meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Qatari contractor wins Saudi gigaproject work

10 July 2023

Elegancia Arabia Trading Company, a subsidiary of Qatar-based Estithmar Holding, has been awarded two new contracts for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works for two resorts on Shurayrah Island at the Red Sea Project in Saudi Arabia.

The contract covers MEP works for the West Hotel 3 and West Hotel 4, each with 200 keys. The award comes on top of the contract signed in April this year for MEP works for three other resorts on Shurayrah Island. These include the Prestigious Central Hotel (430 keys), East Hotel 3 and East Hotel 4 (180 keys each).

The Red Sea Project includes constructing 11 hotels and resorts on the 88,269-square-metre Shurayrah Island and developing other coastal and inland hotel assets.

UK-based architectural firm Foster + Partners created the concept for the island, which was initially known as Coral Bloom. The island is being relandscaped to create a succession of lagoons and beaches.

The Red Sea Project is being developed by Red Sea Global, the company resulting from the merger of The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) and Amaala. It is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10994991/main.jpg
Yasir Iqbal

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Adnoc prepares tender for next Upper Zakum field expansion

    23 June 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Adnoc Offshore is preparing to start the tendering process for the next expansion phase of the Upper Zakum field development in Abu Dhabi, the objective of which is to increase the asset’s oil production potential to 1.5 million barrels a day (b/d).

    MEED reported in November that the offshore oil and gas production business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore) had awarded a contract for pre-front-end engineering and design (pre-feed) and feed services on the project to France-headquartered contractor Technip Energies.

    A kick-off meeting between Adnoc Offshore and Technip Energies took place on 21 November, it was previously reported.

    Pre-feed and feed works on the project, which is known as UZ 1.5MMBD, are in an advanced stage, according to sources. “Adnoc Offshore could be expected to issue the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender as early as July,” one source said.

    Located 84 kilometres offshore in Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum is the world’s second-largest offshore oil field and fourth-largest oil field.

    The UZ 1.5MMBD project is the latest crude output expansion project that Adnoc Offshore has undertaken at the Upper Zakum field development.

    Upper Zakum expansion

    The first phase of the programme to raise the Upper Zakum offshore field development’s oil production capacity to 1.2 million b/d was launched in 2019. The initial goal was to increase the field’s output potential to 1 million b/d by 2024, which was later increased to 1.2 million b/d, with the project execution timeline eventually extended.

    In April last year, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had awarded the main EPC contract for the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1 project to UAE-based Target Engineering Construction Company. The value of the contract was estimated to be $825m.

    The project’s main scope involves the EPC of several surface facilities and plants at the Upper Zakum offshore development’s four main artificial islands: Al-Ghallan, Umm Al-Anbar, Ettouk and Asseifiya – also known as Central Island, West Island, North Island and South Island, respectively.

    Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas won the contract for the feed works on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1 project in 2019. UK-headquartered Wood Group was appointed as the project management consultant for the EPC phase.

    In November, MEED reported that Adnoc Offshore had also selected Target for the second phase of the Upper Zakum 1.2 million b/d project (UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2). The value of the contract was estimated to be about $500m, according to sources.

    Target began work on the project in December, MEED previously reported.

    The scope of work on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2 project covers the EPC of several structures on Assefiya Island.

    Adnoc Offshore performed the feed work on the UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2 project in-house.

    Upper Zakum oil production

    Adnoc Offshore has committed to a total capital expenditure budget of approximately $30bn, along with its operating partners in the Upper Zakum hydrocarbons concession, Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco) and US-based ExxonMobil. 

    The strategic objective is to first raise the asset’s oil output from 640,000 b/d to 750,000 b/d through the UZ 750 project, then to 1.2 million b/d through the two phases of the ongoing UZ 1.2MMBD project, and eventually to 1.5 million b/d.

    Zakum Development Company (Zadco), which later merged into Adnoc Offshore, awarded EPC contracts for the UZ 750 project in 2012 and early 2013.

    The $817m first package was awarded to a consortium of Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy (then known as National Petroleum Construction Company) and Technip Energies. Package two, the project’s largest EPC package, worth $3.7bn, was awarded to a consortium of UK-headquartered Petrofac and South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Engineering.

    EPC work on UZ 750 began in 2014 and was completed in 2022.

    In October 2022, Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Drilling set a world record for drilling the longest oil and gas well at the Upper Zakum concession, stretching 50,000 feet.

    The extended-reach wells will tap into an undeveloped part of the Upper Zakum reservoir, potentially increasing the field’s production capacity by 15,000 b/d without expanding or building any new infrastructure, Adnoc said.

    ALSO READ: Adnoc signs $60bn of agreements with US companies

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14115851/main5852.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Beltone Leasing secures $20m funding from German investor

    23 June 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Beltone Leasing & Factoring has signed a $20m funding agreement with Germany-based Finance in Motion to expand lending to small businesses and support green finance initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

    The funding is evenly split between two investment vehicles: $10m from the Sanad Fund for micro, small and medium enterprises, and $10m from the Green for Growth Fund. Both facilities have a tenor of five years.

    Beltone said the funding will be used to provide finance for underserved businesses and low-income households, and to support renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable resource projects.

    In 2021, the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority introduced mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) and climate-related financial disclosures for listed companies and non-bank financial institutions. The first reporting cycle began in 2023. The agreement comes as financial institutions in the region face growing pressure to meet environmental and social targets while expanding credit to the private sector.

    Beltone Leasing & Factoring is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beltone Holding. The company offers financing solutions including leasing and factoring products to corporate and SME clients.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14115758/main5331.jpg
    Sarah Rizvi
  • Riyadh sets September deadline for Line 7 metro bids

    20 June 2025

     

    The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) has extended the tender closing date for the contract to design-and-build Riyadh Metro’s Line 7 to September.

    The original closing date given to consortiums was in June.

    The project involves constructing a metro line linking the Qiddiya entertainment city development, King Abdullah International Gardens, King Salman Park, Misk City and Diriyah Gate. The total length of the line will be about 65 kilometres (km), of which 47km will be underground and 19km will be elevated.

    The line will have 19 stations, 14 of which will be built underground and five overground.

    In March, MEED exclusively reported that several of the consortiums that were planning to bid for the contract to deliver Riyadh Metro's Line 7 had changed, as some civil contractors had decided not to participate in the tender.

    According to sources close to the project at the time, the consortiums planning to bid for the contract included:

    • Alstom (France) / FCC (Spain) / Freysinnet Contracting (local) / WeBuild (Italy) / Nesma (local) 
    • Siemens (Germany) / Samsung C&T (South Korea) / Alayuni (local)
    • Hitachi Rail (Japan) / OHLA (Spain) / Almabani (local) / Albawani (local)
    • CRRC (China) / Mapa (Turkiye) / Limak (Turkiye)

    Spanish consulting firms Typsa and Ayesa, along with US-based Aecom, are the design consultants for the Alstom-led consortium.

    Spain-headquartered Idom, South Korea’s Dowha and Switzerland’s Pini are the designers for the Siemens-led team.

    Spanish engineering firm Sener is the design consultant for the Hitachi Rail-led group.

    The consultants working on the scheme are France’s Egis and Lebanon-based Dar Al-Handasah, according to regional project tracker MEED Projects.

    In June 2020, a joint venture led by French consultancy Systra won the preliminary design contract for the second phase of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Metro.

    Riyadh Metro’s first phase features six lines with 84 stations. The RCRC completed the phased roll-out of the Riyadh Metro network when it started operating the Orange Line in January this year.

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14106276/main5517.png
    Colin Foreman
  • Adnoc seeks prices for Shah gas plant expansion project

    20 June 2025

     

    Adnoc Sour Gas has called on contractors to prepare commercial bids for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on a project to expand the Shah gas plant in Abu Dhabi.

    The project supports the goal of Adnoc Sour Gas, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), to increase the sour gas processing capacity of the Shah gas plant to 1.85 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d).

    Adnoc Sour Gas has requested that contractors submit commercial bids for the plant expansion project by 10 July, according to sources.

    MEED previously reported that contractors submitted technical bids for the project by 13 May.

    The following contractors, among others, are understood to have submitted bids for the project:

    • China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company
    • Petrofac (UK)
    • Saipem (Italy) / Samsung E&A (South Korea)
    • Tecnimont (Italy)

    Adnoc Sour Gas is understood to have issued the main EPC tender for the Shah gas plant expansion project in December.

    The company initially planned to execute the project using a feed-to-EPC model. This process requires the operator to shortlist contractors for the project’s front-end engineering and design (feed) work, with the firm that submits the best feed proposal being awarded the contract for the EPC works.

    Contractors expressed interest in participating in the feed-to-EPC competition for the Shah gas plant scheme in September 2023.

    Adnoc Sour Gas subsequently cancelled the feed-to-EPC competition model for the expansion project and later opted for the conventional project execution model, according to sources. A fresh feed tender for the project was issued “during the last quarter” of 2023, sources said at the time.

    MEED previously reported that UK-headquartered Wood Group won the project’s feed work contract in January 2024.

    Shah gas plant expansion

    The Shah gas plant, located 210 kilometres southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi, came online in 2015 with a processing capacity of 1.28 billion cf/d.

    The facility draws associated gas produced from the onshore Shah oil field, which has an output capacity of 70,000 barrels a day. In January, Adnoc announced that the Shah field had achieved a carbon intensity of 0.1 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent.

    The field reached this milestone through optimised field development and the deployment of digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies to maximise efficiencies and minimise emissions. The field also benefits from Adnoc’s electrification of its onshore assets, which are powered by nuclear and solar energy sources.

    To increase the Shah gas plant’s output to a potential 1.45 billion cf/d, Adnoc Sour Gas undertook the Optimum Shah Gas Expansion (OGSE) project in 2021. Italian contractor Saipem was awarded a $510m contract in June of that year to execute EPC works on the project. The OGSE project is now in the commissioning stage.

    Adnoc Sour Gas expects to raise the asset’s production potential to 1.85 billion cf/d through the Shah gas plant expansion project.

    Shah gas plant CO2 recovery

    Last year, Adnoc Sour Gas undertook a project to capture and transport carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the facility’s operations.

    The project aimed to recover, dehydrate, compress and transport CO2 from the Shah gas plant’s operations to the Bab onshore oil field for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

    However, Adnoc Sour Gas suspended the Shah gas plant CO2 recovery project, with sources expecting it could be revived this year.

    The Shah gas plant CO2 recovery project is expected to deliver up to 1.37 billion cf/d of CO2 with a 95.5 mole percentage. The CO2 recovery facilities are to be designed for a target availability of 95%, with less than 400 parts per million by volume hydrogen sulphide and less than 20 pounds of water per million cubic feet a day.

    The recovered CO2 will be supplied through an approximately 125-kilometre pipeline to the Bab field for re-injection into the wells at 210-barg pressure for EOR purposes.

    Adnoc Sour Gas has stipulated the use of Shell’s Cansolv CO2 capture licensed technology by the EPC contractor for the project.

    Adnoc Sour Gas production

    Adnoc Sour Gas, in which Adnoc Group holds the majority 60% stake and US energy company Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) holds the other 40%, currently produces 1.28 billion cf/d of gas and 4.2 million tonnes a year of sulphur from the Shah onshore sour gas field.

    The Shah gas production complex in Abu Dhabi is understood to be the world’s largest ultra-sour gas facility. It includes gas processing units and a sulphur granulation plant that features four of the largest sulphur recovery units in the world.

    Adnoc Sour Gas processes more than 1 billion cf/d of ultra-sour gas, with a hydrogen sulphide content of more than 23%, from a single, integrated field-gas plant development. The company accounts for about 5% of global production.

    About 17,000 tonnes of granulated sulphur produced by Adnoc Sour Gas from the Shah and Habshan fields are transported by Etihad Rail to Adnoc’s Ruwais terminal a day. From there, it is exported to markets worldwide for use in fertiliser manufacturing.

    Adnoc Sour Gas also produces condensates, ethane and natural gas liquids. All products, except sulphur, are delivered to Adnoc Group companies for further processing or distribution to domestic consumers.

