuclear is seen as an alternative base load to thermal capacity to counter the intermittency of renewables in the absence of viable storage solutions. This has helped build the case for adding nuclear to the energy mix – although, in the UAE, the Barakah plant predated the renewable energy programme.
The decarbonisation potential of nuclear may be overstated, however, says a leading regional expert on utility projects.
“We should use all available clean-carbon solutions to decarbonise all industrial and human consumption and endeavour,” says Paddy Padmanathan, former CEO of Saudi utility Acwa Power. “Clearly we need to decarbonise as soon as possible.”
The rate at which the residual carbon budget is being consumed implies that even zero emissions by 2050 will not be sufficient, according to the executive. This begs the question: Which technologies will deliver solutions at scale to quickly achieve decarbonisation.
Nuclear power plants, which – with the exception of Abu Dhabi’s Barakah – have struggled to be delivered on time and within budget, may not be a viable solution, says Padmanathan, who now sits on the board of the UK energy startup Xlinks and green hydrogen firm Zhero.
He says nuclear power plants outside China have taken twice as long to build than planned and have typically cost more than twice their budget. Such capital expenditure and long construction times mean nuclear may only make sense if you have lots of spare cash, he adds.
Hence it is unwise to factor in nuclear to plans to decarbonise power generation by 2050, Padmanathan argues. “We already have much – if not all – the technologies to get the job done,” he notes, referring to renewable energy and battery storage solutions, among others.
He continues: “One cannot bank on such a rare outlier as Barakah, which got completed with only a marginal increase in cost and time, and rely on nuclear to deliver any meaningful level of flexible base load.”
Saudi programme
Budget availability and the urgency of decarbonisation aside, other factors complicate nuclear projects in the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom’s nuclear energy programme dates back to 2010 with the creation of King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (KA-Care). In 2021, KA-Care invited consultancy bids for its first large-scale nuclear power project in Duwaiheen, close to the Qatar border. It awarded the financial, legal and technical advisory services contracts last year.
In October 2022, Riyadh issued the request for proposals for the main contract to Russian, South Korean, Chinese and French firms.
Earlier this year, it formed the Saudi Nuclear Energy Holding Company, which plans to develop nuclear power plants as early as 2027 to produce electricity and to desalinate seawater, as well as for thermal energy applications.
Most recently, the state offtaker Saudi Power Procurement Company floated a tender for advisers to help prepare and review project agreements related to the procurement of electricity from Saudi’s first nuclear power plant, raising further speculation about the nuclear project.
The Saudi programme, particularly the kingdom’s plans to mine uranium as part of its economic and industrial strategy, is a thorn in Washington’s side. It is understood to have been a key theme in discussions when US President Joe Biden visited Riyadh last year.
Washington is wary of the nuclear power plant contract being awarded to Chinese or Russian contractors, not only because this could drive Riyadh closer to geopolitical rivals of the US, but also because it weakens US demands for Riyadh to abandon its nuclear fuel cycle ambitions before signing any bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement (NCA), otherwise known in Washington as a 123 agreement.
Uranium has to be enriched to up to 5 per cent for use in nuclear power plants and to 90 per cent to become weapons-grade. According to an Energy Intelligence report, the stalemate between Washington and Riyadh centres around US demands for Saudi Arabia to commit to the NCA and not pursue a domestic uranium enrichment or reprocessing programme.
The US also wants the kingdom to sign and ratify the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Additional Protocol, allowing nuclear inspectors fuller access to Saudi Arabia’s nuclear programme.
The report alludes to the US supporting South Korean contractor Kepco’s bid to develop the nuclear plant because it provides Washington with a final lever for pressuring Riyadh to accept its conditions for the 123 agreement and IAEA protocol.
Done deal
Biden’s visit did not produce material results, although unconfirmed reports say he may have given his blessing to the project, while others argue Riyadh did not need it.
“I think, in the end, this is a done deal, meaning that Saudi Arabia will pursue a nuclear energy programme,” says Karen Young, a senior research scholar at the Centre on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University in the US.
