In The Spotlight
Dr Manar Al Moneef
The institutions that keep building
Dr. Manar Al Moneef, scientist, capital architect and chief investment officer of NEOM shares learnings from twenty years of infrastructure investment in the Gulf
There is a common misconception about what makes large-scale infrastructure successful. Many assume success is determined when a project is announced, the business case is approved, or the financing is secured. In reality, the true test comes much later.
Every transformational project reaches moments when assumptions evolve, technologies advance, markets shift, and geopolitical realities change. The question is never whether circumstances will change — they always do. The question is whether the institution behind the project has the capability, discipline, and conviction to adapt while remaining committed to its long-term objective.
After more than twenty years working across infrastructure, energy, healthcare, investment, and economic development, I have come to believe that the greatest determinant of success is not the original forecast, the technology, or even the market opportunity. It is the strength of the institution behind the capital.
Projects that create lasting economic value rarely unfold exactly as planned. They succeed because they are supported by institutions capable of learning, adjusting, and continuing to execute without losing sight of their strategic destination.
That distinction matters because the Gulf’s development story is often misunderstood.
The region’s greatest achievement is not that it has launched ambitious projects. Many countries can do that. Its real achievement is building institutions capable of sustaining long-term ambition through economic cycles, technological transformation, and periods of global uncertainty.
The institutions behind long-term success
Much of the discussion around sovereign investment focuses on scale. While the Gulf’s sovereign institutions collectively manage trillions of dollars, scale alone does not explain the region’s ability to deliver transformational infrastructure. What differentiates successful institutions is their ability to think beyond market cycles while continuously creating long-term value. In my experience, three characteristics consistently distinguish institutions that endure:
Strategic clarity. Successful institutions maintain a clear long-term direction while remaining flexible in execution. Markets evolve, technologies improve, and priorities shift, but adapting the route does not require abandoning the destination.
Adaptive execution. Every major project evolves. New information emerges, better solutions become available, and economic conditions change. Strong institutions embrace these changes, improving execution without compromising strategic intent. Adaptability is not a departure from strategy—it is often what allows strategy to succeed.
Institutional commitment. Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic is the ability to sustain commitment over decades. Projects evolve, plans are refined, and priorities are reassessed, but the broader objective remains clear. That continuity enables infrastructure, industries, and capabilities whose value can only be realised over generations.
Together, these characteristics transform ambition into sustained execution.
Three examples of long-term execution
Across the Gulf, there are many examples of institutions demonstrating these principles.
Qatar’s North Field expansion provides a compelling example. The project required significant capital, long-term planning, and confidence in the future role of natural gas in global energy markets. More importantly, it required institutions willing to make decisions based on decades rather than quarterly performance.
Saudi Arabia’s electricity infrastructure is one of the strongest. Over several decades, the Kingdom has consistently invested in generation, transmission, and grid reliability to support industrialisation, urbanisation, and economic diversification. As demand increased and technologies advanced, the system continued to evolve. Today, it stands among the region’s most sophisticated power networks, providing the foundation for future economic growth.
The UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant reflects the same institutional discipline. Building a nuclear programme required decades of planning, rigorous governance, technical excellence, and sustained commitment. Beyond generating electricity, Barakah demonstrates what institutions can achieve when they remain focused on a strategic objective while successfully managing complexity and risk.
Different countries. Different sectors. Different technologies. Yet they share the same underlying principle: long-term vision supported by institutions capable of sustained execution.
Vision creates direction. Institutions transform that direction into outcomes.
What this moment is teaching us
The world is navigating one of the most complex periods in recent history. Economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, demographic change, and rapidly evolving industries are reshaping the global economy.
In this environment, resilience has become one of the most valuable institutional capabilities. Not resilience as resistance to change. Resilience as the ability to adapt while maintaining direction.
The institutions that will define the next generation of economic growth are not those that attempt to predict every outcome perfectly. They are those capable of remaining disciplined in purpose, flexible in execution, and committed to creating long-term value despite uncertainty.
That is the lesson I have observed throughout my career.
Markets will change. Technologies will evolve. Assumptions will be challenged. The future will rarely unfold exactly as expected. But institutions built on strong governance, strategic clarity, and the ability to adapt without losing focus will continue to create value long after individual market cycles have passed.
