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• 
  UKEF issues $3.5bn interest letter for Al-Maktoum airport

  19 November 2025

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  The UK’s export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) has issued a $3.5bn expression of interest letter to support the participation of UK businesses in the $35bn expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport, which is also known as Dubai World Central (DWC).

  Chris Bryant, UK minister for trade, handed the letter to Khalifa Al-Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), and Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

  Letters of interest from UKEF, although not binding commitments, help ensure that UK exporters are given every opportunity to bid for contracts on a project. This is typically achieved by providing financial solutions in exchange for an agreed level of UK content used on the project.  

  Previous letter

  It is not the first time UKEF has issued a letter of interest for the expansion of Al-Maktoum International airport. In 2014, it issued a $2bn letter of interest. In a statement at the time, UKEF said five prime UK-based contractors were being supported, along with UK suppliers across the supply chain.

  The five prime contractors were Carillion, Kier, Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Interserve. Of those five companies, Carillion entered liquidation in 2018 and Interserve entered administration in 2019. Balfour Beatty sold its shareholding in Dubai-based Dutco Balfour Beatty in 2017.

  Although some progress was made on the project after the UKEF offer in 2014, the scheme stalled and was revived again in April 2024, when Dubai approved new designs for the airport.

  Project progress

  Since then, the project client, DAEP, has been awarding and tendering contracts for the first construction packages. It has awarded a AED1bn ($272m) deal to UAE firm Binladin Contracting Group to construct the second runway at the airport.

  The enabling works for the terminal building are being undertaken by Abu Dhabi-based Tristar E&C.

  DAEP is also close to formally awarding a contract for the substructure works for the West Terminal and Concourse One, Concourse Two and Concourse Three.

  Tendering is also ongoing for an automated people-mover (APM) system. The system will run under the apron of the entire airfield and the airport’s terminals. It will consist of several tracks, taking passengers from the terminals to the concourses.

  Four underground stations will be built as part of the first phase. The overall plan includes 14 stations across the airport.

  The airport’s construction is planned to be undertaken in three phases. Construction works on the project’s first phase are expected to be completed by 2032.

  The airport will cover an area of 70 square kilometres (sq km) south of Dubai and will have five parallel runways, five terminal buildings and 400 aircraft gates.

  It will be five times the size of the existing Dubai International airport and will have the world’s largest passenger-handling capacity of 260 million passengers a year. For cargo, it will have the capacity to handle 12 million tonnes a year.

  Dubai has said the plan is for all operations from Dubai International airport to be transferred to Al-Maktoum International within 10 years.

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  This aviation package also includes:

  > Middle East invests in giant airports
  > Broader region upgrades its airports
  > Global air travel shifts east

   

   

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  Colin Foreman
• 
  Egypt announces oil discovery in Western Desert

  19 November 2025

  A new gas discovery has been made in Egypt’s Western Desert region, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources.

  The discovery was made by Khalda Petroleum Company, a joint venture of state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and US-headquartered Apache Corporation.

  The field is expected to be brought online this week, according to the ministry.

  The reserves were discovered after drilling the exploratory well ‘Gomana-1’, the ministry said.

  It added that sensors confirmed the presence of gas reserves, and tests indicated that the well is expected to have a production rate of around 36 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.

  Further tests are ongoing, and the initial evaluation of the well’s reserves is currently being finalised.

  The ministry said that the discovery followed the introduction of new incentives designed to encourage additional gas investment within Khalda’s areas of operation.

  Earlier this month, Egypt started gas production from the West Burullus field in the Mediterranean Sea, after connecting the first wells to the national gas grid.

  The country is currently pushing to increase domestic gas production in order to meet domestic demand and reduce its import bill.

  

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15112551/main.png

  Wil Crisp
• 
  Bapco refinery ramps up volumes from new units

  19 November 2025

  

   

  Bahrain’s state-owned Bapco Energies is in the final stages of ramping up volumes processed by new units that were installed as part of the Bapco Modernisation Programme (BMP), according to industry sources.

  The project at the Sitra refinery in Bahrain is estimated to have been worth $7bn and was inaugurated by Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa in December last year.

  One source said: “The new units still aren’t operating at their nameplate capacities – but it’s getting close.”

  The companies involved in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project are still working on the site to assist with efforts to increase volumes, according to sources.

  “The companies involved in the EPC work have to meet certain targets before their work is done,” said one source.

  “They have to get the process volumes to a certain level and then maintain that for a certain time period before they can say that they have fully met their contractual obligations.”

  The inauguration ceremony for the BMP took place on 18 December last year. Along with King Hamad, the ceremony was attended by Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s crown prince and prime minister, Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, chairman of the board of directors of Bapco Energies, the leadership team at Bapco Energies, and other senior executives from the oil and gas industry.

  The BMP is central to Bahrain’s Vision 2030 economic development strategy, and Bapco has said that it is crucial to boosting the country’s long-term downstream potential.

  Bapco Energies awarded the main $4.2bn contract to perform EPC works on the BMP to a consortium led by France’s Technip Energies in February 2018.

  The consortium also included Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas and South Korea’s Samsung E&A.

  Technip Energies also performed the project’s front-end engineering and design work. US oil and gas producer Chevron acted as a consultant on the BMP, while Australia-based Worley was the project management consultant.

  In March 2024, after a series of setbacks and delays, France’s Total Energies was brought in to support Bapco in “optimising” the project.

  The BMP was originally expected to reach mechanical completion in 2023, with operations set to begin in 2024.

  The core objective of the BMP was to upgrade the Sitra refinery – Bahrain’s only oil refining asset – which is 90 years old.

  One of the key units to be built as part of the BMP was a residual hydrocracking unit (RHCU) powered by technology licensed from US-based Chevron Lummus Global. The BMP team has built a two-train RHCU with a capacity of 65,000 barrels a day.

  The Sitra refinery includes seven crude distillation units (CDUs) and vacuum distillation units (VDUs) as part of the BMP.

  The new 225,000 b/d integrated crude and vacuum unit replaced CDUs 1, 2 and 3 and VDUs 1 and 3, which had served Bapco Energies for over 80 years.

  Key units installed at the Sitra refinery under the BMP include:

  • Two crude distillation units with a 225,000 b/d capacity
  • Two VDUs with a 100,000 b/d capacity
  • Two vacuum gas oil (VGO) hydrocracking units with a 58,000 b/d capacity
  • Two diesel hydrotreating units with a 50,000 b/d capacity
  • A residual hydrocracking unit with a 65,000 b/d capacity
  • Tail gas treatment unit
  • Sour water stripper unit
  • Amine recovery unit
  • Bulk acid gas removal unit
  • Two hydrogen plants, each with a 125 million standard cubic feet a day (scf/d) capacity
  • Three sulphur recovery units with a 250 metric tonnes a day capacity
  • Two saturated gas plants, each with a capacity of 30 million scf/d
  • Safety and security systems.

  In May this year, Bapco Energies announced the death of three workers in an accident at the Sitra refinery.

  The accident, involving the failure of process safety equipment, took place on 2 May, immediately killing two workers who were on an on-site inspection. A third worker, who was admitted to hospital, later died due to his injuries.

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15112418/main.jpg

  Wil Crisp
• 
  Egypt seeks consultant for major inland waterway study

  18 November 2025

  Egypt’s Transport Ministry has issued an expressions of interest (EOI) request, through the River Transport Authority, to appoint a consultancy firm for a study on a proposed inland waterway linking Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean.

  The consultant will carry out basin-wide data collection and prepare a strategic environmental and social assessment for the project.

  The assignment includes hydrological, topographic, bathymetric and geotechnical surveys across the Nile Basin.

  The consultancy is expected to run for about 15 months, starting in February or March 2026.

  Firms must submit EOIs by 6 December.

  The study forms part of the Vic-Med project, a multi-country plan to establish a continuous inland waterway from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.

  The masterplan project aims to reduce transport costs for landlocked countries and provide a lower-carbon alternative to road freight along the Nile corridor

  The work is part of phase two, part one of the feasibility study, funded through a $2m grant from the New Partnership for Africa's Development – Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD–IPPF), the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) fund for early-stage project development.

  The first phase, completed in July 2019 with $650,000 in AfDB funding, developed the project’s legal and institutional framework and launched two regional inland water transport programmes.

  The second phase, valued at $11.7m, covers updated feasibility studies and expanded technical assessments supporting detailed engineering design and cost-benefit analysis in the next stage. 

  This phase also covers the establishment of a regional operating unit for the project in Cairo.

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

  Mena players up the ante in global LNG production race; Investment takes UAE non-oil economy from strength to strength; Project finance activity draws international lenders back to market

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

  > AGENDA 1: Gulf LNG sector enters a new prolific phase > AGENDA 2:  Mena LNG infrastructure spending rises > INDUSTRY REPORT 1: Region sees evolving project finance demand > INDUSTRY REPORT 2: Iraq leads non-GCC project finance activity > PPPs: NCP showcases private sector project opportunities in Saudi Arabia > GREEN STEEL: Abu Dhabi takes the lead in green steel transition > DIGITISATION: Riyadh-based organisation drives digital growth > LEADERSHIP: Saudi Arabia’s housing boom risks leaving citizens behind  > UAE MARKET FOCUS: Investment shapes UAE growth story

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

  https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15108707/main.jpg

  Mark Dowdall
• 
  Kuwait to make decision on four oil pipeline packages

  18 November 2025

  

   

  Kuwait is evaluating bids on four packages for a major pipeline project after prices were submitted earlier this month, according to industry sources.

  The four separate packages cover pipeline work in the north, south, east and west regions of the country, sources said.

  Although the total of all bids submitted by Kuwait-based Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting is the lowest at KD419m ($1.4bn), the company submitted the lowest individual bid on only one package, located in northern Kuwait.

  Its bid for the north Kuwait package was KD149.8m ($488.3m).

  Mechanical Engineering & Construction Company submitted the lowest bids for pipeline work on two packages located in the south and east of the country. 

  Both of these bids were valued at KD97,868,394 ($319m).

  Al-Dar Engineering & Construction Company is the low bidder on the fourth package, for pipe work in western Kuwait, submitting a bid of KD64,825,398 ($211.3m).

  Together, all four contracts are expected to be worth about $1.4bn when awarded.

  The scope of all four packages focuses on developing new flowlines and connecting pipelines for oil-producing wells and water wells.

  In some cases, companies are also required to replace old flowlines.

  The contracts are based on work orders, so when KOC needs to connect wells it will issue a request for work execution, industry sources said. 

  Kuwait is trying to boost project activity in its upstream sector.

  The country’s national oil company, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, is aiming to increase oil production capacity to 4 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2035.

  In August, Kuwait announced that it was producing 3.2 million b/d.

  Earlier this month, KOC said it was planning to spend KD1.2bn ($3.92bn) on its exploration drilling programme through 2030.

  

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  Wil Crisp