DOHA: The Mena region will see a number of critical energy projects pushed through over the next five years. Around $345bn has already been committed to projects under execution while an additional $574bn worth of development is planned.
The Mena Energy Industry Investment Outlook released by The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) at the just-concluded 11th Arab Energy Conference being held in Marrakech, Morocco, forecasts that with Qatar lifting the North Field moratorium, the country is poised for higher investments in gas development.
“The majority of Qatar’s investments have come into fruition, and with the lifting of the moratorium recently, we expect higher investments in gas development as the country plans to double the size of its planned expansion, increasing LNG capacity to 100m t/y by the end of the outlook or shortly after,” the Apicorp report, presented by its Chief Executive Officer Dr Attiga Ali Attiga (pictured), noted.
Qatar has ambitious plans to invest in further oil and gas development, particularly the redevelopment of the Bul Hanine which is expected to more than double its existing capacity. Current committed investments in the energy sector amount to around $13bn. Among the projects coming on line within Apicorp’s outlook include the Barzan gas field.
The power sector accounts for the largest share of investments in the region, at $187bn. The oil and gas sectors will represent $169bn and $150bn, respectively, with the remaining investments in petrochemicals. Projects under study represent by far the largest portion of planned investments, at $251bn.
Contracts under design and EPC phases are more likely to materialise in the medium term. Projects under contract bid amount to $92bn, while those under design reach $86bn.
Planned projects for the GCC countries, barring Qatar, will reach $57bn. Oman’s planned projects are focused on the downstream and petrochemicals sectors. One of the largest projects is the Duqm petrochemicals complex, which is expected to see a large portion of its $9bn budget invested over the next five years.
Total committed gas and power investments are approximately $106bn and $95bn respectively, followed by chemicals at $14bn. The GCC represents $171bn in committed investments, approximately 50 percent of the Mena total.
Iran leads the region with an estimated $67bn, mostly focused on the oil and gas sector. The country has prioritised the development of phase 12 of the South Pars gas field, where around $10bn will be invested over the outlook period.
In upstream oil, the focus will be on the West Karun oil fields, particularly South Yaran and South Azadegan, which will contribute further to Iran’s short-term output-capacity growth. In the downstream, the Siraf refinery project, with a budget of $2.4bn, will increase capacity by up to 480k b/d.
Second is Iraq, at $47bn. Oil investments account for $27bn with the ENI-led Zubair and the PetroChina-led Halfaya, two of the largest upstream development projects in the country. In downstream, the country has several projects under execution to boost refining capacity and reduce the import bill, with the Maysan and Faw refinery amongt the major projects.
