The UAE accounts for 38% of the value of all the projects awarded in the first half of 2017, according to MEED Projects. The value of contracts awarded in the UAE was USD21.3bn in the period, followed by Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest economy, at USD15.8bn and Kuwait at USD6.9bn. MEED noted there are signs there would be an uptick in awards in the second half of the year as economies in the region are adjusting to lower oil prices. Ed James, Director of Content & Analysis at MEED Projects said that the award of more than USD5bn worth of EPC contracts on the new Duqm refinery in Oman at the beginning of August, plus a raft of new project announcements in Dubai, and the gradual re-emergence of activity in Saudi Arabia have provided a degree of impetus that points to a strengthening market. Some USD56bn worth of projects were awarded in the first six months of the year compared to USD69bn in the same period last year.