“They will pursue domestic uranium mining and likely enrichment, and we will see a more global ramp-up of nuclear energy use – and also, over time, possibly areas of proliferation in security uses not just in the Mena region, but across a wide geography.”
The US can either take solace from the fact that it takes time to develop a nuclear project, or it can – if it is not too late – revisit its relationship with Saudi Arabia, especially in the wake of a rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh under a deal brokered by China.
“Moving into design and procurement phases … whether with Russian, Chinese or South Korean [firms] … heightens already sensitive notions of strategic competition in the Gulf, as the US understands it,” notes Young.
In hindsight, it appears the US government has under-appreciated the seriousness of the Saudi plan or the importance of localised industry and mining as a domestic economic and security interest.
“Saudi Arabia sees an opportunity to play the US against its other options, so this is a unique moment of bargaining in which the nuclear file can be traded against broader foreign policy priorities for the Saudi leadership,” Young says.
Russian conundrum
The Barakah nuclear process, which entailed Abu Dhabi signing a 123 agreement with Washington, is seen as a gold standard. Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (Enec) signed supply contracts with France’s Areva and Russia’s Tenex for the supply of uranium concentrates and for the provision of conversion and enrichment services.
It then contracted Uranium One, part of Russia’s Rosatom, and UK-headquartered Rio Tinto for the supply of natural uranium for the plant. US-based ConverDyn provided conversion services, while British firm Urenco provided enrichment services.
The enriched uranium was supplied to Kepco Nuclear Fuels to manufacture the fuel assemblies for use at the Barakah nuclear power plant.
Fuel supply, processing, removal and storage are now complicated by Russia’s conflict and its global reputation, notes Young. The reference to Russia is important, given that Iran has provided drones to the country for use in its war with Ukraine, in exchange for the sale of advanced military equipment and cyber warfare. This is seen as a direct threat to Opec ally Riyadh.
The Tehran-Riyadh rapprochement only makes sense from a viewpoint where a dead Iran nuclear deal could expedite the Islamic Republic’s plan to build a bomb, potentially leading to a nuclear arms raise in the region, which everyone – particularly the two countries’ biggest client, China – would rather avoid.
Despite these complexities, the regional and global push to build nuclear capacity following the invasion of Ukraine and the threat to global gas supplies does not appear to be slowing.
The UAE, for instance, has partnered with the US to mobilise $100bn to support clean energy projects at home and abroad, and has pledged $30bn for energy cooperation with South Korea. Both these commitments involve significant investments in renewable and civilian nuclear energy projects.
This suggests that nuclear as a clean energy option is here to stay, despite mounting costs and geopolitical risks
Unfortunately, however, in a region marked by perennial instability, there are few incentives for the involved countries to be more transparent about their programmes.
While the evolving rapprochement between countries that have previously considered each other existential threats might not eliminate the spectre of a nuclear arms race, it can defuse tensions in the interim while helping push decarbonisation agendas.
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QatarEnergy gives North Field West topside bidders more time2 October 2026

QatarEnergy has granted contractors more time to prepare bids for a tender covering the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of large platforms for the North Field gas field in Qatari waters.
Contractors now have until 12 October to submit technical bids for the project, according to sources. Commercial bids are currently due on 10 November.
The following contractors, among others, are understood to be bidding for the North Field West (NFW) production deck modules (PDMs) tender:
- China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (China)
- Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
- McDermott (US)
- Saipem (Italy)
The core scope comprises the EPCI of four PDMs and associated structures. The PDMs will increase gas production from North Field reservoirs and provide additional gas feedstock for the NFW liquefied natural gas (LNG) development.
The tender, issued earlier this year, forms part of the wider NFW project, the third and final phase of the state enterprise’s North Field LNG expansion programme.
The previous deadlines for technical bids were 30 August, 15 September and 28 September, while commercial bids were previously due on 25 October, as MEED reported.