Ultimately, the question is not whether projects will encounter challenges. Every meaningful project does. The question is whether the institution behind it has been designed to adapt, endure, and continue building through change.
Because that is how transformative infrastructure is delivered. That is how economies strengthen their foundations. And that is how nations turn long-term ambition into lasting prosperity.
Continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continues to weigh on the oil markets. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
IEA revises down its supply and demand forecasts
The IEA has revised down both its oil supply and demand forecasts as renewed hostilities and Strait of Hormuz disruption have derailed the hoped for recovery in the oil markets
In its August Oil Market report, the IEA forecasts that world oil demand will decline by 1.6mn bpd in 2026, 510,000 bpd more than its previous forecast, thanks to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and continuing high oil prices, although it predicts a return to growth in Q4 2026 and 2027.
Global oil supply rose by 2.4mn bpd to 101.5mn bpd in July, but remained 6.3mn bpd below levels of a year ago, with 8.3mn bpd of Gulf output still shut in. After increasing by 3.7mn bpd in June, Gulf oil production rose by a further 2.5 mn bpd in July to 23.9mn bpd, still 8.3mn bpd below pre-war levels. Regional exports fell by 2.1mn bpd to 15 mn bpd after the Strait was effectively closed once again and tankers came under attack. With no end to hostilities in sight, the IEA now estimates global oil supply to fall by 4.3 mn bpd in 2026, to 102 mn bpd, as growth of 1.4 mn bpd from the Americas only partly offsets losses in the Middle East and Russia.
Refinery crude throughputs increased in July but remained nearly 5mn bpd below last year’s levels, with continued Middle East product export disruptions and attacks on Russian refineries reducing 3Q run estimates by a further 370,000 bpd. Global throughput is now predicted to decline by 2.5mn bpd in 2026 and rebound by 3.5mn bpd in 2027. Diesel, jet fuel and gasoline markets are tightened as reduced Gulf and Russian exports coincide with rising summer travel demand.
Global oil inventories fell in July by 69mn bbl, with renewed disruption to exports from the Gulf and Caspian Sea. Oil stocks now stand at just below 7.9 bbl bbl, down by 2.7mn bpd on average, for the first time since April 2025.
The global oil balance is now expected to show a deficit of 1.8 mn bpd in 3Q26, more than double the estimate of around 800,000 bpd in last month’s Oil Market Report.
“Although the market is projected to return to surplus towards the end of this year, risks remain substantial and the urgency of reopening the Strait has increased, as previously available inventory buffers are rapidly depleting,” the IEA warns.
Baker Hughes will leverage its portfolio of digital and AI automation solutions. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Kuwait Oil Company technology collaboration with Baker Hughes
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has signed a further technology collaboration contract related to its Ahmadi Innovation Valley initiative as it seeks to enhance upstream performance through the introduction of the most advanced technologies
Kuwait’s national oil company has signed a multi-year contract with Baker Hughes to accelerate technology innovation in the country’s upstream energy sector. It makes Baker Hughes a key technology collaborator in the Ahmadi Innovation Valley (AIV), KOC’s flagship initiative aimed at establishing an in-country research and innovation hub to address its strategic oil and gas development priorities, bringing together industry academic and technology providers to address upstream technical challenges.
Scalable technology solutions
Through the collaboration, Baker Hughes and KOC will focus on developing and deploying scalable, fit-for-purpose technology solutions that optimise production and flow assurance, while addressing other priorities across KOC’s technology roadmap. Baker Hughes will leverage its portfolio of digital and AI automation solutions that help operators increase recovery from existing wells, lower operating costs, reduce water production and minimise power consumption.
“Baker Hughes is committed to deeply understanding KOC’s development aspirations and providing the solutions needed to help achieve them,” said Baker Hughes Chairman and chief executive officer Lorenzo Simonelli. “Working together, we aim to deliver tailored technology solutions at scale that improve production performance and efficiency, supporting KOC’s goals to maximise value from their assets.”
As part of the agreement, Baker Hughes will build a dedicated research and technology development centre in the Ahmadi Innovation Valley to support the evaluation of new solutions, deliver technology solutions at scale and build local expertise.
