$4 billion oil & gas assignment in Middle East breaks Chinese companies’ record

September 11, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Qatar’s state-owned oil & gas giant QatarEnergy has entrusted China’s Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) with two segments of work related to its redevelopment project off the Persian Gulf state’s coast. This package set, worth approximately $4 billion, is said to set a new contract value record for Chinese enterprises in the Middle East region’s offshore oil and gas realm.

COOEC claims its mega order in Qatar breaks the record for the contract value of offshore engineering projects being handled by Chinese companies in the Middle East; Source: COOEC

COOEC’s multibillion-dollar awards for QatarEnergy’s Bul Hanine offshore oil field redevelopment in Qatar, which is perceived to mark a new milestone in contract value for Chinese players operating in the Middle East, is interpreted to demonstrate the growing engineering capabilities of Chinese enterprises in international offshore oil and gas projects.

Located about 120 kilometers to the east of the Qatari coastline, this project in the Persian Gulf is designed to prolong the field’s life by countering its production decline and doubling its current oil production rate. This project primarily involves the construction of multiple structures, the laying of several submarine cables, and the renovation of some existing facilities.

The entire project scope consists of four packages, including new construction (greenfield), subsea, modifications, and decommissioning segments. COOEC, which has secured two of these packages, claims that its assignment is of great significance for promoting high-quality oil and gas cooperation along China’s Belt and Road initiative, as the Middle East remains a key strategic region for the firm.

“Winning this project will further enhance the company’s involvement in global oil and gas cooperation. Going forward, the company will continue to consolidate and expand its presence in the Middle East, providing solid support for the new development landscape of a dual domestic and international cycle,” emphasized the Chinese firm.

While explaining that the latest project in Qatar holds significant strategic importance for advancing high-quality energy cooperation, COOEC underlines that it has implemented nearly 70 projects along the Belt and Road route, injecting momentum into local energy infrastructure construction and economic development.

The company is among the players that were selected to bring to life QatarEnergy’s plans to boost oil production from the Al-Shaheen field by about 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), as confirmed in January 2024, when four multibillion-dollar engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract packages were disclosed.

QatarEnergy dishes out $6 billion to boost production at Qatar’s largest oil field

Exploration & Production

These deals enable McDermott, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Larsen & Toubro Limited, and COOEC to handle the third phase of Al-Shaheen’s development since North Oil Company (NOC), a joint venture between QatarEnergy (70%) and TotalEnergies (30%), took over the field’s operation in July 2017.