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  Bidders get more time for Jebel Ali sewage EPC contract

  29 April 2026

  

   

  Dubai Municipality has extended the deadline for contractors to submit bids for a contract covering the expansion of the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP) phases one and two.

  Contractors now have until June to submit offers, a source told MEED. Bidding had been expected to close on 30 April.

  The upgraded facility will be capable of treating an additional sewage flow of 100,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), with the expansion estimated to cost $300m.

  The scope includes the design, construction and commissioning of infrastructure and systems required to support the increased capacity.

  Located on a 670-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the original wastewater facility has a treatment capacity of about 675,000 cm/d following the completion of phase two in 2019, combining approximately 300,000 cm/d from phase one and 375,000 cm/d from phase two.

  The main element of the expansion involves modifications to the secondary treatment process at Jebel Ali STP phase two.

  UK-headquartered KPMG and UAE-based Tribe Infrastructure are serving as financial advisers on the project.

  Future expansion

  It is understood that the project is part of long-term plans to treat about 1.05 million cm/d once all future phases are completed.

  According to sources, this includes a Jebel Ali-based build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

  It is understood that the prequalification process for this will begin in the coming months.

  In February, MEED exclusively revealed that the municipality is preparing to tender the main construction package for the Warsan STP by the end of the year.

  As MEED understands, the Warsan STP had previously been planned as a PPP project.

  The main package will now be procured as an engineering, procurement and construction contract, a source said.

  The project involves the construction of a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of about 175,000 cm/d, including treatment units, sludge handling systems and associated infrastructure.

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  Mark Dowdall
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  Kuwait Oil Company prepares to sign flowline contract

  29 April 2026

  

   

  State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to sign a contract worth KD174.2m ($565m) with Kuwait-based Heavy Engineering Industries & Shipbuilding Company (Heisco), according to industry sources.

  The contract is focused on developing flowlines and associated works in North Kuwait.

  One source said: “The contract is expected to be signed soon and everything associated with the contract award process is moving very smoothly.”

  Heisco announced in a stock exchange statement earlier this month that it had received a formal contract award letter for the project.

  While progress on the project is moving smoothly for now, the project may be impacted by fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran in the future.

  The project requires a large volume of pipelines to be transported into Kuwait, which would normally be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

  Heisco was the fourth-lowest bidder for the contract.

  Also this month, Heisco submitted the lowest bid for a project to upgrade part of the Mina Abdullah refinery’s export infrastructure.

  It submitted a bid of KD11,919,652 ($38.6m) for the project to implement renovation works on the artificial island that forms part of the port at the refinery.

  The only other bidder was Kuwait’s International Marine Construction Company (IMCC), which submitted a bid of KD12,480,113 ($40.4m).

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  Wil Crisp
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  Algerian-Indian team makes oil and gas discovery in Libya

  29 April 2026

  A consortium of state-owned companies from India and Algeria has made an oil and gas discovery in Libya’s Ghadames basin.

  The consortium comprises Algeria’s Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration & Production (Sipex), Oil India and Indian Oil Corporation.

  The discovery was made in the Area 95/96 block, which is located near Libya’s border with Algeria.

  In a statement, India’s Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said that the well was completed to a final depth of 8,440 feet and achieved production of 13 million cubic feet of gas a day and 327 barrels of condensate a day during testing.

  The hydrocarbons were extracted from the Awynat Wanin and Awyn Kaza formations.

  The ministry added: “The discovery reflects the growing global footprints of Indian energy companies, importance of strategic international alliances, and our commitment to strengthening national energy security through overseas assets acquisition by national oil companies.”

  The consortium won the exploration and production rights for the block, which covers an area of nearly 7,000 square kilometres, during Libya’s fourth oil and gas licensing round in December 2007.

  Stakeholders are expecting a surge in oil and gas project activity in Libya after the country’s rival legislative bodies recently approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than 13 years.

  The Central Bank of Libya confirmed on 11 April that both chambers had endorsed the budget, saying that it was a key step towards restoring financial stability after prolonged division.

  The budget is valued at LD190bn ($29.95bn), and LD12bn ($1.9bn) has been allocated to the NOC.

  An additional LD40bn ($6.3bn) has been allocated for “development projects”.

  Libya has stated that a joint committee has been formed to help prioritise development projects, and the projects have been listed in the budget.