It comes after KOC’s signing of a seven-year contract with SLB in June, which will see SLB establish a dedicated AIV facility and support applied research, technology deployment and digital innovation programmes focusing on AI, IIoT applications, production optimisation, reservoir technologies, water management and energy transition initiatives. That was followed by a contract with Halliburton in July which will see Halliburton deploy key technologies to execute a tailored programme of projects and engineered solutions with a focus on digital capabilities through the application of data, scientific analysis, and artificial intelligence for the full field lifecycle.
Shift to collaborative arrangements
These arrangements mark a shift from traditional field services to collaboration and co-creation of technology and innovation. They reflect KOC’s focus on innovation and scaling digital solutions, as it seeks to lift crude oil production capacity to 4mn bpd by 2035, positioning the centre as a platform for applied research and upstream technology development.
The platform brings live rig data from across drilling operations into a unified, real-time environment. (Image source: SLB)
ADNOC and SLB deploy AI platform across ADNOC rig fleet
In a major move illustrating how it is accelerating the deployment of AI at scale throughout its operations, ADNOC has deployed its AI-enabled Real-Time Operations Center (RTOC) across its fleet of more than 120 onshore and offshore drilling rigs, enabled by SLB’s DrillOps intelligent well delivery and insights solutions
The platform brings live rig data from across drilling operations into a unified, real-time environment that gives ADNOC teams greater visibility of activity across the fleet, helping them improve coordination, identify risks and issues earlier and make faster, more informed decisions, thereby managing operations more effectively. The RTOC combines operational data, automated dashboards, advanced analytics and AI-driven insights to turn large volumes of drilling data into clear, actionable information.
Benefits of the deployment
According to ADNOC, the deployment
• Reduces engineering effort by 30% to 40%
• Enables engineers to support two to three times more rigs while maintaining effective oversight
• Enables analyses that previously required a full day can to be completed within minutes,
• Allows reporting cycles that once took several days to be completed within hours
• Reduces incident response times by four to 12 hours
• Helps avoid one to two days of rig downtime.
Through this initiative, ADNOC continues to embed AI into core workflows and accelerate the transition toward more autonomous and optimised operations. It follows the deployment of the first AI-enabled fully automated walking island rig of a six-rig programme for ADNOC Offshore, enabling faster and more consistent offshore well delivery as ADNOC seeks to up production capacity to 5mn bpd by 2027.
Developed in the UAE and hosted within ADNOC's cloud environment, RTOC keeps critical operational data and workflows securely within the country while providing a trusted foundation for AI-driven operations.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Upstream CEO, said, "The Real-Time Operations Center creates value across ADNOC’s drilling operations every minute by embedding AI into the heart of our drilling operations, helping our teams make faster, smarter decisions at scale. Built securely here in the UAE, it is further proof that ADNOC is moving from AI ambition to real-world impact as we become the world’s most AI-enabled energy company."
“DrillOps transforms real-time drilling data into operational intelligence that helps teams make faster, more informed decisions,” said Rakesh Jaggi, president, Digital, SLB.
“Deployed within ADNOC’s sovereign cloud environment, the technology provides the scalable digital foundation for AI-enabled workflows across one of the industry’s largest rig fleets and supports the continued progression toward more autonomous operations.”
DUG Insight speaks fluent geoscience
Margarita Kongawoin, senior vice president of software & HPC at DUG Technology, explains how DUG Insight brings the complete geoscience workflow into a single, integrated package – and why that's changing the way teams work
What do you see as the biggest bottleneck in geoscience software today?
Fragmentation seems to be a major issue slowing geoscience teams down. They often have to work with many different software programmes. Moving data between those applications requires data exchange and format conversion, which takes time and can lead to mistakes. When the data reaches the decision-maker’s desk, time (aka money) and attention have been wasted. This fragmented workflow also prevents people from working together and sharing their different skills in a complementary way.
How does DUG Insight overcome those challenges?
DUG Insight provides a single workspace where geoscientists can work together. For interpreters, this means interactive 2D/3D/gather visualisation with tools for fault and horizon picking, well management and manipulation, crossplotting and AI-assisted interpretation. They can also generate attributes including dip and azimuth, semblance, curvature, spectral decomposition and RGB blending, all on demand.
