Kent targets over $3bln backlog for 2026 as regional project demand escalates

By Anoop Menon

Dubai-headquartered engineering and project services company Kent expects its order backlog to exceed $3 billion by the end of 2026, supported by strong project activity in the Middle East and growing opportunities in data centre and energy sectors, CEO John Gilley said.

Speaking to Zawya Projects on the sidelines of ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi, Gilley said the company's backlog was on course to surpass the nearly $3 billion recorded in 2025, despite supply-chain disruptions and a slowdown in some regional energy projects.

"Backlog will be a record again this year," he said.

Gilley said Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region accounts for the largest share of its business. In the Middle East, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iraq remain Kent's principal growth markets for large-scale projects.

Outside the Middle East, Kent is pursuing opportunities in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and lately, Africa.

He noted that National Oil Companies (NOCs) are full speed ahead in terms of large projects, while International Oil Companies (IOCs) were becoming more selective about large greenfield investments with the exception of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects.

“LNG mega projects are still reaching Final Investment Decisions, and as such, we're pricing quite a lot of those as well,” he said. “Midstream in the US seemed to dip last year ‒ it seems to be coming back now.”

Despite reports of project deferrals across the industry, Gilley said Kent had not experienced a significant reduction in its workload.

He added that the company's proposals team was planning for increased activity in 2027.

Energy infrastructure rehabilitation

Kent is seeing opportunities to assess, repair and rehabilitate energy infrastructure damaged during the recent regional conflict drawing on its engineering, consultancy and on-site capabilities.

The company is already assisting its customers with repair work, Gilley said.

"Some of that damage is relatively easily repaired and some of it is not," he said. “We've got people on the ground, we can help out along with other companies.”

He noted that some countries in the region are developing contracting frameworks for repair and rehabilitation projects, while others are proceeding on a more ad-hoc basis.

Gilley said Kent was not currently experiencing significant delays across its project portfolio in the region, despite disruptions to shipping and equipment supplies.

He cited a gas project where work had already been accelerated before the conflict began, putting the company in a comfortable position to meet the client's request for faster execution. Despite delays in material deliveries, the project remains on schedule for completion, which he described as a ‘phenomenal’ achievement amid the ongoing conflict.

Kent, Gilley continued, aims to limit its exposure to lump-sum turnkey contracts to less than 10 percent of revenue, favouring engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM), unit-rate, reimbursable, cost-plus and target-price contracts.

He acknowledged that escalation in bulk material costs was putting pressure on project margins but said blue-chip clients generally recognised the impact of exceptional cost escalation on contractors, provided contractors could demonstrate efforts to optimise procurement, push suppliers for competitive prices and control costs.

Data centre expansion

Kent expanded into data centres following its acquisition of Dubai-based Sudlows Consulting, a specialist data centre engineering and commissioning business in 2025.

The acquisition enabled Kent to combine its existing electrical, cooling and engineering capabilities with specialist data centre expertise and client relationships.

Gilley explained that engineering expertise from oil and gas projects, in areas like electrical load calculations, cable sizing and cooling systems, is directly transferable to data centre construction.

“The electrical design is the same, so is the cooling design but there are nuances to it which required an acquisition,” he said, noting that the areas where the two sectors differ are supply chains, contracting structures and client requirements.

Kent's ability to deliver projects within compressed schedules would be a key competitive advantage in the data centre sector, according to the Kent executive.

“If it was just simple engineering and construction, anybody could do it,” he said. “But when you're talking about actually deploying that amount of money over a period of nine months, only certain companies have the capability and the systems to do that.”

The company is currently bidding for full lump-sum turnkey data centre contracts, alongside additional engineering, and expects to partner with construction companies where required.

Gilley said demand for data centre infrastructure remained strong but competition and tight pricing were putting pressure on contractor margins.

“You still have to bid hard and the contracting types are such that it's not entirely a lump sum ‒ it would be a target price,” he said. “There's quite a lot of risk still in data centre work.”

Gilley added that the margin difference between oil and gas and data centre projects was “really negligible.”

He said Kent maintains the same selective approach to data centre clients as it does in oil and gas, targeting financially strong companies to minimise payment risks and protect cash flow.

“We never have bad debt because our clients are of that quality,” he stated

Diversification and acquisitions

Oil and gas, mainly onshore upstream developments alongside some offshore work, continues to account for the largest share of Kent's business.

“We are also venturing into midstream and petrochemical projects,” said Gilley.

The company is expanding its capabilities in carbon capture, hydrogen and offshore wind, drawing on a combined 120 –130 years of industry experience. Other target areas include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), where Kent is currently developing five projects, and offshore decommissioning, supported by the acquisition of Aberdeen-based well services business Exceed).

“I like to think of it as the full life cycle” said Gilley. “We provide the energy the world needs, build the energy systems of the future and support the world’s growing demand for data, which is closely linked to energy, Decommissioning completes the full lifecycle.”

He said the company is also evaluating further acquisitions, including a potential transaction in the United States and opportunities in asset integrity services.

Modular construction

Gilley expects modular construction to gain traction in the Middle East as companies seek to reduce on-site construction risks and accelerate project delivery.

Fabricating large modules off-site could reduce exposure to weather and safety risks, although transporting the completed modules would remain a logistical challenge, he noted.

“The Middle East traditionally has been what's known as stick-build type construction, but I can see that changing — certainly for data centres anyway,” he said.

By allowing fabrication to continue away from affected project sites, modular construction could also improve resilience during regional disruptions.

AI and project delivery

Kent is investing several million dollars annually in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve engineering productivity and develop digital services for clients.

Gilley said AI applications were increasingly being used to automate engineering specifications, review documents and compare design revisions.

He said some engineering review processes that previously required several weeks could now be completed in days.

The company is also developing automated engineering drawing capabilities and expanding its Ennova AI platform, which offers digital twins and autonomous asset operations.

Structural shift

Looking ahead, geopolitical disruptions could prompt companies and governments to reassess their long-term energy and infrastructure investments, according to Gilley. He cited the UAE and Saudi Arabia's investments in alternative oil export routes, which were difficult to justify commercially at the time as they didn’t produce anything despite costing billions but have since proved valuable.

Several IOCs made substantial profits in the last quarter from refining operations, some of which were loss-making before the conflict, he noted.

“So maybe that changes things. I think some countries may re-evaluate their green energy investments with a view of not being 100 percent dependent on oil or gas from the Middle East,” said Gilley.

He also expects some of the majors to go back into Iraq.

“I think Exxon will go back in ‒ maybe onto Majnoon, which is huge ‒ but they'll be looking for certain guarantees as well,” he said.

Gilley emphasised that the prevailing uncertainty has reinforced the need for greater ‘float’ or flexibility in project schedules to absorb delays without affecting the overall completion date. He noted that engineering and procurement activities can also be relocated to enable work to continue amid disruptions.

“I think projects are won and lost between engineering and procurement,” he said, highlighting that much of a project's commercial risk was determined during engineering and procurement. Once designs had been approved and equipment procured, construction delays became more manageable, although physical site activities remained vulnerable to disruption, he concluded.

(Reporting by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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