Before issuing the PDMs tender, QatarEnergy awarded US firm McDermott a contract for the EPCI of four offshore jackets that will also support gas feedstock supply for the NFW LNG project. The contract is estimated to be worth about $200m, MEED reported in January.
North Field LNG expansion
QatarEnergy is advancing the three phases of its estimated $40bn North Field LNG expansion project. 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 tonnes a year (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 EPCI 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 NFW earlier 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 front-end engineering and design 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.
READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFIndustry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: Oxagon takes centre stage at Neom> MARKET FOCUS: Saudi projects hold steady> INDUSTRY REPORT: MEED’s 2026 GCC power developer ranking> LEADERSHIP: The future city does not need to hang above the groundTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20208200/main.jpg -
Egypt implements oil and gas storage projects worth $1.1bn2 October 2026
Egypt is implementing oil and gas storage projects worth a total of £E54bn ($1.1bn), according to a statement released by the country’s cabinet.
Active developments include expanding El-Hamra Petroleum Port in El-Alamein on the Mediterranean coast, as well as building a jet-fuel storage and transport hub at the Badr depot in Cairo.
Other projects include constructing new storage tanks at refinery complexes in Amreya, Alexandria; Assiut; and Cairo.
Over the past 12 years, Egypt has built 84 petroleum storage facilities with a total capacity of 5.2 million tonnes, the cabinet statement said.
Egypt has invested £E42.7bn ($880m) in developing these facilities, with the aim of bolstering domestic energy security.
Completed infrastructure projects include facilities in Sohag (Upper Egypt) and Alexandria.
They also include offshore terminal and storage facilities, a liquid bulk station in Ain Sokhna, and strategic crude oil storage tanks across the country.
Storage facilities have become a strategic priority for Egypt since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, triggering a regional war that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The disruption has made imports of hydrocarbon products into Egypt less predictable, increasing the importance of strategic stockpiles.
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Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
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Bankability key to Saudi PPP pipeline2 October 2026

Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) holds structured talks with bidders and lenders before launching transactions to ensure projects in its pipeline are bankable, according to a senior official.
Speaking on a panel at MEED’s Shaping Mega Projects conference in Riyadh on 28 September, Tariq Alghaziri, executive vice-president at the NCP, said the centre carries out market sounding with potential bidders and debt providers, including commercial and Islamic banks, before announcing deals.
“Bankability is a key word for us,” he said. “You can structure the deal in the way you want. You can have whatever technicalities and technologies are required, but is it suitable for the private sector to deliver? That’s the big question.”
Alghaziri said the national privatisation strategy, approved at the end of 2025 and published at the start of 2026, sets the NCP’s targets up to 2030 and outlines its project pipeline. The strategy coincides with the third phase of Vision 2030, which he said is focused on measuring impact after earlier phases established the legal framework and enabled the private sector.
Public-private partnership (PPP) contracts typically run for 25 years and, in some cases, more than 40 years, he said, which makes early engagement essential. “When we launch it, all the bidders, suppliers, EPC contractors, banks and ECAs are on the same page, and then they just have to align on commercial points and not negotiate legal aspects.”
Risk transfer
Jonathan Looker, managing director for Saudi Arabia at UK consultancy Mott MacDonald, said the public and private sectors often perceive risk very differently.
"Can you put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re trying to transfer risk to?” he said. “There isn’t one single allocation model that is fit for every project.”
Looker said failure to agree on risk can prevent projects from reaching financial close. "I’ve unfortunately been involved in a number of projects where we just can’t get the deal done because there is not a meeting of minds around a specific aspect of risk.”
Alghaziri said Saudi regulations now state that the party with the capacity to manage a risk should take it, but that risk carries a cost. “You cannot just give the risk without pricing it,” he said. The NCP has trained more than 300 people over the past five or six years, including through a PPP professional certification it introduced in the kingdom.
Early planning
Hesham Ouf, senior director of finance at Roshn Group, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary, said risk management begins at the feasibility stage. “You need to have the stage gates right from the beginning until the project is delivered,” he said.