For processing geophysicists, it offers a full suite of time-processing and depth-imaging tools scalable to massive data volumes from any acquisition geometry – land, marine or ocean-bottom node – with dedicated capabilities for time-lapse (4D) and multicomponent data. Users are not required to run heavy batch processes to test a parameter. On DUG Insight, it takes just seconds to test and QC workflows.
QI specialists get the fastest path to rock properties and probabilistic lithology and fluid prediction, with tools from statistical rock physics, to traditional AVA inversion, to our revolutionary elastic MP-FWI imaging technology.
DUG Insight is the only geoscience software package on the market that spans the complete workflow from seismic data processing and depth imaging through to interpretation, visualisation and rock-property prediction – all in a single, integrated package.
AI is all the buzz now. How does it enhance DUG Insight? What about users who want to bring their own code?
AI tools are now being increasingly integrated into DUG Insight’s workflows for maximum efficiency, whether it’s lithology prediction, fault and horizon interpretation, or accelerated convergence of our MP-FWI.
We also don’t want to lock anyone into a closed box. The software’s API gives users the flexibility to bring their own code into the environment, supporting Java, C/C++, C# and Python. Ultimately, we want to ensure that your custom code is treated with the dignity it deserves. No additional licensing is required, and all intellectual property stays with you.
What’s next for DUG Insight?
We’ve got lots of exciting developments coming soon! Our R&D team continues to embed the latest technology, spanning signal processing to interpretation to algorithmic efficiency. For example, we’re now modelling complex acquisition effects like tides, water-column changes, currents and array geometry, which is vital for full-wavefield imaging and for superior time-lapse (4D) results. On land, we’re inverting ground roll to give high-resolution shear-wave velocity, while the new land statics methodology (AMGRT) solves near-surface complexity to correctly position deep targets. Watch this space!
Amin H. Nasser, CEO of Aramco. (Image source: Aramco)
Aramco records surge in profits in the face of regional disruption
Aramco has recorded a sharp increase in Q2 profits thanks to elevated oil prices as a result of the Middle East crisis and its ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz by diverting exports via the East-West pipeline
Highlights of Aramco’s Q2 /H1 results
• Aramco recorded Q2 profits of US$33.4bn compared with US$25.2bn in the first quarter of 2025, a rise of 33%. Profits for the first six months stood at US$67.2bn compared with US$52bn in the corresponding period of 2025.
• Revenues for the second quarter of 2026 were US$139. 146bn compared with US$124.496bn for the first quarter, mainly due to higher prices of refined and chemical products and crude oil, partially offset by lower volumes sold of crude oil and refined and chemical products.
• The board declared a second-quarter base dividend of US$21.9bn, payable in the third quarter.
• Oil production stood at 9.5mn bpd in the second quarter compared with 12.6mn bpd in the first quarter, reflecting the shutting in of production as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz
• Capital expenditure for the first half of 2026 was US$20.175bn, an increase of 5.3% compared with 2025, mainly due to continuing development activity on major strategic gas projects to increase gas production capacity by around 80% by 2030 compared with 2021 levels, and phasing of crude oil increments related to maintaining maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) at 12mn bpd.
Resilience in the face of regional disruption
Aramco’s CEO Amin H. Nasser commented that the company’s performance has been defined by the resilience of its people and the agility of its business and operations to withstand and respond to rapidly changing market conditions.
“Despite the unprecedented supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, we continued to demonstrate our ability to maintain business continuity by capitalising on our diverse asset base and multi-decade planning, including strategic infrastructure such as the East-West Pipeline, storage capacity, and export terminals.
“That enabled us to sustain production and exports while advancing key projects, despite the challenging regional environment.”
Aramco was able to keep the oil flowing by redirecting around 70% of its oil through the East-West pipeline which runs from the Abqaiq oilfield in Eastern province to Yanbu on the Red Sea, maintaining exports at a maximum capacity of 7mn bpd. Aramco maximised throughput and exports from its west coast refineries and terminals to capture higher margins.
Through its operational flexibility, extensive domestic and international infrastructure, integrated supply chain capabilities and well-established business continuity plans, Aramco effectively managed regional challenges while maintaining operations.
