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  Qiddiya seeks contractors for indoor arena project

  22 June 2026

  

   

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  Saudi Arabian gigaproject developer Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has invited contractors to prequalify for a contract to build an indoor sports arena within its Qiddiya entertainment city project.

  The invitation was issued on 21 May, with a submission deadline of 28 June.

  The multipurpose arena is designed to International Olympic Committee standards.

  It will be located in District 18, in the Uptown South area of Qiddiya.

  Once completed, the indoor arena will be capable of hosting a wide range of sports, cultural and entertainment events.

  The arena will feature numerous sports courts for basketball, handball, futsal, volleyball, tennis, boxing and gymnastics.

  It will have a seating capacity of 18,000 spectators.

  The project is scheduled for completion by 2030.

  QIC’s other major projects include an e-sports arena, the National Tennis Centre, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a motorsports track, a racecourse, the Dragon Ball and Six Flags theme parks, and Aquarabia.

  QIC opened the Six Flags theme park to the public in December last year.

  The park covers 320,000 square metres and features 28 rides and attractions, including 10 thrill rides and 18 aimed at families and young children.

  The Qiddiya project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom.

  

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  Yasir Iqbal
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  Egypt signs gas deal with Harbour Energy

  22 June 2026

  Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources has signed a new agreement with London-headquartered Harbour Energy.

  Under the scope of the agreement, Harbour Energy will drill two new exploration wells and carry out maintenance work for one of the existing wells within the Dsouq-1 development contract.

  Harbour Energy committed an initial $6m investment and a $1m signing bonus for the Dsouq concession. Total investment could rise to $18m if commercial discoveries are made.

  The signing was witnessed by Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum, Karim Badawi.

  He said that his ministry is continuing to implement a package of investment measures and incentives aimed at encouraging partners to increase investments and intensify exploration, development and production activities.

  The agreement was signed by Syed Saleem, a member of the executive branch of the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), and Samah Sabry, the executive director of Harbour Energy for the Middle East and North Africa region.

  Harbour Energy drilled two new wells in Egypt during the fiscal year 2025/2026, resulting in the addition of reserves estimated at 35 billion cubic feet of gas.

  The company aims to drill three new exploration wells during the fiscal year 2026/2027.

  Egypt is currently pushing to boost the production of both oil and gas in its territory.

  Earlier this month, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources announced that it had fully settled all outstanding arrears owed to oil and gas companies.

  Two years ago, in June 2024, the country owed approximately $6.1bn to partners in the oil and gas sector.

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

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

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

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Wil Crisp
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  EtihadWE tenders water storage and pipeline project

  22 June 2026

  Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE) has invited bids for the construction of a 4-million-imperial-gallon reinforced cement concrete water tank in Madam, Sharjah.

  The scope also includes a DN1000 ductile iron transmission pipeline in Fujairah.

  Madam is located in eastern Sharjah, close to the Fujairah border and within EtihadWE’s Northern Emirates water network.

  MEED understands that the DN1000 transmission pipeline will serve the proposed 4-million-imperial-gallon water tank

  The bid submission deadline is 29 June. Technical proposals will be opened on the same date.

  EtihadWE said the tender is open to experienced and prequalified engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors registered on its vendor list and holding a valid prequalification certificate.

  The utility previously completed a separate water transmission project involving a DN1000 pipeline from the Ghayl New Water Distribution Centre in Ras Al-Khaimah to Madam.

  The local Dhafir Technologies was the EPC contractor.

  The project attracted 16 bids for the main contract during procurement. Among the bidders were Darwish Engineering Emirates (UAE), Green Oasis General Contracting Company (UAE), Lindenberg (UAE), Tamas Projects (UAE), Tecton (UAE) and Wade Adams (UAE).

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  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Aramco issues tender for gas pipeline at Ras Tanura refinery

  19 June 2026

  

   

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  Contractors are preparing bids for a Saudi Aramco tender involving the replacement of a pipeline that is part of the Gas Line Abqaiq – Ras Tanura (GART) transmission network.

  The GART grid transports associated gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Abqaiq oil processing complex as feedstock, northwards to the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

  The aim of the project is to replace the GART-22 pipeline that connects the Juaymah export terminal on the Gulf coast in the Eastern Province to the Ras Tanura refinery, to ensure reliable fuel gas supply and meet ongoing demand.

  The basic scope of work on the project is to install a new, 24-inch pipeline system that will replace the GART-22 line and the abandoned GART-24 line. It will cover a distance of 18 kilometres between Juaymah and the Ras Tanura terminal.

  The scope also includes the installation of associated scraper trap facilities (launcher and receiver), pressure control valves, motor-operated valves and gas detection and sampling systems.