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14105875/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Aramco seeks to appoint consultant for carbon capture project

    20 June 2025

    Saudi Aramco has issued a tender for project management consultancy (PMC) services related to the first phase of its Accelerated Carbon Capture and Sequestration (ACCS) project. The objective of the project is to develop a large-scale CCS hub in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province that will have the capacity to store and sequester up to 9 million metric tonnes a year (t/y) of carbon dioxide (CO2).

    Aramco has set a deadline of 30 June for firms to submit bids for the PMC tender, sources told MEED.

    The project management consultant that is appointed will oversee engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the first phase of the ACCS project, according to sources.

    MEED reported in February that Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH), a subsidiary of India’s Larsen & Toubro Group, had been picked by Aramco to perform EPC work on the project. The value of the project’s main EPC contract is estimated to be about $1.5bn, sources said.

    Following this, Al-Khobar-based contractor Denys Arabia won a contract for the EPC scope of work on the main pipeline network.

    Separately, Saudi Steel Pipe Company announced that its subsidiary, Global Pipe Company, had won an order from Aramco for the supply of longitudinal submerged arc welding pipes for the ACCS project’s first phase. The value of the contract is SR910m ($243m) and its duration is 15 months, Saudi Steel Pipe Company said in a filing with the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on 10 February.

    Aramco signed a shareholders’ agreement in December with Germany-headquartered Linde and US-based oil field services provider SLB for the first phase of the ACCS project.

    Under the agreement, Aramco took control of a 60% equity interest in the planned CCS hub in Jubail, with Linde and SLB taking 20% stakes each. In early 2023, MEED reported that Aramco had brought on board SLB (formerly Schlumberger), and Linde, the world’s largest industrial gas producer, as partners for phase one of the ACCS.

    Construction of the planned CCS hub in Jubail is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. “Later phases are expected to further expand its capacity,” Aramco said in December.

    UK-headquartered Wood Group has performed the front-end engineering and design works on the first phase of the ACCS scheme, MEED previously reported.

    Japan’s Mizuho is understood to be the financial advisor for the ACCS scheme.

    Aramco ACCS objectives

    The objective of the ACCS scheme, which is expected to have nine phases in total, is to capture CO2 from Aramco’s northern gas plants of Wasit, Fadhili and Khursaniyah, as well as from the operations of its subsidiary Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and from Saudi industrial gases provider Air Products Qudra.

    The ACCS project’s first phase is expected to have a capacity of about 9 million t/y, with the collection pipeline system designed to support a future expansion of the scheme.

    The main facility that will be built in Jubail as part of the first phase of the ACCS will capture streams from the acid gas enrichment units of the Wasit, Fadhili and Khursaniyah plants. The CO2 will be compressed, dried and fed into the collection pipeline system.

    The network will also absorb additional CO2 volumes from Sabic and Air Products Qudra after the initial compression and drying of the CO2 discharge at their respective facilities.

    The combined gaseous CO2 stream will then be compressed at the centralised compression facility, located at Fadhili, into dense-phase CO2 and sent into the main pipeline for sequestration.

    The main pipeline network will transport the CO2 about 240 kilometres away for injection into the Jaham-Duhul-Maqlah saline aquifer.

    The scope of work on the ACCS project‘s first phase finishes at the injection well control skids. Injection wells and other associated units are outside the scope of the ACCS project, Aramco said in the solicitation of interest document that was released in January 2023.

    Aramco sustainability measures

    Aramco is making its core operations more environmentally friendly to meet its target of attaining net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and in line with Saudi Arabia’s net-zero emissions by 2060 target.

    “The [ACCS] project will support the company’s ambition to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets by 2050,” Aramco said in its December statement.

    Unlike its international counterparts, Aramco does not face significant pressure from climate activists and investors to slash CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions and ramp up efforts to tackle climate change.

    However, as the main engine of Saudi Arabia’s economy, Aramco is crucial in helping the kingdom to achieve its environmental commitments.

    READ THE JUNE 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Gulf accelerates AI and data centre strategy; Baghdad keeps up project spending, but fiscal clouds gather; Banking stocks rise despite lower global oil prices

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index leaps 4.3%
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14104979/main5846.jpg
    Indrajit Sen