meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Monthly briefing: 20 key developments in the region

25 October 2022

By MEED staff

> Opec and its allies cut oil output

> Saipem wins $4.5bn North Field offshore gas contract

> Qatar to inaugurate 800MW solar farm

> Lebanon and Israel agree maritime border deal

> Aramco launches SME stimulator programme

> Region to be third-largest hydrogen source by 2050

> Egypt ready to supply natural gas to Lebanon

> Riyadh makes debt announcements

> Neom hydrogen project expected to close by year-end

> Abu Dhabi transfers ownership of Etihad Airways to ADQ

> Mipco secures $4bn to refinance Abu Dhabi plant

OIL OUTPUT CUTS

Opec+ to slash production from November to keep prices high

The Opec+ alliance of oil producers has decided to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels a day (b/d) from November to further shore up crude prices, which have fluctuated amid fears that a global recession could curb oil demand. 

The decision, which was led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, was taken at a meeting of the group in Austria on 5 October. 

The move represents a major reversal in production policy for Opec+, which slashed output by a record 10 million b/d in early 2020 when demand plummeted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the group has gradually unwound those cuts. Read more

 Tight oil market increases unease for stakeholders



The 33rd Opec and non-Opec ministerial meeting on 5 October. Credit: Opec

US FALLOUT

Saudi Arabia and UAE condemn US warning of ‘consequences’

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have rejected as baseless accusations that the Opec+ decision to reduce oil production from November was politically motivated against the US.

Riyadh has insisted decisions by Opec and its allies were taken “purely on economic considerations”, and said its economic advice had been to resist calls to delay the production cut. 

The UAE issued a statement calling upon the US to refrain from “politicisation” of the Opec+ decision. US President Joe Biden had previously warned that there would be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia and the Opec+ members for their decision to cut oil output.

EGYPT

World leaders to gather for meeting on climate change

Leaders from almost 200 countries will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 6-18 November for the UN’s 27th Conference of the Parties (Cop 27) climate change summit. 

Egypt’s International Cooperation Minister, Rania al-Mashat, has previously said that the focus of Cop 27 should be moving from “pledges to implementation”. The conference aims to deliver action on issues critical to tackling the climate emergency, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries.

STEEL

Region could lead global steel decarbonisation efforts

As the global steel industry considers switching to direct reduced iron (DRI) production, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is primed to start producing carbon-neutral steel, according to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis. 

“The Mena region can lead the world if it shifts promptly to renewables and applies green hydrogen in its steel sector,” says Soroush Basirat, the author of the report. 

“The region’s steel sector is dominated by direct reduced iron-electric arc furnace technology, which releases lower emissions than the … coal-fuelled blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace process used in 71 per cent of global crude steel production in 2021.” 

The Mena region produced just 3 per cent of global crude steel last  year, but accounted for nearly 46 per cent of the world’s DRI production. 

Basirat adds: “Mena has an established supply of DR-grade iron ore and its iron ore pelletising plants are among the world’s largest.”

SAUDI ARABIA

Riyadh announces government spending increase in 2022-24

Saudi Arabia has announced increases in government spending in 2022-24 of more than 18 per cent, which is close to SR175bn ($47bn) or 4 to 4.5 per cent of GDP. 

The rise in spending targets points to smaller fiscal surpluses in the coming years, according to Moody’s Investors Service. 

Increased spending could contribute to reducing the kingdom’s economic reliance on hydrocarbons, provided the spending is successfully deployed to advance government-sponsored diversification projects.

Saudi Arabia’s finances and ambition align

IRAQ

Prime minister-designate vows to act against corruption

Iraq’s prime minister-designate Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has pledged to take action against corruption after authorities announced that ID3.7tn ($2.5bn) had been embezzled from the General Tax Authority’s trust account held by a branch of Rafidain Bank. 

The Iraqi Integrity Commission has said it is opening an investigation into the theft 

On 13 October, Iraq’s parliament elected Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s new president. He then tasked Al-Sudani with forming a new government to end a year of political gridlock. 

Al-Sudani faces a challenge in the coming weeks as he attempts to appoint a new cabinet of ministers. Members of the Iraqi political bloc led by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have said that they will not join the new government.

YEMEN

Houthi rebels attack oil terminal in southern Yemen

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for an attack on a cargo ship at an oil terminal in the south of the country on 21 October. The group said the attack by explosives-laden drones was meant to prevent pro-government forces from using the Al-Dhabba terminal for oil exports. 

The incident occurred in Ash-Shihr in the Hadramawt governorate, and targeted the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Nissos Kea. The Greek owners of the tanker said it was undamaged. 

The internationally recognised government of Yemen said that its forces had intercepted armed drones launched against the Al-Dhabba oil terminal. 

UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, called the attack a “deeply worrying military escalation”. The Yemeni government sent a letter to the UN Security Council regarding the “threat to disrupt international maritime navigation and target ships and oil infrastructures”. 

