With the closing date for entries to the MEED Projects Awards 2019 in association with Mashreq nearly upon us, this is a great time to look at the trends suggested by this year’s awards
During 2018, Saudi Arabia saw a surge in the value of oil and gas projects completed after the kingdom invested heavily in the sector in the wake of the 2014 oil price crash.
By investing after the crash, Saudi Arabia developed both its upstream and downstream capabilities and took advantage of lower prices from engineering companies and contractors.
In 2018, the total value of oil projects completed was $9.2bn, more than double the figure for the previous year.
The total value of gas projects was $3.7bn, a third more than the $2.8bn completed in 2017.
| The 10 biggest projects completed in Saudi Arabia in 2017-18 | |||
| Project | Project sponsor | Sector | Value ($m) |
| King Abdulaziz International airport: phase 1: new terminal: package 1 | Gaca | Transport | 4,040 |
| Shuqaiq steam power plant | Saudi Electricity Company | Power | 3,500 |
| Jeddah South thermal power plant | Saudi Electricity Company | Power | 3,200 |
| Divided Zone facilities | Khafji Joint Operations | Oil | 3,150 |
| King Abdulaziz International airport: phase 1: new terminal: package 2 | Gaca | Transport | 3,077 |
| Sharma complex: package 1 | Public Investment Fund | Construction | 2,400 |
| Master gas system expansion: phase 1 | Saudi Aramco | Gas | 2,100 |
| Jizan refinery IGCC power plant: package 3: ASU | Jazan Gas Projects Company | Power | 2,000 |
| Jizan refinery project: CDU/VDI, flare & pipe rack: package 9 | Saudi Aramco | Oil | 1,900 |
| Rabigh 2 IPP | Al-Mourjan for Electricity Production Company | Power | 1,800 |
| ASU=Air separation unit; IGCC=Integrated gasification combined-cycle; IPP=Independent power project. Source: MEED Projects | |||
Despite the surge in energy projects being completed, overall the value of projects completed in 2018, across all sectors, was down compared to the prior year.
Over the year, projects worth $44.7bn were completed, 17 per cent less than in 2017.
The sectors that saw a significant drop in the value of projects completed included water, transport, industrial projects and construction.
Package 1 for the new terminal at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International airport had a budget of $4bn, making it the largest project completed over the 2017-18 period.
The project to build a new terminal includes a building with 42 departure gates, aircraft hangars, a control tower, a railway station and maintenance facilities.
The second-biggest project completed during the period was the Shuqaiq steam power plant, which had a budget of $3.5bn.
Located in the Jizan province, the power station has a generation capacity of 2,640MW.
Saudi Electricity Company’s Jeddah South thermal power plant was the third-biggest project completed during the period.
It had a budget of $3.2bn and, like the Shuqaiq project, forms part of a wider expansion drive in Saudi Arabia to address the strain on the kingdom’s utilities from rising demand for electricity.
The MEED Projects Awards 2019 in association with Mashreq recognise the best projects in the GCC. Reflecting the latest market trends, this year’s awards feature 17 different categories for entries. If you have been involved in a project completed in 2017 or 2018 that you believe deserves to be recognised, you can submit your entry at: MEED Projects Awards 2019.
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