3 minute read
Middle East news
Regional update
The final quarter of the year is usually one of the busiest in the region, and while we are likely to experience limited
travel and continued social distancing measures, the team here has put together
Ryan McPherson
an excellent programme of events to see out the calendar year on a positive note. ADIPEC week, taking place from 9-12 November 2020, will include a virtual strategic and technical programme which we are looking to supplement with several business opportunity presentations and 1-to-1 meetings for those who had originally planned to exhibit at the event.
I am delighted to announce that we held the initial advisory committee meeting for our forthcoming KSA Connect event which will take place on a virtual platform from 24-25 November 2020 allowing attendees to connect from across the globe. This is in an exciting development in the evolution of our Connect model and one that I have personally been looking forward to since I stepped into the role. Full details can be found on our website with the programme and sponsorship opportunities to be announced shortly. Our series of weekly webinars continue to thrive where recent events have seen an increased focus on the African market with our Nigeria market update attracting a record number of attendees. We are keen to develop this series as we venture into the likes of Mozambique, Angola, Egypt and others. Our African membership and forthcoming Africa EICAssetMap illustrates our continued commitment to this region which we look forward to building on in the months ahead. Plans are also underway to follow up with an update into the Russia and CIS market with Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC). This is a growing market for many of our members where this overview will help to provide some valuable insight while establishing some key contacts in the region. With a continued range of webinars throughout the coming months anyone interested in sponsoring one of our webinars as part of our Global Digital Supporter initiative can find out more by contacting
baqhtawar.shaikh@the-eic.com
New members continue to join us from the region and we recently welcomed Aramex, PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH) and Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy Group. We are delighted to welcome them all into the EIC family and look forward to working together in the months ahead. Hopefully, we are now starting to see the green shoots of recovery in the industry or at the very least a period of consolidation. According to Saudi Arabia’s energy minister global oil demand is expected to recover to 97% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, following record slumps in demand in the first half of the year, certainly something to be optimistic about.
On that note I once again want to remind our members of the wealth of market intelligence tools that we have on offer to help you stay on top of your business during this time. Anyone requiring either initial training or a refresher of these tools is welcome to get in touch and we will arrange for this to be delivered.
Please continue to keep safe and we look forward to seeing as many of you in person when the time permits, and it is deemed safe to do so.
Ryan McPherson Regional Director, Middle East, Africa, Russia & CIS ryan.mcpherson@the-eic.com
Regional news
Saudi renewables sector could generate 750,000 jobs
The development of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy sector could result in the creation of up to 750,000 jobs over the next decade as the kingdom pushes to generate 7% of its total electricity output from renewables by 2030. The kingdom’s energy ministry set up a renewable energy project development office in 2018 to oversee the development of solar and wind projects. It is pursuing an ambitious renewable power strategy and plans to add 60GW of clean energy capacity to the national grid by 2030. Of this, 40GW will come from solar photovoltaic plants, 16GW from wind turbines and 2.7GW from concentrated solar power.