The attack was the first military action announced by the Houthis since a truce between Yemen’s warring sides expired on 2 October.

LEBANON-ISRAEL

Lebanon and Israel reach maritime border deal

Lebanon and Israel have forged a deal to end a long-running maritime border dispute in the gas-rich Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon’s deputy speaker Elias Bou Saab said that an agreement had been reached that satisfies both sides. 

It is hoped that the new deal will resolve the two countries’ dispute over a swathe of territory in the Mediterranean Sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas, and near waters where Israel has already found commercially viable quantities of hydrocarbons. Read more

GCC

Region faces green hydrogen production challenges

GCC governments including Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are developing zero-carbon green hydrogen and low-carbon blue hydrogen schemes. However, achieving large-scale production, especially of green hydrogen, will be challenging in the coming years, according to Moody’s Investors Service. 

While both green and blue hydrogen will play a role in reducing the global carbon footprint, only green hydrogen has the potential to reduce the reliance of GCC countries on hydrocarbons, but this will take several years, Moody’s says. 

In the short to medium term, GCC countries’ access to cheap domestic natural gas, their carbon capture and storage expertise, and the limited availability of infrastructure make blue hydrogen production a more viable option than the more expensive and challenging production of green hydrogen.

Region to be third-largest hydrogen source by 2050
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10112593/main.gif
MEED Editorial

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Ora Developers adds land bank to its Bayn masterplan

    17 April 2026

    Egyptian firm Ora Developers has signed a land acquisition agreement with Abu Dhabi-based developer Modon Holding to acquire an additional 4.8 million square metres (sq m) of land in the Ghantoot area between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

    Ora Developers said that the land acquisition will increase the existing Bayn masterplan from 4.8 million sq m to 9.6 million sq m.

    The firm added that the total investment in the masterplan upon completion is expected to reach AED30bn ($8bn).

    In January, Ora Developers appointed six engineering consultancies to lead the development of the first phase of its Bayn residential community project.

    The developer appointed UK-based firm Mace to lead the overall project management.

    Canadian firm WSP will serve as the masterplan, infrastructure, landscape and water bodies design consultant, as reported by MEED in May last year.

    Another US firm, Aecom, will provide construction supervision services.

    Hong Kong’s 10 Design is the project’s architectural concept design consultant.

    Local firm Dewan Architects & Engineers is the project’s design consultant and architect of record.

    The UK’s Currie & Brown is the cost consultant.

    The first phase will offer 805 villas and townhouses, and the project is expected to be completed in 2028.

    The project will also include a neighbourhood park, sports facilities, a water park, a five-star hotel and a shopping mall.

    In December last year, Abu Dhabi government-owned contractor NMDC Group won a AED142m ($39m) contract from Ora Developers.

    The contract scope covers the execution of enabling works on the Bayn masterplan.

    The main construction works on the project's first phase are expected to begin in the second quarter of this year.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16439214/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • SAR extends deadline for Riyadh section of Saudi Landbridge

    16 April 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has set a deadline of 29 April for a design-and-build contract for the construction of a new railway line, the Riyadh Rail Link, which will run from north to south Riyadh.

    The tender was issued on 29 January. The previous bid submission deadline was 29 March.

    The scope of work includes constructing a 35-kilometre-long double-track railway line connecting SAR’s North-South railway to the Eastern railway network.

    The contract also covers the procurement, construction and installation of associated infrastructure such as viaducts, civil works, utility installations, signalling systems and other related works.

    The project is expected to form a key component of the Saudi Landbridge railway.

    In January, SAR said it will deliver the Saudi Landbridge project through a “new mechanism” by 2034, after failing to reach an agreement with a Chinese consortium for the construction of the project, as MEED reported.

    In an interview with local media, SAR CEO Bashar Bin Khalid Al-Malik said the consortium failed to meet local content requirements and that the project will now be delivered in several phases under a different procurement model.

    The project has been under negotiation between Saudi Arabia and China-backed investors keen to develop it through a public-private partnership.

    Al-Malik said that the project cost is about SR100bn ($26.6bn).

    It comprises more than 1,500 kilometres (km) of new track. The core component is a 900km new railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, which will provide direct freight access to the capital from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

    Other key sections include upgrading the existing Riyadh-Dammam line, a bypass around the capital called the Riyadh Link, and a link between King Abdullah Port and Yanbu.

    The Saudi Landbridge is one of the kingdom’s most anticipated project programmes. Plans to develop it were first announced in 2004, but put on hold in 2010 before being revived a year later. Key stumbling blocks were rights-of-way issues, route alignment and its high cost.

    MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
    > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
    > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
    > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
    > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
    > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
    > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
    > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16418597/main.gif
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Public Investment Fund backs Neom

    16 April 2026

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has backed Neom by including it as one of six strategic ecosystems in its newly approved 2026-30 strategy.

