The Gulf Projects Index edged lower by 0.09 per cent in the week up to 22 July, as disruptions caused by the war in Iraq weighed on the region’s projects market.

Iraq’s projects market contracted by $13bn, losing 2.7 per cent of its value, as schemes were put on hold or cancelled due to increasing instability as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria consolidated gains after seizing vast swathes of the country last month.

Among the projects put on hold in Iraq over the week was the $4bn scheme to boost production at the Bai Hassan oil field. The field was seized by Kurdish peshmerga forces, and employees of the state-run North Oil Company were ejected on 11 July. A natural gas condensate pipeline that was due to be built at the Akkas oil field in the Al-Anbar province was also put on hold due to the unrest.

Offsetting the decline in Iraq’s projects market, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all recorded gains, expanding by a combined $12.3bn.

Qatar’s projects index saw the biggest growth, with an increase of 1.3 per cent. The gains were driven by the launch of several new schemes including projects connected to Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation’s (Kahramaa) transmission system expansion programme.

Saudi Arabia’s projects market climbed by 0.5 per cent as a number of new housing schemes were announced. The UAE saw a similar rate of growth, expanding 0.4 per cent.

Iran’s project market declined for a third week, sinking by 0.3 per cent to $227.2bn. The country’s index has lost $3.2bn since 1 July.

The region’s three smallest markets did not see much in the way of growth over the week. Oman dropped by 1.1 per cent, falling to $144.1bn, while Bahrain remained unchanged and Kuwait saw a rise of 0.3 per cent.