Qatar fails to pull up Gulf Projects Index

27 January 2016

Most countries in Gulf record project market contractions as oil price falls again

The Gulf Projects Index rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to reach $3.24 trillion in the week ending 22 January, despite major gains in the Qatari market.

Qatar recorded a 2.9 per cent, or $7.9bn expansion in its projects market as upstream oil projects make progress despite the 13-year low in oil prices, which dipped below $30 a barrel over the week.

Last week’s gain pulled it back into growth year-on-year, at 0.8 per cent.

In numbers

17.5 per cent Year-on-year contraction in the value of the Saudi Arabia projects market

$3.9bn Value of project completions in Saudi Arabia in the week ending 22 January

$7.9bn Growth in Qatar’s projects market in the week ending 22 January

Oman’s projects market also posted a small gain, growing 0.5 per cent week on week. Almost $1bn of gas and industrial projects were revived.

Iran saw its projects market contract by 0.4 per cent as post-sanctions investment priorities are clarified. The market has rebounded by 33 per cent year-on-year as Iran tries to attract billions in investment.

Value of projects planned or under way 22 Jan 2016
Country22-Jan-1615-Jan-16% change on week26-Jan-15% change on year
Bahrain72,14071,9100.365,01111.0
Kuwait255,821256,338-0.2219,86516.4
Oman168,101167,2450.5156,0477.7
Qatar283,266275,3202.9281,0980.8
Saudi Arabia999,2961,001,285-0.21,210,821-17.5
UAE854,834855,405-0.1813,3145.1
GCC2,633,4582,627,5030.22,746,156-4.1
Iran257,164258,193-0.4193,40433.0
Iraq353,475356,475-0.8404,803-12.7
Gulf Total3,244,0973,242,1710.13,344,363-3.0
For further information visit www.meed.com/projects/gulf-projects-index

In the UAE, the value of the projects market dropped by 0.1 per cent, while Bahrain was up 0.3 per cent on real estate.

Kuwait’s project market slipped 0.2 per cent over the week on $300m of project completions. It still remains the fastest-growing market in the GCC year-on-year, up 16.4 per cent.

Project updates this week
CountryProject NameStatus
IraqMansouriya field development: CPFOn hold
KuwaitAl-Jahra ministerial complexMain contract bid
QatarBul Hanine Field Redevelopment Project: onshoreMain contract bid
QatarBul Hanine Field Redevelopment Project: subsurfaceMain contract bid
UAEDubai Canal: Roda HotelDesign
For further information visit http://www.meedprojects.com/home

Saudi Arabia’s projects market also contracted by 0.2 per cent, on $3.9bn of project completions. Of the $1.2bn of new projects, the majority were utilities.

The kingdom is the worst-performing market in the region, having fallen 17.5 per cent year-on-year, compared with a 12.7 per cent drop in Iraq.

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