Middle East power rental market worth €440 million in 2014

The construction, oil and gas industries helped maintain growth in the Middle Eastern power rental market in 2014, bringing its total value to over US$500 million (€440 million), according to a Verify Markets report.

The report said the market for rental power was divided in two parts – project business and commercial power rental business. It said power projects were mainly in Saudi Arabia, with a small percentage in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries.

The power generation rental markets in the GCC countries were primarily driven by demand from utilities and the construction industry, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the largest power rental market.

It said power project business, or temporary power plants, accounted for just over half of the total Middle Eastern power rental market in 2014. However, according to Verify Markets, the power project business was expected to decrease in the next seven years due to the integration of the grid between the GCC countries and grid expansion in Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, the report said Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries would likely increase their power generation capacities in the next seven years.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s power rental market was primarily driven by demand from the oil and gas industry, while the power rental market in Bahrain was said to be saturated, and the growth rate was expected to be slow over the forecast period.

A majority of the power rental operations in GCC countries used diesel as a fuel, with very few natural gas-based operations. Verify Markets said the reasons for few natural gas-based operations included limited availability, permanent power plants and insufficient customer supply infrastructure.

Solar potential

According to the report, solar energy-based power rental was expected to hold a promising future in the GCC countries, although the growth rate of this market was expected to be slow during the next seven years.

“There are only a few companies operating in this niche market, currently. However, some of the major players in the power rental market in the GCC countries are expected to start their operations in the solar energy-based power rental market. Increased technology use for remote monitoring and access to generators and associated equipment is expected to increase within the forecast period as well,” Verify Markets said.

Overall, the Middle Eastern Power Rental Market was expected to grow steadily during the next seven years. The base year for the study was 2014 and revenue forecasts were provided up to 2021.

Companies featured in the full report included Al Faris Equipment Rentals, Aggreko, Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar CAT (Al-Bahar), Altaaqa Alternative Solutions (Altaaqa), Rental Solutions and Services (RSS), Smart Energy Solutions (SES), Jassim Transport & Stevedoring Company (JTC), Bryne Equipment Rental, Cummins Olayan Energy, Enerwhere Sustainable Energy, Atlas Copco Rental, and Hertz Equipment Rental Solutions, among others.

The countries included Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.