  Aramco issued the tender for the project in May and has set a deadline of 30 June for contractors to submit proposals.

  The following contractors, among others, are understood to be bidding for the project:

  • ACE Pipeline Arabia
  • Combined Group Contracting Company
  • Gas Arabian Services Company
  • Max Streicher Saudi Arabia
  • National Basics Company
  • Saad Ali Alessa Group
  • Sicim
  • Sinopec Engineering Group Saudi
  • Tecton Engineering & Construction

  Ras Tanura refinery complex

  The Ras Tanura refinery is the oldest, and one of the largest, crude oil refineries in Saudi Arabia. The complex has a refining capacity of 550,000 barrels a day (b/d).

  The facility also has a 305,000 b/d NGL processing facility, a 960,000 b/d crude stabilisation facility, combined steam and gas turbine electrical power generation plants with a summer capacity of 145MW and a winter capacity of 158MW, and a combined 150-pound and 600-pound steam capacity of 6,217 million pounds an hour.

  It has 75 crude oil and products storage tanks with a combined capacity of 5.8 million barrels.

  The Ras Tanura refinery’s major facilities include a 325,000 b/d crude distillation unit, a 225,000 b/d gas condensate distillation unit, a 50,000 b/d hydrocracker and 107,000 b/d of catalytic reforming capacity.

  The facility is Aramco’s only refinery to contain a Visbreaker processing unit, which has a 60,000 b/d capacity.

  The Visbreaker reduces the quantity of residual oil produced in the distillation of crude oil and increases the yield of more valuable middle distillates, heating oil and diesel.

  The refinery complex also produces 17,000 b/d of asphalt, more than any other refinery in Saudi Arabia.

  Ras Tanura receives crude feedstock from the Abqaiq, Safaniya and Manifa oil field developments.

  Crude is typically transferred to Ras Tanura through a pipeline and can also be supplied by ship.

  Most of Ras Tanura’s production is transferred to the Dhahran bulk plant for domestic use, while some products are exported from the nearby Ras Tanura shipping terminal.

  ---

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

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

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

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17332850/main.JPG

  Indrajit Sen
• 
  Bahrain opens bids for 1.2GW Sitra IWPP

  19 June 2026

  Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

  Two developers have submitted bids for the 1.2GW Sitra independent water and power plant (IWPP), according to details published by Bahrain’s Tender Board.

  The offers were made by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and Saudi Arabia's Acwa. The technical element of the bid was opened on 18 June.

  The Sitra IWPP is a combined-cycle gas turbine plant and is expected to have a generation capacity of about 1,200MW of electricity. The project’s seawater reverse osmosis desalination facility will have a production capacity of 30 million imperial gallons a day. 

  The build, own and operate project is being procured by Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) under a public-private partnership framework for 20-25 years.

  According to a source, "evaluation will be done on technical bids and put up to a tender board for approval".

  Financials will be opened only after the technical element has been approved.

  Other major IWPP projects in the region have also recorded relatively low bidder particpation in recent weeks, reflecting the level of investment required for such projects.

  Earlier this month, MEED reported that just two bids had been received for the first phase of Kuwait’s Al-Khairan IWPP project.

  Three consortiums and two individual companies had previously prequalified to participate in the tender.

  In 2024, Bahrian's EWA received statements of qualifications from nine firms interested in bidding for the Sitra IWPP. Seven international companies and consortiums were then prequalified to bid last year.

  Sitra grid works

  Meanwhile, firms are still awaiting awards for two separate contracts related to the establishment of new Sitra 400kV grid substations.

  The first contract involves transformer and reactor works for the establishment of the substations.

  Switzerland-headquartered Hitachi Energy submitted the lowest bid of BD17.8m ($47.1m). Germany’s Siemens Energy submitted an offer of BD23.9m ($63.2m).

  The second contract involves 400kV and 220kV feeder cable works for the same Sitra 400kV grid substations. Three South Korean companies previously bid for the contract.

  Bids for both contracts were opened in March.

  In September, Siemens Energy won a contract worth BD48.1m ($127m) to build a 400kV transmission substation in Sitra to provide the transmission link for the planned Sitra IWPP.

  ---

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

  GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

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

  > AGENDA: Gulf races to reroute trade > EXPORT ROUTES: Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity > CURRENT AFFAIRS: UAE’s Opec departure fulfils multiple ends > MARKET FOCUS: Iraq’s reform window narrows  > MEED TOP 100: Middle East stocks recover unevenly > OIL & GAS: Insurers will only cover a fraction of war damage to oil and gas facilities > LEADERSHIP: Building the infrastructure that makes net zero possible > LEGAL:  Saudi Arabia’s foreign property ownership milestone > TRADE DEAL: UK-GCC trade deal talks conclude

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17329853/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall