Letter from the Middle East: Gas faces headwinds
The received wisdom that gas would be the region’s main growth fuel for generation is being challenged
The Middle East’s hydrocarbon-rich countries would build out gas-fired power plants to free up more oil for export. Those less endowed with energy reserves would construct LNG import terminals to facilitate their own ‘dash for gas’. That was the rosy picture for the region’s gas demand growth. But that picture has clouded as Gulf states embrace other generation options. At the start of August, the Barakah nuclear plant in the western UAE began to split atoms—the culmination of a decade-long journey towards the Arab world’s first nuclear power generation. Aside from nuclear, solar, wind, coal and even hydrogen pose new challenges to gas in a region where hydrocarbons have traditionally reigne
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