“We have entered the second half of the year with solid financial and operating momentum with one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, sustainable and progressive base dividend distributions, and a clear focus on our strategic growth objectives,” Nasser continued. “Even through periods of uncertainty, Aramco has stayed anchored to its long-term priorities. Our disciplined execution, combined with our lower-cost and higher-reliability operations, has supported our profitability.”
Aramco comments that the market demand for liquids remains resilient, and as oil flows improve, previously constrained demand is expected to recover, supporting stronger oil demand. Additional call for crude is expected from inventory replenishment and the filling of new commercial and strategic storages. The company is well-positioned to capture higher demand post-Strait of Hormuz opening for inventory replenishment and offsetting lost supply, it says.
Operational highlights
Oil
• Construction activities continued on the Zuluf crude oil increment, which is expected to process 600mn bpd of crude oil from the Zuluf field in 2026
• EPC activities progressed for phase two of the Dammam development project, which is expected to be onstream in 2027, adding crude oil production capacity of 50mn bpd.
Gas
• Phase one of The Jafurah gas plant maintained steady production of sales gas and condensate, while procurement and construction continued for Phase 2, including the construction of the Riyas NGL fractionation plant targeted for completion in 2027
• The Fadhili gas plant expansion construction activities continued, which is to provide an additional gas processing capacity of 1.5bscfd by 2027.
Downstream
• Aramco continued to leverage the East-West pipeline and enhance its west coast export infrastructure to increase supply flexibility, and the Yanbu export terminal was repositioned as a strategic hub for western regional shipments. Aramco continued to pursue major downstream projects.
The Sigma Enterprises team with the Scout 137 drone. (Image source: ScoutDI)
ScoutDI and Sigma Enterprises partner for confined space inspection
ScoutDI, the Norwegian manufacturer of the Scout 137 confined space inspection drone system, has entered a new partnership with Sigma Enterprises, a UAE-based provider of industrial products and solutions, boosting access to safe, data-driven confined space inspection across the United Arab Emirates and the wider MENA region
Inspecting tanks, flare stacks, confined spaces and other hazardous and hard-to-access assets remains a major challenge for the oil and gas industry. Increasingly, operators in the MENA region are deploying drone technology for inspections, thereby eliminating the risk to personnel, as well as saving time and costs compared to traditional inspections. Equipped with LiDAR, various sensors, thermal cameras, and high-resolution imaging, drones today can provide accurate and detailed real-time data, precisely pinpointing any threats to asset integrity. Capabilities continue to advance with technology advancements, with the integration of AI and data analytics facilitating real-time data processing and analysis. A recent report projects the drones for oil and gas market to grow from US$1,473.5 mn in 2025 to US$16,755 mn by 2035, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.5% during this period.
Faster, safer, better inspections
Through the new partnership, Sigma Enterprises brings deep regional presence and technical service capability to industrial clients who need to inspect tanks, vessels and other confined assets without sending people into hazardous spaces. Combined with the Scout 137 drone system, this means faster inspections, better data, and a safer working day for inspection teams across the region's energy, petrochemical and maritime sectors.
The Scout 137 is a tethered drone built for GPS-denied confined spaces. It carries its own lighting, a 4K zoom camera and survey-grade 3D LiDAR, with an optional ultrasonic thickness measurement payload, and it captures every inspection as a positioned, repeatable record in the cloud-based Scout Portal. Because each flight follows a consistent, traceable path, asset owners can compare inspections over time and move toward genuine condition trending rather than one-off snapshots.
“The Middle East is one of the most important regions for industrial inspection, and Sigma Enterprises gives us a strong local partner with the reach and technical depth our customers expect,” said Håvard Eilertsen, chief commercial officer at ScoutDI. “Together we can help the region's asset owners inspect more safely and turn every flight into reliable, comparable data.”
“Adding the Scout 137 to our portfolio lets us offer clients a proven, safer alternative to manual confined space entry,” said a spokesperson for Sigma Enterprises. “It is a natural fit with our mission to bring advanced, reliable technology to industry across the region.”
Both companies will support asset owners across the UAE and MENA with inspection technology that reduces risk, improves data quality and supports long-term asset integrity.