Even as the West Asia conflict is fueling an immediate slowdown in order activity for the state-run Engineer’s India (EIL), an opportunity is emerging in the region for restoring damaged oil and gas pipelines, terminals and related port and marine infrastructure that could be worth more than $1 billion spread over the next 2-3 years.
The country’s largest engineering and project management consultant (PMC) for the oil and gas sector expects countries in the Middle East Gulf (MEG) region to spend this significant amount on immediately restoring their damaged infrastructure to ensure business continuity.
The MEG region is an important area for EIL considering it accounts for a “big chunk” of its foreign business. The refinery and pipeline builder’s current order book is around ₹17,000 crore, of which foreign orders account for roughly 43 per cent.
Speaking to reporters after its AGM, EIL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Atul Gupta said there is “some slowdown” in order inflows from the Gulf region as they are busy planning restoration activities in their establishments with order activity likely to normalize around Q3 and Q4 in the current financial year, considering the conflict de-escalates.
Asked about the over $1 billion opportunity, Gupta said, “This conflict is offering us more opportunities in the MEG region. We anticipate that at least more than $1 billion should be there in all these countries together for immediate infrastructure. This should be spread across 2-3 years as the gestation period for pipelines and terminals is around 2-3 years,” Gupta explained.
Bigger opportunity
The EIL CMD also pointed to an even bigger opportunity emerging from the MEG region as countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are planning to build pipelines bypassing the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).
“Also, they are now planning for some infrastructure which should bypass the SoH. Our teams are working very closely with the client teams and we have already shown our interest. We definitely see a very positive outlook ahead. This is predominantly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. These are pipelines, terminals, facilities at port and marine infrastructure. These are at a planning state now and we are already involved at this stage,” Gupta added.
The closure of the SoH by Iran in March 2026 following attacks by the US and Israel led to the biggest disruption in the history of the energy sector, almost completely choking supply of crude oil, refined products, LPG and LNG.
In FY26, EIL strengthened its presence in West Asia with the operationalisation of its office in Saudi Arabia, supported by a long-term in-Kingdom services agreement with Saudi Aramco. It also continues to progress projects and engagements across Mongolia, Guyana, UAE, Bahrain, Algeria, Kuwait and other international markets, reinforcing its strategy of expanding its global footprint.
“EIL enters its next phase from a position of considerable strength. Our strategy is to leverage the deep engineering and project management capabilities built over six decades, while accelerating our international expansion and diversifying into sectors that will shape the next generation of energy and infrastructure. Our objective is to build a more diversified, resilient, digital and globally competitive EIL,” Gupta emphasised.