meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Saudi nuclear move has geopolitical significance

28 February 2023

Commentary

Jennifer Aguinaldo

Energy & technology editor

Saudi Arabia's Finance Ministry’s disclosure that it received bids late last year for the contract to build the kingdom's first nuclear power plant is major energy news with potential widespread geopolitical significance.

The bids came in weeks before Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud told a security conference in Munich that he could not rule out a regional nuclear arms race.

“If one state gets nuclear weapons, especially one that has expressed aggression towards its neighbours, I think everyone will start thinking about how to protect themselves,” Prince Faisal said in reference to Iran’s programme and the need for negotiations between Tehran and world powers to resume.

READ: Top nuclear projects to watch this year

Assuming the bids are for the large-scale nuclear power plant that Riyadh has been planning for since 2016, the list of companies that submitted a bid for the contract is tightly guarded.

Five companies were understood to have requested information on the project from King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (KA-Care) in 2017, including the US firm Westinghouse, France’s EDF and Russia’s Rosatom. South Korea’s Kepco and China National Nuclear Corporation also responded to the request for qualifications for the main contract. 

More recent, unconfirmed developments suggest that Westinghouse and possibly EDF may no longer be in the race, leaving three companies at the table.

Washington worried

Washington is wary of the contract being awarded to Chinese or Russian contractors. This would weaken or render irrelevant its 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.

According to an Energy Intelligence report, the stalemate centres around Washington’s demands for Saudi Arabia to make a commitment to the NCA not to pursue a domestic uranium enrichment or reprocessing programme. The US also wants the kingdom to sign and ratify the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol (IAEA AP), allowing nuclear inspectors fuller access to Saudi's nuclear programme.

The report alludes to the US supporting Kepco’s bid, not only to keep Riyadh away from its geopolitical adversaries but because it provides Washington with a final lever for pressuring Riyadh to accept its conditions for the 123 agreement and/or the IAEA protocol.

The topic was understood to be a key item on US President Joe Biden’s agenda during his trip to Riyadh in July, which yielded unclear results.

Crucially, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud announced in January last year that Saudi Arabia has uranium resources that it wants to exploit transparently through partnerships.

UAE role

Some say that the UAE – whose Barakah nuclear power plant was built by Kepco and which has signed a 123 agreement with the US – is backing the South Korean firm’s bid.

Tellingly in November, the US and UAE governments signed the $100bn Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (Pace) programme. Analysts say this could shift the two countries’ energy cooperation more towards nuclear energy, with the UAE aiming to position itself as an investor in regional and developing economies’ nuclear power.

Then in January, the UAE pledged to invest $30bn in South Korea’s nuclear power, defence, hydrogen and solar energy industries. They also announced plans to deepen their nuclear cooperation with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) signing a deal to “expand practical cooperation in the field of developing export markets for nuclear power plants in third countries and joint procurement of business finance”.

As industry insiders speculate on what will happen next, all eyes will be on Riyadh to see if it makes an official announcement to award the contract, which a Saudi-based expert says can only be made by the highest levels of the country’s leadership.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10635817/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

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

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractors compete for Riyadh airport Terminal 6 work

    2 November 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing bids for the main construction contract for Terminal 6 at King Salman International airport (KSIA) in Riyadh.

    MEED understands that the consortiums have been given until January to submit their proposals.

    The participating consortiums are:

    • Al-Gihaz Holding / TAV Construction / Webuild (local/Turkiye/Italy)
    • Modern Building Leaders / Powerchina / Metallurgical Corporation of China (loca/China/China)
    • UCC Holding / Consolidated Contractors Company (Qatar/Greece)

    Last month, MEED exclusively reported that contractor teams have completed the early contractor involvement phase of the project.

    Under the completed phase, the shortlisted teams submitted detailed construction methodologies and technical design proposals.

    King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC) is a subsidiary of Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund.

    Terminal 6 is planned to boost the airport’s annual capacity by 40 million passengers. KSIADC aims to complete the terminal ahead of Expo 2030 Riyadh.

    In May 2025, MEED reported that US-based Bechtel had been appointed as delivery partner for the passenger terminals at KSIA.

    UK-based Foster + Partners designed the masterplan, including the terminals, six parallel runways and a multi-asset real estate district.

    US-based engineering firm Jacobs is providing specialist consultancy services for the masterplan and runway design, while UK-headquartered Mace is acting as delivery partner for the broader development. Local firm Nera secured the airspace design consultancy contract.

    The KSIA project covers about 57 square kilometres (sq km) and incorporates the existing terminals at King Khalid International airport. The scheme will feature 12 sq km of airport support facilities, residential and recreational zones, retail assets and logistics parks.

    The development is targeted to handle up to 120 million passengers a year by 2030 and 185 million passengers by 2050, in addition to an annual cargo throughput of 3.5 million tonnes by 2050.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21087339/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Contractors prepare bids for Morocco power line

    2 November 2026

     

    Contractors are preparing bids for a 160-kilometre (km), 400kV transmission line linking Guercif and Fes East in Morocco, following a site visit on 1 October.

    The project is being developed by the Office National de l'Electricite et de l'Eau Potable (Onee) to connect the Saka solar photovoltaic power plant to the national electricity grid.

    According to sources, at least eight contractors attended the site visit last month, including:

    • Butec (Lebanon)
    • CEEC Northeast Electric No.2 (China)
    • Cegelec (France)
    • EPME Electric (Morocco)
    • Hideleco (Egypt)
    • Kec International (India)
    • PowerChina (China)
    • Transrail (India)

    The project comprises two lots. The first involves a 90km transmission line between Guercif and Taza, while the second covers a 70km section between Taza and Fes East.

    The scope of work includes the construction of tower foundations, installation of transmission supports and conductors, and associated high-voltage equipment. It also includes optical fibre cables for communications and monitoring, access roads and other supporting infrastructure.

    The tender was issued in September with bids originally due by 21 October. The deadline has now been extended to 25 November.

    The project is part of a wider programme by Onee to expand Morocco's electricity transmission network and accommodate additional renewable energy capacity.

    In June, the utility commissioned a 274km, 400kV transmission line linking Chemaia and Mediouna, near Casablanca.

    Onee plans to expand its high- and extra-high-voltage transmission network from more than 30,700km to 37,000km by 2030.

    In August, it approved a $26.4bn investment programme for the 2026-30 period, covering electricity and drinking water infrastructure.

    The programme has allocated about $21.9bn to electricity projects and $4.5bn to drinking water infrastructure, with about 72% of the investment to be financed by the private sector, according to Onee.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21083507/main1257.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Adnoc Onshore allows more time for Bab gas cap well tie-in bids

    2 November 2026

     

    The onshore business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Onshore) has allowed contractors more time to prepare proposals for a project to tie in gas-producing and injection wells at the gas cap reservoirs of Abu Dhabi’s onshore Bab field.

    The well tie-in scope, estimated to be worth more than $800m, forms part of Adnoc Group’s wider integrated Bab gas cap development programme.

    The overall programme is being led and overseen by Adnoc Gas, another Adnoc Group subsidiary. Its central element is the construction of gas-processing infrastructure to handle incremental gas output expected from developing the Bab gas caps.

    Adnoc Onshore issued the main tender for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the project in late September, MEED previously reported.

    Contractors have been given until 16 November to submit technical bids for the project, according to sources. The previous deadline was 29 October.

    MEED previously reported that Adnoc Onshore issued an expressions of interest (EoI) notice for the Bab gas production and injector well tie-in project on 13 May, with contractors submitting responses by 20 May.

    The scope of work on the project covers the following:

    • Tie-in of 99 new wells from Bab gas cap reservoirs KH-2, SH-1 and LK-1 (60 gas producers and 39 gas injectors);
    • Installation of well gathering structures: 10 gas pads, six well bays and three virtual pads;
    • Installation of a gas gathering network and a gas injection network;
    • Rerouting of the LK-3 production from the existing trunkline in Remote Manifold Station 3 (RMS-3) to the project’s production trunkline, Bab Gas TL-2;
    • Demolition of the existing 10-inch trunkline from RMS-3 to onshore gas development phase one.

    In the EoI document, Adnoc Onshore said it intends to award the EPC contract in the last quarter of the year, with a 45-month duration of works.

    Bab gas cap project infrastructure

    As part of its 2030 upstream production increase goals, Adnoc Group is working to extract gas from four underdeveloped gas cap reservoirs at the Bab onshore field development – Thammama A, Thammama B, Thammama F and Thammama H.

    While the Thammama A, B and H reservoirs are estimated to collectively produce 1.45 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas, output from the Thammama F gas cap is expected to be at a rate of 396 million cf/d.

    Existing trains at the Habshan processing complex in Abu Dhabi will be unable to handle the new gas volumes. Therefore, Adnoc Gas is required to build new facilities to process an additional volume of up to 1.85 billion cf/d of raw gas.

    Adnoc Gas is planning to build a gas processing plant in the Bab area, about 170 kilometres from Abu Dhabi, along with associated pipeline networks and other ancillary units, as part of the broader Bab gas cap development project. It has divided the EPC scope of work on the project into four packages:

    • EPC package 1 – Main Bab gas cap plant
    • EPC package 2 – Early civil works
    • EPC package 3 – Pipelines
    • EPC package 4 – Non-process area works

    Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed Adnoc Gas issued the tender for the main Bab gas cap plant on 25 June and set an initial deadline of 17 July for contractors to submit technical bids. The company then extended the technical bid submission deadline by four months, until 16 November, MEED previously reported.

    Following a reshuffle of the consortiums gearing up to bid for the main Bab gas plant EPC package, estimated to be worth more than $6bn, the following teams have formed to compete in the main contract tendering round:

    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India) + Petrofac Emirates (UAE)
    • Technip Energies (France) + JGC Corporation (Japan) + Sinopec (China)
    • Tecnimont (Italy) + China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC)

    The other three packages of the Bab gas cap project are also in the main contract tendering stages.

    Prior to issuing the EoIs for the project packages, Adnoc Gas completed an early engagement process with contractors in September and October last year, as MEED previously reported.

    In December last year, Adnoc Gas awarded the front-end engineering and design (feed) works for the development project  to Australia-based consultancy Worley. The feed contract has a duration of more than 1.2 million man-hours, making it the largest-ever engineering job awarded by Adnoc Gas.

    Bab Gas Cap concession

    In addition to Adnoc Gas overseeing the main EPC tendering exercise for the gas processing plant, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) awarded concession agreements in June for the development and production of the Bab gas cap reserve.

    Adnoc will hold the majority 60% participating interest in the concession. The remaining stakes will be held by France’s TotalEnergies (10%), the UK’s BP (10%), China National Petroleum Corporation International (8%), Japan Oil Development Company Onshore (5%), China ZhenHua Oil (4%) and Korea GS E&P (3%).

    According to the SCFEA, the Bab gas cap development and production concession represents the largest gas cap development project of its kind globally, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a report.

    A gas cap refers to the free natural gas that sits above an underlying oil reservoir – in this case, the Bab onshore oil field in Abu Dhabi.

    The project, operated by Adnoc Onshore, is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 1.5 billion cf/d of natural gas, equivalent to about 15% of Adnoc Gas’ total operational gas processing capacity.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21083343/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Gulf ministers insist Hormuz is still essential

    2 November 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Senior Gulf officials have rejected suggestions that new pipelines and rail links will allow the region to do without the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that the waterway will remain essential to the GCC and the global economy.

    Speaking at the Gateway Gulf investment forum in Manama on 1 November, GCC secretary-general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said keeping the strait open is the responsibility of the international community, not of any one country or group of partners. "We hear some voices that maybe we should seek alternatives to Hormuz," he said. "Fine, we will get the pipelines. We will get the GCC railway. But that doesn't mean Hormuz is nobody's business."

    Albudaiwi called for the strait to remain open in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

    Shipping through the strait has been severely restricted since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February and Iran retaliated with attacks on GCC states and commercial vessels.

    Bahrain's Finance & National Economy Minister, Sheikh Salman Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, said building redundancy makes sense, but treating the strait as dispensable does not. He said the waterway carries 30% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, 20% of aluminium exports and 30% of fertiliser exports. "Any thinking about the alternative of Hormuz, as in we won't need it, is illogical, because we will need it for the world economy," he said.

    UAE Economy & Tourism Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al-Marri said that "Hormuz matters, and Hormuz will keep mattering", adding that an economy dependent on a single trade route is exposed if that route closes.

    Sheikh Salman said the crisis has compressed years of GCC customs negotiations into weeks. During the conflict, containers cleared at Jeddah with final destinations in Bahrain or Kuwait moved on without further checks, and the same applied to cargo routed through Salalah and Fujairah, he said. GCC ministers have since agreed to make these emergency measures permanent.

    He also cited Gulf Air operating out of Saudi airports for more than 40 days without a written agreement, and a $5bn swap between the UAE and Bahraini central banks to stabilise currencies.

    Bin Touq said the bloc should use 2027 and 2028 to push through reforms, including removing remaining customs barriers between member states.

    Albudaiwi said GCC leaders meeting in Jeddah on 28 April had tasked the secretariat with advancing water connectivity, expanding the GCC electricity grid, planning new logistics infrastructure including ports, accelerating the GCC railway and enhancing oil and gas pipeline links.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21080732/main4958.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Bahrain’s Gateway Gulf brings $20bn of deals

    2 November 2026

    More than 110 announcements worth over $20bn will be made at the Gateway Gulf Investment Forum in Bahrain, according to the country's finance minister.

    "Over the next two days at Gateway Gulf, more than 110 announcements worth over $20bn will be made," Sheikh Salman Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Finance & National Economy Minister, said at the opening of the forum's fourth edition on 1 November in Bahrain.

    He said the announcements will cover new partnerships, investments, projects and jobs. Sheikh Salman addressed an audience that included Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.

    The minister said the region's economies have been "tested as never before" since the previous edition of the forum a year earlier.

    "In the face of unprecedented attacks, we did not waver," he said. He added that Bahrain has chosen to work more closely with its allies and partners to defend what it has built.

    Sheikh Salman said the Gulf economy has grown to $2.4tn in GDP. Non-oil sectors account for more than 86% of Bahrain's GDP and more than 77% across the Gulf, he said.

    He said Gulf banks hold more than $4tn in assets, while the region's sovereign wealth funds manage more than $5tn of investments. "These numbers describe a region that has chosen to build a more stable, a more prosperous future for its people," he said. "Bahrain is the gateway to that region."

    The minister said Bahrain is focusing on regulation, infrastructure and people to attract investment.

    He said the country has developed a regulatory framework over several decades that is "clear, modern and fast", allowing investors to commit with confidence.

    On infrastructure, he highlighted logistics, connectivity, digital networks and industrial land as areas where Bahrain is building the foundations for businesses to expand. He also named finance, logistics, tourism, manufacturing, technology and telecommunications, and oil and gas as the sectors into which he expects domestic, regional and international capital to flow.

    He said the investments will create jobs for young graduates and support the growth of family businesses.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/21080593/main2015.jpg
    Colin Foreman