Ali Al-Kuwari, senior manager of export development at Qatar Development Bank (QDB), said early disclosure of procurement needs allows lenders to assess project risk. “For me, the answer is very easy. I’ll ask for a sovereign guarantee,” he said.
Wesley Thomson, partner and head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) at UK property consultancy Knight Frank, said climate exposure is becoming a central risk for long-life assets. “Mitigation is not the right word any more. I prefer to say adaptation, because the truth is you need to adapt to what we’re seeing.”
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Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
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Financing hinders progress at major Iraqi refinery project2 October 2026

Financial problems are hindering progress at Iraq’s Al-Faw Investment Refinery project, according to industry sources.
Despite the main contract being signed more than two years ago, construction of the main refinery units has yet to begin because of ongoing financial issues, sources said.
In May 2024, a statement released by the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said that Iraq’s state-owned Southern Refineries Company and China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC) had signed a contract to develop the project.
Iraq’s Oil Ministry previously said the project would be worth $7bn-$8bn.
The project has struggled to make progress even after direct intervention by Iraq’s previous prime minister.
On 6 August 2025, 15 months after the May 2024 contract signing with CNCEC, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, then prime minister, chaired a special meeting to resolve administrative and technical obstacles preventing the project from starting.
At the time, Al-Sudani said the refinery project would have significant financial returns and would be “a breakthrough in the oil industry”.
While the meeting in 2025 is believed to have solved some of the administrative issues blocking progress, financial problems with the project remain, sources said.
The Al-Faw project is part of the Iraqi government’s plan to increase Iraq’s refining capacity, attract foreign investment and increase domestic production of petroleum products.
Under existing plans, the refinery will have a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day and will produce oil derivatives for both domestic and international markets.
The project will be carried out in two stages.
The first phase will involve refining operations, while the second will involve constructing a petrochemicals complex with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year.
The project also includes building a 2,000MW power plant and establishing the Al-Faw Academy for Refinery Technology to train 5,000 Iraqi workers who will eventually work at the facility.
Hualu, a subsidiary of CNCEC, signed a preliminary principles agreement for the project in December 2021.
Due to material price inflation since December 2021, some insiders believe the project value may now be significantly higher than the previously estimated $7bn-$8bn.
READ THE OCTOBER 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDFIndustry and logistics drive development at Neom; Saudi Arabia’s investment priorities realign amid conflict; MEED’s 2026 power developer ranking.
Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
> AGENDA: Oxagon takes centre stage at Neom> MARKET FOCUS: Saudi projects hold steady> INDUSTRY REPORT: MEED’s 2026 GCC power developer ranking> LEADERSHIP: The future city does not need to hang above the groundTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20207119/main.jpg -
Saudi pre-budget leans on borrowing to fund projects2 October 2026
Saudi Arabia plans to spend SR1.39tn ($371.2bn) in 2027, according to the Finance Ministry’s pre-budget statement. That is 3% less than the estimated outturn for 2026, after regional conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed this year’s expenditure well past its allocation.
The ministry now expects 2026 spending to reach SR1.44tn, which is SR122bn or 9.3% above the SR1.31tn approved in the budget. Revenues are estimated at SR1.19tn, SR43bn above budget, leaving a deficit of SR245bn, equal to 4.9% of GDP. The original budget assumed a SR165bn deficit, or 3.3% of GDP.
For 2027, the statement projects revenues of SR1.2tn and a deficit of SR191bn, or 3.6% of GDP. Expenditure is forecast to rise to SR1.48tn in 2028 and SR1.54tn in 2029, with deficits of SR177bn and SR192bn projected for those years. On the ministry’s figures, the kingdom will run cumulative deficits of SR560bn ($149.3bn) between 2027 and 2029.
The economic backdrop has deteriorated sharply. The ministry expects real GDP to contract by 3.6% in 2026, driven by a 21.8% fall in oil activity, while non-oil activity grows by 3.2%. It forecasts a rebound to 12.8% real growth in 2027.
