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PC Oman Ventures Ltd (PCOVL), a subsidiary of PETRONAS, has signed a Concession Agreement with the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and OQ Exploration and Production Batinah Offshore LLC (OQEP) for the exploration of oil and gas in Block 18

Block 18 is a large offshore exploration area located in Northeast Oman, spanning more than 21,000 sq km and offering significant frontier exploration potential across diverse geological settings, from shallow to ultra-deep water. Under the concession agreement, PCOVL will become operator of Block 18 in partnership with OQEP.

PCOVL has been active in the Sultanate of Oman since 2018 and currently holds a participating interest in Block 61.  This collaboration builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between PETRONAS and OQEP in October 2025, strengthening the strategic partnership between both companies and reinforcing PETRONAS’ long-term presence in the Sultanate of Oman. 

The partnership supports PETRONAS’ aspiration to enhance its competitive upstream portfolio by aligning its offshore exploration capability with OQEP’s regional expertise, laying the foundation for a mutually beneficial venture.

"Building on our technical strengths and successes, PETRONAS continues to expand its exploration activities into new frontiers. Through our innovative exploration approaches and OQEP’s basin expertise, we aim to jointly unlock the potential of Block 18, contributing to Oman’s long-term energy security. The addition of Block 18 aligns with our commitment to disciplined portfolio expansion, providing strategic optionality across our international portfolio," said Mohd Redhani Abdul Rahman, vice president of International Assets, PETRONAS.

QatarEnergy has awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the onshore LNG plant of the North Field West (NFW) project to a joint venture consisting of Technip Energies, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) and Gulf Asia Contractor (GAC)

The scope of the onshore EPC contract includes two LNG mega-trains with a combined production capacity of 16 MTPA (a replication of the two trains under construction by Technip Energies and CCC for the North Field South (NFS) project) as well as associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery, and helium extraction. In addition to LNG production, the project is expected to produce around 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of condensate, ethane, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Together with the North Field East (NFE) and NFS expansion projects, the NFW project will increase Qatar’s total LNG export capacity from 77 MTPA to 142 MTPA. The first LNG cargo from the NFW project is expected to be produced by the end of 2031.

As with the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) projects, NFW will capture and sequestrate an additional 1.1 MTPA of CO2 to bring the total to 2.2 MTPA from NFS and NFW combined.
In addition to the CCS facilities, the jetty boil-off gas recovery facilities for NFW will recover an equivalent of 0.42 MTPA of CO2, and a significant portion of the project’s electrical requirements will be sourced from Qatar’s solar plants.

His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of QatarEnergy said, “This contract represents an important addition to the world’s largest LNG expansion project and reinforces Qatar’s commitment to meeting the growing global LNG demand.

“The North Field West project follows in the footsteps of the North Field East (32 MTPA) and South (16 MTPA) projects, placing strong emphasis on environmental performance. Key features include a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) capacity of 1.1 MTPA, which takes us closer towards achieving our target of capturing and sequestering more than 11 MTPA of CO2 by 2035."

Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies, commented, “This award reflects not only the continuity of our engagement across the North Field developments, but also a crucial contribution to meeting growing global LNG demand. Building on our leadership in LNG and, together with our long-standing partners CCC and GAC, we are proud to continue delivering world-class LNG facilities that combine scale, efficiency, and significantly reduced carbon intensity.”

The world's largest single non-associated gas field, the North Field, spanning over 6,000 sq. km, represents 20% of the world's total gas reserves.

The recent LNG2026 conference in Qatar highlighted the pivotal role of LNG in the global economy. Speaking at the event, H.E. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi reinforced Qatar’s leading position in the LNG industry, saying that Qatar’s projects will contribute around 40% of the new global LNG supplies over the next decade. QatarEnergy has invested in its fleet, which is set to reach around 200 vessels in the next few years, making it the largest LNG carrier fleet in the world.

He highlighted the importance of demand in driving the LNG industry, in particular from Asia, as well as the Middle East itself.

Shell forecasts that global demand for LNG will rise by around 60% by 2040, in its Shell LNG Outlook 2025. It expects LNG demand to reach 630-718mn tonnes a year by 2040, largely driven by economic growth in Asia, the need to decarbonise heavy industry and transport and the impact of energy-intense artificial intelligence.

As the Uganda National Oil Company aims to build a crude refinery, it has reached out to a unit of global commodities trader, Vitol, for a US$2bn loan to support the project alongside construction and infrastructure developments

According to Henry Musasizi, Uganda's junior finance minister, this seven-year tenor loan from Vitol Bahrain EC (VBA) comes with an interest rate of 4.92%. The minister worked on advancing the approval process for the credit line and the loan, which involved significant lawmakers, who sanctioned the development with a majority verdict.

