GCC Project Awards Reach $204 Billion Despite Regional Conflict

Project awards across the Gulf Cooperation Council reached $204.1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, rising 2.5 percent from the same period a year earlier despite the impact of the regional conflict.

According to Kamco Invest’s latest GCC Projects Market Update, based on data from MEED Projects, awards during the third quarter totaled $47.4 billion. That was 37.2 percent lower than the $75.6 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2025.

The decline was partly offset by strong activity in the gas and chemicals sectors. Gas project awards increased 59.9 percent year on year to $13.5 billion, while chemical awards surged nearly fivefold to $3.5 billion.

Saudi Arabia remained the largest market in the region, recording $24.4 billion in awards during the third quarter. The UAE followed with $15.6 billion, while Qatar secured $5.2 billion.

The slowdown in overall project activity came as the regional economic outlook weakened following the escalation of the US-Iran conflict.

The International Monetary Fund said in April that strikes and precautionary shutdowns had cut oil production by an estimated 13 million barrels per day, while natural gas output declined by an amount equivalent to about 3.5 million barrels per day.

The IMF also lowered its 2026 growth forecast for the Middle East and North Africa region, excluding Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, to 1.4 percent. The forecast was 2.3 percentage points below its October 2025 projection.

Despite the conflict, Kamco said the outlook for the GCC projects market had strengthened over both the short and long term.

Only two of eight sectors recorded annual growth in the third quarter, with gas and chemicals leading the expansion. Construction remained the region’s largest sector with $14.8 billion in awards, although the figure represented a 44.7 percent decline from a year earlier.

Qatar recorded a 76.1 percent increase in awards from the previous quarter, with around $5 billion coming from oil projects. Bahrain posted a more modest quarterly increase of 4.3 percent.

UAE awards declined 13.5 percent from the second quarter, but the country’s share of total GCC awards increased to 33 percent from 27.9 percent a year earlier.

Saudi Arabia recorded $73.4 billion in project awards during the first nine months, down from $79.5 billion in the same period of 2025.

Saudi Aramco has allocated $50 billion to $55 billion for capital spending in 2026 and had already spent $12.3 billion on upstream oil and gas contracts during the year, Kamco said.

Saudi gas awards increased 80.1 percent to $6.9 billion.

In the UAE, ADNOC awarded a $1 billion contract for the Umm Shaif Gas Cap and Surface Pressure Boosting project. The contract formed part of $6.2 billion in awards by ADNOC and its international partners during the quarter.