    The future of the $500bn gigaproject had been thrown into doubt following the postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games at the Trojena mountain resort, the cancellation of construction contracts – such as the $5bn deal with Italian contractor Webuild for dam works at Trojena – and the slowdown of development at The Line, where tunnelling contracts were cancelled and staff left the project.

    The backing comes as Neom’s operational focus appears to be evolving in response to shifting regional dynamics and global economic conditions. For example, on 15 April Neom posted on its official X account about a new Europe-Egypt-Neom-GCC corridor, describing it as a faster route for time-sensitive goods. It said the corridor combines trucking and ferry services to move goods quickly into the Gulf, adding that importers from several European markets are already using it to reach the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and beyond.

    Powered by Pan Marine, DFDS and regional RoPax services, the initiative is positioned as a way to add flexibility and resilience to regional supply chains. This emphasis on logistics and immediate trade utility suggests a shift away from the more speculative architectural announcements that characterised Neom’s early years, towards activity more directly tied to current market realities.

    PIF’s broader 2026-30 strategy places heavy emphasis on “delivering competitive domestic ecosystems to connect sectors, unlock the full potential of strategic assets, maximise long-term returns and continue to drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia”.

    The inclusion of Neom as a standalone ecosystem within the Vision Portfolio suggests that while the project remains part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals, it will be subject to the fund's focus on working with the private sector.

    That means the long-term success of Neom will increasingly depend on its ability to attract external investment and function as a viable economic hub rather than just a state-funded construction site.

    MEED’s April 2026 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

    > COMMENT: Risk accelerates Saudi spending shift
    > GVT &: ECONOMY: Riyadh navigates a changed landscape
    > BANKING: Testing times for Saudi banks
    > UPSTREAM: Offshore oil and gas projects to dominate Aramco capex in 2026
    > DOWNSTREAM: Saudi downstream projects market enters lean period
    > POWER: Wind power gathers pace in Saudi Arabia
    > WATER: Sharakat plan signals next phase of Saudi water expansion
    > CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction enters a period of strategic readjustment
    > TRANSPORT: Rail expansion powers Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure push

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16417262/main.jpeg
    Colin Foreman
  • Kuwait gas project worth $3.3bn put on hold

    16 April 2026

     

    State-owned Kuwait Gulf Oil Company’s (KGOC’s) planned tender for the development of an onshore gas plant next to the Al-Zour refinery has been put on hold due to uncertainty created by the US and Israel’s war with Iran, according to industry sources.

    The project budget is estimated to be $3.3bn, and the last meeting with contractors to discuss the project took place in Kuwait on 10 February.

    Previously, it was expected to be tendered in late March, but the tendering process was delayed due to the regional conflict and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

    One source said: “This tender is now effectively on hold while KGOC waits for increased stability in the region before it invites companies to bid for the contract.”

    Under current plans, the plant will have the capacity to process up to 632 million cubic feet a day of gas and 88.9 million barrels a day of condensates from the Dorra offshore field, located in Gulf waters in the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone.

    Ownership of the field is disputed by Iran, which refers to the field as Arash.

    Iran claims the field partially extends into Iranian territory and asserts that Tehran should be a stakeholder in its development.

    It is believed that the Dorra field’s close proximity to Iran will make development difficult due to the current security environment.

    The offshore elements of the project are expected to be especially difficult to protect from attacks from Iran.

    In July last year, MEED reported that KGOC had initiated the project by launching an early engagement process with contractors for the main engineering, procurement and construction tender.

    France-based Technip Energies completed the contract for the front-end engineering and design.

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

    Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16413221/main.png
    Wil Crisp
  • Iraq pushes to revive oil pipeline through Saudi Arabia

    16 April 2026

    Iraq is pushing to revive an oil pipeline that passes through Saudi Arabia, allowing it to diversify export routes.

    Saheb Bazoun, a spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry, said the pipeline would help to insulate Iraq from any future blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since 28 February.

    The original pipeline through Saudi Arabia has not been used for more than 30 years and would need work to be done in order to bring it online.

    It is 1,568km long, extending from the city of Zubair in Iraq to the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.

    The pipeline was built in two phases during the 1980s. The first phase stretches between Zubair and Khurais, while the second extends to Yanbu. The pipeline’s operating capacity reached over 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d).

    Following the Gulf War, the pipeline was shut down in August 1990. It has remained out of operation for decades, despite Iraq’s several attempts to restart it.

    The original pipeline project cost over $2.6bn, including storage tanks and loading terminals.

    In the wake of the US and Israel attacking Iran on 28 February, global markets have lost 11 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil supply due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

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

    Economic shock threatens long-term outlook; Riyadh adjusts to fiscal and geopolitical risk; GCC contractor ranking reflects gigaprojects slowdown.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the April 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GCC CONTRACTOR RANKING: Construction guard undergoes a shift
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16413290/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp