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Bidders get more time for Jebel Ali sewage EPC contract Administrator29 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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Kuwait Oil Company prepares to sign flowline contract Administrator29 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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Algerian-Indian team makes oil and gas discovery in Libya Administrator29 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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UAE to withdraw from Opec and Opec+ alliance Administrator28 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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NWC tenders package 14 of sewage treatment programme Administrator28 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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Construction begins on Aman Dubai Hotel and Residences Administrator28 April 2026
Dubai-based developer H&H Development and Switzerland’s Aman Group have broken ground on the Aman Dubai Hotel and Residences project in Dubai’s Jumeirah area.
The project’s enabling works contract has been awarded to local firm Swissboring.
Foundation works are expected to start this quarter.
The developers said ground improvement works have now been completed. Another local firm, DBB Contracting, carried out the works.
The project comprises a hotel, 78 branded residences and villas.
Singapore-headquartered architectural firm Kerry Hill Architects is the project consultant.
Dubai real estate developments continue to dominate the UAE’s construction market, with schemes worth more than $323bn either under execution or in planning.
This aligns with a GlobalData forecast that the UAE construction sector will grow by 3% in real terms in 2026, supported by infrastructure, energy and utilities, and residential projects.
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Firms bid for Saudi phosphate rail project management Administrator28 April 2026
Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) received bids on 27 April from consultants for a contract to provide project management consultancy services for its Phosphate 3 rail programme.
The tender was issued on 15 February, and the contract duration is 54 months.
This tender follows SAR’s launch of a multibillion-riyal tender to double the tracks on the existing phosphate transport railway network connecting the Waad Al-Shamal mines to Ras Al-Khair in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.
The tender – covering the second section of the track-doubling works and spanning more than 150 kilometres (km) – was issued on 9 February.
First phase
MEED recently reported that SAR received bids from contractors on 1 February for the project’s first phase, which spans about 100km from the AZ1/Nariyah Yard to Ras Al-Khair.
The scope includes track doubling, alignment modifications, new utility bridges, culvert widening and hydrological structures, as well as the conversion of the AZ1 siding into a mainline track.
It also includes support for signalling and telecommunications systems.
The tender notice was issued in late November, with a bid submission deadline of 20 January.
Switzerland-based engineering firm ARX is the project consultant.
Package plan
MEED understands that SAR is expected to tender a total of four packages for the phosphate railway line. The other packages expected to be tendered shortly include the depot package and the systems package.
In 2023, MEED reported that SAR was planning two projects to increase its freight capacity, including an estimated SR4.2bn ($1.1bn) project to add a second track along the North Train freight line and construct three new freight yards.
Formerly known as the North-South Railway, the North Train is a 1,550km-long freight line running from the phosphate and bauxite mines in the far north of the kingdom to the Al-Baithah junction. There, it diverges into a line southwards to Riyadh and a second line running east to downstream fertiliser production and alumina refining facilities at Ras Al-Khair on the Gulf coast.
Adding a second track and the freight yards will significantly increase the network’s cargo-carrying capacity and facilitate increased industrial production. Project implementation is expected to take four years.
State-owned SAR is also considering increasing the localisation of railway materials and equipment, including the construction of a cement sleeper manufacturing facility.
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Regional war deepens Kuwait oil sector’s tender crisis Administrator28 April 2026
Commentary
Wil Crisp
Oil & gas reporterContractors in Kuwait expect the regional conflict and disruption to shipping to worsen the country’s existing oil and gas tendering problems, causing long-term disruption in the sector.
In the months prior to the US and Israel attacking Iran on 28 February, contract tenders worth an estimated $9.1bn were cancelled after bids came in above the projects’ allocated budgets.
Contractors largely blamed the cancellations on long delays to tender processes after budgets had been set.
The delays, which often extended for several years, meant inflation drove up the cost of materials and labour, making it almost impossible for contractors to submit bids within the original budgets.
One industry source said: “The reason all of these contracts were cancelled was because the tender processes for large projects had started moving again after stalling for a long time.
“Bids came in and unfortunately they were over budget. It was then expected that tender processes would restart and these projects would ultimately be awarded – but now the war means that Kuwait is facing a whole new wave of project delays and nobody knows when it is going to end.”
War impact
Many industry insiders believe delays caused by the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will once again seriously disrupt projects, just as many stakeholders believed the country was about to see an uptick in project progress.
One source said: “Bid bonds are going to have to be renewed and some bidders might just use that as an opportunity to drop out of the bidding process.
“It’s also possible that work that has already been done, like feasibility studies, will no longer be relevant and will have to be repeated.”
2025 rebound
Last year, Kuwait recorded its highest total annual value for oil, gas and chemicals contract awards since 2017, according to data from regional project tracker MEED Projects.
A total of 19 contract awards with a combined value of $1.9bn were awarded.
This was more than four times the value of contract awards across the same sectors in 2024, when awards were worth just $436m.
It was also above the $1.7bn peak recorded in 2021, but it remained far lower than the values seen in 2014-17, when several large-scale, multibillion-dollar projects were awarded in the country.
The surge in the value of contract awards came after Kuwait’s emir indefinitely dissolved parliament and suspended some of the country’s constitutional articles in May 2024.
Prior to the suspension of parliament, Kuwait suffered from very low levels of project awards for several years amid political gridlock and infighting between the cabinet and parliament.
This meant important decisions about projects could not be made – a major obstacle to the progression of strategic oil projects.
Forward outlook
With several major oil and gas projects under development in late 2025 and early 2026, some expected 2026 to record a far higher volume of oil and gas contract awards than 2025.
Projects expected to be tendered – and potentially awarded – this year included a $3.3bn onshore production facility due to be developed next to the Al-Zour refinery.
This project has already been delayed and put on hold as a result of fallout from the US and Israel’s conflict with Iran.
Had it been awarded, it would have been the biggest single oil and gas contract award in Kuwait in more than 10 years.
Now, as a result of the conflict, many of the large tenders expected to take place this year are likely to be significantly delayed.
One source said: “Right now, everyone in the oil and gas sector is waiting for some sort of sign of improving stability before they make a decision and there’s a lot of uncertainty.
“The state-owned oil companies aren’t communicating with contractors like they normally do and the price of a lot of materials has increased dramatically.”
Even if the standoff between the US and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz is resolved in the near future, it is likely to take months or years before Kuwait’s oil and gas project market regains the momentum it had at the beginning of 2026.
Given the lack of flexibility within Kuwait’s existing tendering system, delays can easily lead to tenders being cancelled, and the conflict’s inflationary impact will make it even harder for contractors to meet budgets set before the latest disruption.
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Joint venture to develop $5bn Egypt ammonia project Administrator27 April 2026
Poland-based Hynfra has formed a joint venture in Egypt to develop a green ammonia project with an estimated initial investment of $5bn.
The company has partnered with local firm Coxswains for Marketing & Commercial Trading to establish Egypt Amun Green Ammonia.
The project will involve the development of a large-scale green ammonia production facility in Ras Banas, in southeastern Egypt.
In a LinkedIn post, Hynfra said the project is being developed in line with Egypt’s energy transition strategy and has received government support.
The company said the Ras Banas site is being assessed for its renewable energy potential, including its “exceptionally high solar irradiation and consistent, strong winds from the Red Sea, to which the project is expected to have direct access”.
The project will be powered by a hybrid renewable energy system with a total capacity of up to 2,000MW, comprising 1,000MW of solar and 1,000MW of wind capacity.
It will be developed across a 100-square-kilometre site and will operate off-grid, without connection to Egypt’s national power network.
The project also includes developing a dedicated port for ammonia exports.
Production is scheduled to begin in 2031, with an initial capacity of 400,000 tonnes a year.
The facility could be expanded to produce up to one million tonnes a year in subsequent phases.
Hynfra said the total investment could increase to approximately $10bn at full production capacity.
Elsewhere, MEED understands that the feasibility study for the first phase of the multi-phase green hydrogen (gH2) project at Ain Sokhna Port on the western coast of the Gulf of Suez is still under way.
The project is estimated to cost up to $13bn and would produce 2.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year once complete.
In 2024, UK-based oil and gas company BP, Cairo-headquartered firms Hassan Allam Utilities and Infinity Power, and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) signed a joint development agreement to implement the project.
MEED’s March 2026 report on Egypt includes:
> COMMENT: Egypt’s crisis mode gives way to cautious revival
> GOVERNMENT: Egypt adapts its foreign policy approach
> ECONOMY & BANKING: Egypt nears return to economic stability
> OIL & GAS: Egypt’s oil and gas sector shows bright spots
> POWER & WATER: Egypt utility contracts hit $5bn decade peak
> CONSTRUCTION: Coastal destinations are a boon to Egyptian constructionTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16579626/main4208.jpg -
Partners launch feed-to-EPC contest for Duqm petchems project Administrator27 April 2026
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Omani state energy conglomerate OQ Group and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), the overseas subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, have initiated a feed-to-EPC competition among contractors to develop a major petrochemicals complex at Duqm.
Under a feed-to-EPC model, the project operator selects contractors to carry out front-end engineering and design (feed). It then awards the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to the contractor with the most competitive feed proposal, while compensating the other contestants for their work.
OQ8, the 50:50 joint venture of OQ and KPI, is understood to have issued the tender for the Duqm petrochemicals project’s feed-to-EPC competition in mid-March, with a deadline of 6 May for contractors to submit proposals, sources told MEED.
Several local and international contractors based in Oman are believed to be participating in the competition, according to sources.
OQ Group CEO Ashraf Bin Hamad Al-Maamari and KPI’s CEO Shafi Bin Taleb Al-Ajmi signed an agreement on 3 February, during the Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and Conference, to develop a major petrochemicals-producing complex in Oman’s Duqm. The parties did not disclose details at the time.
ALSO READ: Duqm petrochemicals revival provides fillip to Gulf projects market
The agreement represented a significant step forward in Oman and Kuwait’s long-held plans to jointly develop a petrochemicals complex next to the existing Duqm refinery, which will benefit from favourable feedstock access and strong cost competitiveness.
The planned facility will also benefit from in Al-Wusta governorate, along Oman’s Arabian Sea coastline.
OQ8 had struggled to make meaningful progress on the Duqm petrochemicals project since the plan was conceived as early as 2018, for a variety of reasons.
The original plan for the Duqm petrochemicals facility, estimated at $7bn, centred on a mixed-feed steam cracker with a capacity to produce 1.6 million tonnes a year (t/y) of ethylene. The project also included a polypropylene (PP) plant with a capacity of 280,000 t/y and a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant with a capacity of 480,000 t/y.
The complex was also expected to include an aromatics plant, as well as storage facilities for naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The project’s prospects were temporarily boosted when Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) expressed interest in investing by signing a non-binding memorandum of understanding with OQ in December 2021.
Reuters reported in December that Sabic was withdrawing from the project, leaving OQ to look for other partners. The new agreement between OQ and KPI is understood to have followed the Saudi chemical giant’s departure.
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