Musasizi said that Vitol's support "presents an opportunity to access non-traditional financing to implement. ..projects and support the government in developing national infrastructure."  

Vitol Bahrain EC has a long-standing presence in Uganda's downstream sector, functioning as the sole supplier of refined petroleum products to UNOC, before the state-owned company sells it to retailers across the country.

Alongside the refinery, the loan amount will also be covering road construction, a petroleum products storage terminal and extension of a petroleum pipeline from western Kenya to Uganda's capital Kampala.

Previously, the UNOC also concluded a deal with the UAE-based Alpha MBM Investments, whereby a domestic refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day is in the pipeline. The agreement accords 60% stake on the refinery to the UAE firm while UNOC retains 40%.

Uganda is looking to begin commercial oil generation starting next year from fields in its west.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has launched OpreX Pressure Transmitter EJX S Series as the successor to its core EJX A lineup of differential pressure and pressure transmitters in its OpreX field instruments family

Building on Yokogawa's proven silicon resonant sensor technology, the EJX S Series offers enhancements in accuracy, long-term stability, and durability that ensure stable plant operations and improve maintenance efficiency. Yokogawa will continue to add new models with enhanced capabilities to the EJX S lineup, according to market needs.

Main features of the OpreX pressure transmitter EJX S Series

1. Improved performance and reliability that contribute to stable plant operation

Leveraging Yokogawa’s silicon resonant sensor technology, the EJX S Series features improved accuracy, long-term stability, and rangeability.

Main specifications:
- Accuracy: ±0.025% (with optional specification code /HAC)
- Long-term stability: ±0.1% per 20 years
- Rangeability: Up to 400:1
- Support for the HART and PROFINET communication protocols

With an IP68 dustproof and waterproof rating, compliance with SIL2 requirements, and enhanced noise immunity, the EJX S Series is even more reliable and robust. In addition, a new colour backlit graphic display significantly improves visibility of process variables and device status information.

2. Streamlined specifications that reduce maintenance and operating costs

Compliance with a variety of explosion-proof standards, support for dual power connections, and advanced diagnostic functions are all provided as standard features with the EJX S Series, allowing these devices to cover a wider range of applications and reducing the need for the ordering of products with specific model and suffix codes. Furthermore, a modular design allows parts replacement and maintenance work to be carried out easily and efficiently. Together, these characteristics help to improve maintenance efficiency and reduce inventory costs.

In addition, the LCD colour display supports NAMUR NE107-compliant alert indications, enabling intuitive recognition of device status even from a distance. This facilitates faster on-site inspections.

3. Reduction of environmental impact through product design

The OpreX Pressure Transmitter EJX S Series pressure transmitters were designed to reduce environmental impact over the entire product lifecycle. CO2 emissions have been significantly reduced during the production process, helping customers reduce their Scope 3 emissions. Furthermore, the adoption of a modular design that allows for easy disassembly and disposal contributes to the optimization of customers' maintenance parts and inventory, as well as a reduction in environmental impact after use.

Major target markets are oil & gas, LNG, downstream, chemicals, power, renewable energy, food & pharma, pulp & paper, iron & steel, mining & metal, water & wastewater.

Major applications are measurement of liquid level, flow rate, pressure, etc. of liquid, gas, and steam in tanks and pipes.

OpreX is the comprehensive brand for Yokogawa's industrial automation and control business. OpreX Measurement delivers highly reliable technology for the implementation of value-enhancing operational technology and information technology integration.

How do complacency and human factors contribute to workplace injuries, and how can you prevent complacency-related injuries and incidents?

That is the subject of a webinar hosted by HSE Review in association with SafeStart, to take place on Wednesday 1st April 2026 at 2pm GST, which will shine a light on the neuroscience behind competence, complacency and human factors.

Safety professionals have known for years that “complacency is a silent killer.” They have also suspected that complacency was a contributing factor in almost every unintentional injury or incident. Unfortunately, from a neuroscience perspective, it is impossible to stop people from becoming complacent once they are competent. And for high-risks tasks in particular, competence is a must.

Even more unfortunately, many (most) companies do not know what to do to help their employees deal with complacency, which leads to mind not on task/risk.

In this session, participants will:
• Understand the neuroscience behind complacency and why it cannot be eliminated once competence is achieved
• Recognise the two stages of the complacency continuum and how human factors impact critical decision-making
• Learn practical skills to prevent complacency-related injuries, including attentive habits, looking for risk patterns in others, analysing close calls and small errors to prevent agonising over large ones, and using self-triggering skills, to deal with rushing, frustration and fatigue which, when combined with complacency, can cause fatalities
• Explore how concepts such as fail-safe can help compensate for complacency leading to mind not on task.

