Middle East Deal Study | Sector Spotlight: Energy

Our Middle East Deal Study 2019 shows that the M&A activity in the Energy sector is on the rise. It has gone up from 3% in the 2015-17 period to 11% in the last two years. The same is the case with the joint venture activity witnessed by us in this time period which has gone up from 6% to 12%. This shows that the Energy sector remains critical to the regional economy and that's despite fruitful diversification efforts by the governments in the region. It is also because there is an increased focus in the region on creating efficiencies and driving innovation in the Energy sector. We could also attribute this to a focus on renewable energy projects in the region. We are also witnessing that a lot of our clients are looking at opportunities, in particular, investment opportunities on the African continent as well as South Asia, from their Dubai or Middle East bases. This is likely to take the form of joint ventures in these jurisdictions. We see, for example, BP is continuing to expand and progress ahead with its trademark, Khazzan Gas Project, in Oman. We see Saudi Arabian investors showing interest in setting up a refinery in Pakistan and this all is likely to result in increased activity in both M&A and joint venture space in relation to the Energy sector in the region.