  The development comes at a time when Libya’s oil and gas sector could be positioned to make windfall revenues as oil and gas prices remain high due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

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  Wil Crisp
• 
  UAE to withdraw from Opec and Opec+ alliance

  28 April 2026

  The UAE has announced its decision to withdraw from Opec and the Opec+ alliance from 1 May.

  In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Energy said the move followed a “comprehensive review” of its production policy.

  “While near-term volatility, including disruptions in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, continues to affect supply dynamics, underlying trends point to sustained growth in global energy demand over the medium to long term,” the statement, issued on 28 April, said.

  “This decision follows decades of constructive cooperation. The UAE joined Opec in 1967 through the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and continued its membership following the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Throughout this period, the UAE has played an active role in supporting global oil market stability and strengthening dialogue among producing nations.”

  The announcement was timed to coincide with an Opec ministerial meeting in Vienna and was communicated through state news agency Wam.

  Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has set a target of raising production capacity to 5 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2027 – up from a current capacity of around 4.85 million b/d, though the country has been constrained to producing approximately 3.4 million b/d under Opec+ quota agreements.

  Membership of a quota-constrained group sits uneasily with that ambition. The non-oil economy now accounts for roughly 75% of the UAE’s GDP, reducing the political cost of rupture with the organisation.

  The Iran war wiped out 7.88 million b/d of Opec production in March, cutting group output 27% to 20.79 million b/d – the steepest supply collapse in the organisation’s recorded history, exceeding the Covid-19 demand shock of May 2020 and the disruptions of both the 1970s oil crisis and the 1991 Gulf War. Gulf producers have been struggling to route exports through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats and attacks on vessels, further straining the group’s cohesion.

  Against that backdrop, the UAE’s departure deals a significant blow to Opec and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, which has sought to project unity despite persistent internal disagreements over quotas and geopolitics.

  The US-Israeli war on Iran since late February has had a detrimental effect on a number of Gulf states, including the UAE.

  The UAE was targeted by thousands of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, damaging strategic oil and gas facilities, denting Dubai’s appeal as a luxury tourism hotspot and slowing oil exports to a trickle.

  Whereas some Gulf states have urged dialogue with Iran, the UAE has maintained a more hawkish position. Analysts say that position is partially due to its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports and the UAE’s unwillingness to see Iran cement itself as a regional power in the Gulf.

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  Indrajit Sen
• 
  NWC tenders package 14 of sewage treatment programme

  28 April 2026

  

   

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  Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) has tendered a contract for the construction of 10 sewage treatment plants as part of the next phase of its long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM) sewage treatment programme.

  According to the original scope, the Eastern A Cluster (LTOM14) package will have a total treatment capacity of 184,440 cubic metres a day (cm/d) at an estimated cost of $180m.

  The bid submission deadline is 30 September.

  The tender follows recent contract awards for North Western A Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 11 (LTOM11) and the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10).

  MEED exclusively reported that a consortium comprising China’s Jiangsu United Water Technology, the UAE’s Prosus Energy and Saudi Arabia’s Armada Holding had been appointed as a contractor for each of these projects.

  Package 11 will have a combined capacity of about 440,000 cm/d at an estimated cost of about SR211m ($56.3m).

  Package 12 will have a combined treatment capacity of 337,800 cm/d at an estimated cost of about SR203m ($54.1m).

  In April, NWC also opened finanical bids for North Western B Cluster (LTOM12) of its sewage treatment programme.

  The contract covers the construction and upgrade of seven sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 162,000 cm/d.

  MEED previously reported that the following companies had submitted proposals:

  • Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (Saudi Arabia)
  • Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia)
  • Miahona (Saudi Arabia)
  • Beijing Enterprises Water Group – BEWG (Hong Kong)
  • Al-Yamama (Saudi Arabia)

  These bids are currently under evaluaton, with an award expected in the coming weeks, a source said.

  The tender for the North Western C Cluster (LTOM13) project had been put on hold, although it is understood that this is now likely to be the next package to be tendered.

  Under the original scope, this package covers the construction of 10 sewage treatment plants.

  In total, the LTOM programme comprises 19 packages split into two phases. This contract for LTOM10 was the first to be awarded under the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.

  As MEED understands, there have been several discussions in recent months regarding changes in scope details and potential expansions. This involves potentially grouping some upcoming projects.

  NWC previously awarded $2.5bn-worth of contracts in the first phase. This comprises nine packages covering the treatment of 4.6 million cm/d of sewage water for the next 15 years. Phase two of the programme includes 10 packages covering 117 treatment plants.

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  Mark Dowdall