Register for the webinar here

Our speaker is Larry Wilson, a pioneer in the area of Human Factors in safety. He has been a safety consultant for over 25 years and has worked on-site with hundreds of companies worldwide. Larry is the author of SafeStart, an advanced safety and performance awareness programme, successfully implemented in more than 4,500 companies in 75 countries, with more than five million people trained. He is the moderator of the SafeConnection expert panels series and has authored and co-authored a number of books, the latest being “25 Years of Original Thought-Innovations in Safety, Human Error and Performance”. Larry is also an active keynote speaker at health and safety conferences around the globe (32 countries so far).

Participants are guaranteed an hour of engaging and thought-provoking interactive discussion and debate and will take away the understanding, skills and strategies to help prevent complacency-related injuries and incidents.

So don’t delay, register for the webinar here

SafeStart Trainer Certification – Global Training Series

Following strong demand last year and impact across global markets, we’re also launching the SafeStart Trainer Certification – Global Training Series, starting with Dubai on 7–8 April 2026.

This is a practical, human factors–based certification designed to help organisations reduce incidents, strengthen decision-making, and improve overall safety performance, on and off the job.

Find out more information and register here:

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is set to become the world’s largest hydrogen exporter by 2060, while maintaining a dominant position in global oil and gas markets, according to DNV’s Oil & Gas Decarbonization in the Gulf Region report

The report highlights how Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are cutting the emissions intensity of their core oil and gas production while continuing to play a central role in global energy supply, presenting a picture of a region approaching the energy transition from a position of confidence and capital strength. Reductions in emissions intensity are occurring alongside continued hydrocarbon production and investment across renewables, electrification, hydrogen, methane abatement, digitalization, and carbon capture.

Since 2005, the GCC has produced nearly 18% of global oil and gas, a share expected to increase as investment continues in low-cost, advantaged resources. As global energy demand increasingly shifts toward Asia, the region’s location and cost competitiveness strengthen its position as a preferred supplier. At the same time, decarbonization measures are becoming an integral part of long-term competitiveness.

“The global energy transition will not progress at the same pace across regions, nor will it follow a single pathway,” said Brice Le Gallo, vice-president & regional director for Southern Europe, MEA & LATAM, Energy Systems at DNV. “In the Middle East, oil and gas remain central to economic stability and global energy security. The key challenge is to reduce their emissions footprint while accelerating investment in the technologies needed for a lower-carbon energy system.”

Electrification is being used to cut Scope 2 emissions from pumps, compressors, and offshore facilities, through grid connections, renewable power, and hybrid solutions. These efforts are supported by energy-efficiency measures and the use of digital tools and artificial intelligence to optimise drilling, reservoir management, and asset operations, reducing energy intensity and emissions per barrel produced.

Methane reduction remains one of the most immediate and cost-effective options for lowering emissions. Across the GCC, routine flaring is planned to be phased out by 2030 and leak detection and repair (LDAR) programmes are increasingly standard. National oil companies are also aligning with international methane initiatives, enabling continued production growth while reducing methane intensity in line with national net-zero targets.

GCC countries are realigning domestic energy systems to reduce oil and gas use domestically and free up volumes for export and low-carbon fuel production. Growth in renewables, electrification of transport and buildings, and efficiency gains are driving this shift. Investment in downstream industries, petrochemicals, and low-carbon fuels is also changing export profiles, moving beyond crude oil toward higher-value and lower-carbon energy products.

With access to low-cost natural gas, strong solar resources, and established industrial and export infrastructure, the region is well placed to scale both low-carbon hydrogen (produced from natural gas with carbon capture) and renewable hydrogen produced through electrolysis. By 2060, the Middle-East and North Africa region is projected to produce around 19 million tonnes of hydrogen and 13 million tonnes of ammonia per year, exporting about 50%, mainly toward Europe and advanced Asian economies.

“Hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture are becoming core elements of the GCC’s energy export model,” said Jan Zschommler, market area manager for the Middle East, Energy Systems at DNV. “As emissions requirements tighten, access to international markets will increasingly depend on carbon intensity. Integrating hydrogen production with renewable power, carbon capture, and existing industrial clusters allows the region to remain competitive while meeting these requirements.”

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is also set to grow. In January 2026, the UAE's Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs has introduced Carbon Capture Policy as a further commitment to meeting their carbon reduction targets. Captured CO₂ volumes (including CO₂ removal) are expected to reach around 250 million tonnes per year by 2060, equivalent to roughly 8% of regional energy-related and industrial emissions.

Bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS) and direct air capture (DAC) combined are expected to remove around 81 million tonnes of CO₂ per year by 2060, helping to offset emissions from sectors that are more difficult to decarbonise.

The full report is available at https://www.dnv.com/energy-transition-outlook/oil-and-gas-decarbonization-in-the-gulf-region/