Kim Myeong-hee, KOTRA executive vice president and head of the Industrial Innovation and Growth Division, delivers a welcome address at the "Post-Middle East Project Partnership" event on Wednesday. [KOTRA]
Kim Myeong-hee, KOTRA executive vice president and head of the Industrial Innovation and Growth Division, delivers a welcome address at the "Post-Middle East Project Partnership" event on Wednesday. [KOTRA]

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) has moved to help Korean companies win contracts in Middle East energy and infrastructure projects. With demand for energy security and supply chain stabilization growing across the region, the agency aims to connect major Omani project owners and global project developers with domestic firms to identify business opportunities.

KOTRA said Wednesday it hosted the "Post-Middle East Project Partnership" event, inviting Omani project owners and global project developers to meet Korean companies.

Attendees included OQEP, the exploration and production arm of Oman's state energy company OQ, and LG Nova, a global project developer. More than 90 representatives from Korean plant and construction companies attended.

The Middle East has emerged as a market with growing project-award potential, driven by overlapping demand for energy infrastructure restoration and supply chain stabilization. KOTRA had earlier launched a "Post-Middle East Task Force" to support reconstruction projects and export recovery following the US-Iran truce agreement.

OQEP, visiting Korea for the first time, presented its upstream oil and gas projects in Oman. The company is a government-owned upstream oil and gas operator and one of the country's major crude oil and gas producers.

In the event's opening session, an OQEP representative introduced four upstream oil and gas projects, including a flare gas capture and utilization project at the Bisaat oil field. Flare gas refers to gas burned off during oil and gas field production; capturing and using it can improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

OQEP has been expanding its upstream portfolio, having recently announced the completion of commissioning for the Bisaat-C expansion facility. The expansion project was described as aimed at increasing crude oil processing capacity and supporting sustainable energy development.

LG Nova presented projects covering data center construction in the Middle East, airport construction in Africa and energy transition initiatives. The company said it would seek opportunities to collaborate with Korean firms as demand for digital infrastructure and energy transition grows simultaneously across the Middle East and Africa.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea outlined financial programs including co-equity investment and loans for projects. Dohwa Engineering shared its experience executing overseas projects and highlighted potential avenues for Korean companies to participate.

In the afternoon, one-on-one business consultations followed. Six Korean companies discussed the possibility of participating in OQEP's upstream oil and gas project construction, as well as supplying plant equipment such as centrifugal pumps and compressors. Potential involvement in LG Nova's data center and airport infrastructure projects was also on the table.

OQEP continued its visit Thursday, calling on two Korean plant component manufacturers to identify additional companies that could participate in its projects and to assess domestic technological capabilities firsthand.

The event was held as part of the 55th Demand Forum of KOTRA's Overseas Contract Council, a public-private consultative body the agency has operated since 2010 to support networking and information exchange among construction, plant and engineering companies.

KOTRA has held a series of seminars this year on topics including overseas market trends following the Middle East war, legal responses and the identification of alternative markets. The agency plans to continue hosting tailored consultation events with major project owners in the second half of the year.

"Since the signing of the end-of-war memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, securing an early foothold in project opportunities in the Middle East reconstruction market and the Global South has become increasingly important," said Kim Myeong-hee, KOTRA executive vice president and head of the Industrial Innovation and Growth Division. "We will strengthen on-the-ground support through this event and help Korean companies achieve results spanning project development, EPC contract awards and equipment exports."


kwater@heraldcorp.com