Research company Rystad Energy has forecasted that projects with greenfield investments of more than US$240bn will be sanctioned in 2019, with almost 25 per cent expected to come from the Middle East
Rystad Energy Senior Analyst Aditya Saraswat said, “The industry in the Middle East aims to ramp up gas production in order to meet rising regional demand, while also increasing oil output,”
Greenfield investments in the Middle East are around US$56bn in 2019, more than six times the investments sanctioned in 2018. Investments in gas development alone are expected to rise to US$30bn this year from around 1.7bn in 2018.
“The growth is primarily driven by offshore gas developments in Qatar and the UAE, as well as oil developments in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
“Notably, investments in gas developments are picking up significantly. Gas development projects in Qatar and the UAE account for almost a third of the resources expected to be sanctioned next year, while Saudi Arabia’s oil expansion projects at Berri, Marian and Zuluf account for more than half,” he explained.
Qatar plans to increase its LNG capacity to 110mn tonnes per year (million tpa) and consolidate its position as the world’s leading LNG producer. Rystad Energy estimated that this 12bn boe project will require more than US$35bn in greenfield investments, making it one of the largest projects approved in the region over the last decade.
The UAE prioritises offshore gas projects to increase the availability of gas for domestic consumption and reduce its dependence on imported gas and LNG, seeking to add 1.6bn boe of resources. Rystad Energy expected that these plans would require about US$14.5bin in greenfield investments.
Saudi Arabia will develop around 9.8bn boe of additional resources by investing just over US$24.5bn in greenfield projects at the Marjan, Berri and Zuluf oilfields.
Investments in new projects in the global oil and gas industry are expected to double in 2019, with Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia fuelling growth.
