Letter from the Middle East: Gas businesses see swift evolution

Self-sufficiency targets and opportunities to shift to renewables are driving big upsurge in gas production

The Mideast Gulf’s major NOCs and partners have invested heavily over the last decade to boost domestic gas output and avoid strained supplies. They are now seeing the fruits of those efforts. But the game has changed yet again: new gas has to dovetail with renewables and drive exports of LNG and—possibly—hydrogen. The largest projects are all in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Saudi Arabia’s electricity plans call for oil generation to be phased out and replaced with an equal mix of gas and renewables, an important step towards its 2060 net-zero carbon commitment. For conventional gas, the 1bn ft³/d (28.3mn³/d) Hawiyah gas plant should be completed in 2022 and the 2.5bn ft³/d Tanajib facility in