MENA oil and gas pipeline sector still reeling from impacts of weak demand and COVID-19

MENA oil and gas pipeline sector still reeling from impacts of weak demand and COVID-19

MENA oil and gas pipeline sector still reeling from impacts of weak demand and COVID-19

The Middle East and African (MENA) oil and gas pipelines sector has been impacted due to low oil prices and weak demand as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic has affected the progress of several projects, forcing operators to opt for alternative strategies such as delaying project completion or reducing capital expenditures. While these approaches may provide a temporary solution, MENA operators should look to adopt more robust strategies such as focusing more on remote operations through automation and digitalization or having contingency plans to ensure minimal impact on critical operations, to bail them out of any such future crisis, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Haseeb Ahmed, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: "One of the primary strategies that a majority of pipeline operators have been falling back on, is to halt or delay any avoidable current or upcoming projects. With uncertainty looming large on the prospective projects, pipeline companies are compelled to make tough decisions to keep the operations running.“

The contractor of the Niger-Benin pipeline has halted all construction activities pertaining to the project. It is unclear when the project might start