Capital spending
The statement does not publish a capital expenditure figure or a sector breakdown. Those will follow with the budget in Q4. It does signal that project spending will continue. As Vision 2030 enters what the statement calls its third phase, the government says efforts will focus on “accelerating the pace of delivery and capitalising on growth opportunities through continued government capital expenditure”. It also wants a stronger role for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the National Development Fund in stimulating domestic investment.
The ministry says it will “implement infrastructure-related programmes” and direct resources “towards priority programmes and projects”. It also commits to “maximise the utilisation of existing government assets and investments”. That wording points to a sharper focus on completing and monetising existing schemes rather than launching new ones.
The medium-term debt strategy is designed to ensure “the continuity of the implementation of priority projects without being linked to the fluctuations of the economic cycle”, according to the statement.
The government’s revenue scenarios hold expenditure at SR1.39tn in all three cases. Under the lowest revenue case of SR1.13tn, the deficit widens to SR259bn. The highest case of SR1.26tn narrows it to SR132bn. Any change falls on borrowing rather than on spending.
The ministry says debt will deliberately rise by the end of 2027, and the borrowing plan will be disclosed by the end of this year. Alongside bonds, sukuk and loans, the government plans to expand “alternative government financing, including financing of projects, infrastructure and export credit agencies” in 2027 and over the medium term.
Private capital
The statement presents private investment as a growing share of project delivery. Investment in privatisation and public-private partnership (PPP) projects reached about SR180bn by the end of 2025. The National Privatisation Strategy was approved in November 2025. Ten privatisation and PPP projects have been launched under it in the first half of 2026, including the Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz International Airport PPP in Qassim. Contracts were signed for the Sabic Mental Health Hospital and the Jubail Container Terminal, taking the total to 83 partnership contracts. Private capital investment has exceeded SR56.2bn, against a target of SR240bn by 2030.
The National Infrastructure Fund has committed SR10.5bn since 2022 to projects with a combined value of about SR59.3bn, of which SR44.1bn is private investment. Projects it has backed include the Neom green hydrogen project, the Shuaibah solar photovoltaic plants, the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport expansion, the Jubail-Buraidah independent water transmission pipeline and the Ezditek data centre. The fund plans to expand into healthcare, education, sports and artificial intelligence.
PIF’s domestic investments totalled about SR750bn between 2021 and 2025. The statement lists several recent contracts across its portfolio. Diriyah Company, the PIF-owned developer of the Diriyah gigaproject, awarded a SR1.8bn contract to a consortium of local companies to build the Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art. PIF-owned Soudah Development signed a SR1.3bn agreement with National Grid SA, the transmission subsidiary of Saudi Electricity Company, to deliver electricity infrastructure for the Soudah Peaks project. Saudi Entertainment Ventures, also owned by PIF, plans 14 destinations across 13 cities, with investment of more than SR45bn. The Saudi Export-Import Bank plans to provide SR41.6bn of financing and insurance to non-oil exporters in 2027.
Logistics investment has also become a priority since the disruption to Gulf shipping. The share of non-oil exports passing through Red Sea ports rose to 40.7% during the crisis, from 19.3% before it. In July, the General Ports Authority signed contracts worth up to SR1bn for seven logistics centres at Jeddah Islamic Port and Al-Khumrah. A separate logistics corridors initiative connects Gulf ports to the Red Sea by road and rail.
The final 2027 budget is due for approval in Q4.
MEED’s October 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:
> COMMENT: Saudi projects hold steady
> GOVERNMENT: Riyadh looks to reset its regional defence outlook
> ECONOMY: Conflict bolsters case for Saudi economic diversification
> BANKING: Saudi lenders readjust to lower lending and deposit climate
> UPSTREAM: Aramco upstream spending gathers pace
> DOWNSTREAM: Sabic steps up Saudi petchems investment
> POWER: Saudi Arabia’s power award activity slows
> WATER: Saudi water sector hits sharp slowdown
> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction defies the headwinds
> TRANSPORT: Saudi infrastructure pushes forward amid conflict
> DATABANK: Saudi data indicates project spending shiftTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/20206117/main.gif