tag

Qatar exported about 80mn tonnes (mmt) of LNG (liquefied natural gas) during 2025, with Asian countries serving as the primary destination, according to Kamco Invest, a regional economic thinktank. China, India, and South Korea were the top three importers of Qatari LNG, Kamco said in its latest report. During 2025, Qatar, the world’s leading LNG exporter, had awarded a $4bn EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract to a consortium led by Italian and Chinese contractors. “This award is part of a strategic drive to meet its expanding LNG output targets,” the report said. In the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) region, Aramco had commenced natural gas production at the Jafurah field, the world’s largest shale gas development outside of the US. “This step underlines a major shift in global natural gas production as Saudi Arabia pivots to scale its unconventional resources and expand its domestic supply,” the report said. It is expected that natural gas from Jafurah will primarily be consumed within Saudi Arabia itself, utilised mainly as fuel for power generation. The Jafurah gas field is estimated to contain approximately 200tn cubic feet (tcf) of gas, equivalent to 5.7tn cubic metres (tcm). Current production stands at 450mn cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), or 0.01bn cubic metres per day (bcm/d), with plans to increase output to 2bn cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), equivalent to 0.06bcm/d. According to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, total natural gas consumption for a group of major gas-consuming nations, representing approximately 75% of global demand, increased by 1.6% year-over-year (y-o-y) to reach 2,902bn cubic metres (bcm) for the initial ten months of 2025. Contextually, natural gas consumption rose in key regions including North America and the EU (European Union), whereas, by contrast, consumption declined within the Asia region during the same period. Overall global natural gas consumption is slated to average a growth rate of 1.5% throughout 2025, a consequence of subdued activity in the industrial sector. For comparison, global natural gas production is projected to see a marginally higher growth rate than consumption, at 1.7% in 2025, as per the GECF. The majority of this additional global gas production is predominantly driven by increased output from the North American region. Conversely, natural gas production within the Asia region is forecast to decrease in 2025. Highlighting that global natural gas price movements were stable but mixed during the year; Kamco said towards the end of the year, according to the World Bank, the US average monthly natural gas price for December 2025 surged by 40.6% y-o-y to $4.25/MMBtu, attributable to factors such as a polar vortex event, i.e., extreme cold weather. In contrast, European natural gas prices for December 2025 declined by 31.6% y-o-y, averaging $9.48/MMBtu for the month, primarily due to a global increase in LNG supply particularly from the USA which outpaced demand and mitigated concerns regarding relatively low storage levels. 

Total value of contracts awarded in Qatar saw a 116% jump year-on-year this third quarter (Q3) as Doha's successful bid to host the 2030 Asian Games laid solid foundation for the projects market, Kamco Invest, a regional non-banking entity, has said.In contrast, total value of contracts awarded across the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) region fell after four of the six countries recorded year-on-year decreases in project awards during Q3-2025 as geopolitical conflict in the Middle East continue to persist and weigh on risk appetite, Kamco Invest said in its latest report, quoting MEED Projects.Total value of contracts awarded in Qatar surged by 115.9% year-on-year to $13.6bn in Q3-2025."This growth was partially driven by preparations relating to Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2030 Asian Games, which is expected to catalyse a vast array of industrial and infrastructure projects aimed at building, preparing, and upgrading facilities for the event," Kamco said.In the first nine months of 2025, the total value of projects awarded in Qatar improved 27.6% year-on-year to $20.5bn.In terms of sectoral performance, the oil and gas sectors led with the highest values of contracts awarded during Q3-2025 at $6bn and $5bn, respectively.Moreover, total value of projects awarded in the power sector reached $2.3bn in Q3-2025, up from zero awards in Q3-2024. Notable projects awarded during the quarter included about $4bn of contracts won by China Offshore Oil Engineering for the Bul Hanine offshore oil field, located 120 KM offshore in the Gulf waters.The scope entails maintenance and increased oil production at the Bul Hanine field, including installation of four wellhead platforms requiring 80,000 tonnes of fabrication work, expansion of existing offshore production stations, and construction of living quarters.The GCC region saw 27% year-on-year plunge in aggregate value of awards to $54.8bn in Q3-2025, the second-lowest figure in the last ten quarters. This downturn was primarily driven by a sharp contraction in project awards in Saudi Arabia, together with a similar weak performance in the UAE, both of which saw significant year-on-year declines in awards during the period.However, contract awards are expected to gain momentum in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven primarily by recoveries in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.“Despite a strong project pipeline, overall project awards in 2025 in the GCC are expected to decline and fall short of the 2024 record contract awards,” Kamco said.Overall, the GCC’s pipeline of pre-execution stage contracts totals $1.78tn. The construction sector holds the largest share of the contracts in the pipeline at 35%, equivalent to $624.2bn, followed by transport ($300bn) and power ($294.2bn).According to MEED, the GCC power sector has at least 29 independent power projects (IPPs) at the bidding or bid-evaluation stages, mainly led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.One of the notable leading power projects under tender or in bid evaluation in the near term is the 3,000MW Al-Sadawi 2 solar IPP.