Market Overview
| Study Period | 2020 - 2031 |
|---|---|
| Forecast Data Period | 2026 - 2031 |
| Historical Data Period | 2020 - 2024 |
| Growth Rate | 7.03% CAGR |
| Market Concentration | Low |
Major Players *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order Image © Mordor Intelligence. Reuse requires attribution under CC BY 4.0. | |
Middle-East And Africa Syngas Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence
The Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market size is expected to register a CAGR of 7.03% during the forecast period.
- High capital investment and funding is likely to hinder the Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market's growth.
- Development of underground coal gasification technology is likely to create opportunities to the Middle-East and Africa Syngas market growth in the future.
- Saudi Arabia is expected to dominate the Middle-East and Africa Syngas market and is also expected to witness the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.
Note: Market size and forecast figures in this report are generated using Mordor Intelligence’s proprietary estimation framework, updated with the latest available data and insights as of 2026.
Middle-East And Africa Syngas Market Trends and Insights
Increasing Usage in Power Generation Industry
- The power industry is the backbone of the industrial sector that supplies essential energy to industrial, commercial, manufacturing, and residential customers.
- Synthesis gas plays a huge role in power generation, as it is used as an intermediate in creating synthetic natural gas (SNG).
- IGCC plants use gasifiers that convert coal or any other carbon-based materials to syngas, which is used in driving a combined cycle turbine to generate electricity. IGCC plants can achieve efficiencies of 45% and have low emissions, since the fuel is cleaned before it is fired in the gas cycle turbine.
- Biogas, which is a form of renewable energy, can be obtained through thermochemical gasification of synthetic gas.
- Gasification and pyrolysis processes produce a combustible synthetic gas that can either be used to produce electricity, or further refined and upgraded for direct generation in a gas turbine or engine.
- The aforementioned factors have been boosting the demand for syngas in the region, in the recent times.
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Saudi Arabia to Dominate the Market
- The market openness and investment opportunities were less, when compared to the other emerging economies. However, the government in its 10th development plan, is reforming the economic plans, with investments in diversified sectors, and is trying to attract private investments in the country, in order to make it a diversified economy that is not dependent on oil.
- Due to various government policies in the oil refinery sector along with company acquisitions, the Saudi Arabian refining catalyst market is expected to grow during the forecast period.
- Many investments and collaborations in the petrochemical sector are coming up in the country, which are likely to provide opportunities for the growth of the syngas market in the coming years.
- Saudi Aramco and SABIC have also signed a memorandum of understanding to build a USD 20 billion worth complex, in order to convert crude oil into chemicals, in the country. The operation is expected to start in 2025, processing around 400 thousand barrels per day of crude oil, to produce about 9 million metric ton of chemicals.
- All the aforementioned factors, in turn, are expected to boost the demand for syngas in the country.
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Value Chain Analysis
The Middle East and Africa syngas value chain begins with feedstock sourcing (natural gas, coal, petroleum residues/pet-coke, and biomass/waste-derived streams), followed by syngas generation through reforming, partial oxidation, or gasification. The syngas is then conditioned and shifted, including sulfur removal and H2/CO ratio tuning, before being routed to power generation (for example, IGCC) or to downstream synthesis trains for chemicals and fuels (methanol, ammonia/urea, and related derivatives). Long-term offtake structures are increasingly used for large, capital-intensive projects.
Technology licensors, EPCs, and industrial gas companies play a central role in upgrading regional capabilities from standalone syngas supply toward integrated hubs. This is reflected in projects and contracts tied to fertilizer and green ammonia build-outs, including Topsoe being selected as technology licensor for ACWA Power's Yanbu Green Hydrogen Project (January 2026) and NextChem (MAIRE) securing a EUR 485 million contract for licensing, process design packages, and critical equipment for three nitrogen fertilizer complexes in West Africa (April 2026). Logistics and utilities, including power, water, and export terminals, act as key bottlenecks and enablers, while industrial zones such as Duqm (Oman) and Saudi clusters (Jubail/Yanbu) concentrate infrastructure, suppliers, and downstream consumers around export-oriented ammonia/methanol and domestic fertilizer value chains.
Competitive Landscape
The Middle-East and Africa syngas market is fragmented in nature. Key players in the market include Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Linde plc, Air Liquide, and Royal Dutch Shell plc, among others.
Middle-East And Africa Syngas Industry Leaders
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Linde plc
Air Liquide
- *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Market Opportunities and Future Outlook
One core opportunity is the build-out of integrated nitrogen, methanol, and fuels complexes that monetize syngas or syngas-adjacent pathways (reforming or gasification plus downstream synthesis), while strengthening domestic fertilizer supply chains. Announced and awarded projects show an active investment pipeline, including NextChem (MAIRE) securing a EUR 485 million contract (March 2026) for three nitrogen and methanol complexes in West Africa, and Dangote Group increasing planned spending to USD 4 billion for its Ethiopian fertilizer complex (May 2026), with supporting infrastructure such as a 110 km natural gas pipeline and on-site power.
A second opportunity is low-carbon syngas and derivatives, especially green ammonia and biomethanol platforms that pair renewable power and hydrogen with established ammonia and methanol synthesis demand centers. This is supported by project announcements and technology selections, including Egypt Amun Green Ammonia (EAGA) outlining plans for a large green ammonia facility at Ras Banas (April 2026) and KBR announcing a contract award for its PureMSM technology for a biomethanol plant in Saudi Arabia (June 2026). Waste-to-syngas conversion is a further area of interest for fuels and chemicals, supported by the 2025 MOU between Hydrogen Utopia International and Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) to evaluate InEnTec Plasma Enhanced Melter technology to convert plastic waste into syngas for sustainable aviation fuel production in Saudi Arabia.
Recent Industry Developments
- June 2026: Air Products continued its role as EPC contractor, system integrator, and exclusive off-taker for the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company project in Saudi Arabia, designed to produce up to 600 tonnes per day of carbon-free hydrogen via green ammonia. The project structure reinforces long-term, contracted offtake models that anchor large-scale syngas-adjacent (ammonia-based hydrogen carrier) supply chains and associated downstream demand.
- May 2026: Linde reported its Q1 2026 Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) segment results, indicating continued scale and commercial activity across the region for industrial gases relevant to syngas-linked value chains. These disclosures reinforce the role of diversified industrial gas portfolios in supporting refinery, chemical, and emerging hydrogen/ammonia projects through on-site supply and long-term contracts.
- July 2024: Aramco signed definitive agreements to acquire a 50% equity interest in the Blue Hydrogen Industrial Gases Company, a subsidiary of Air Products Qudra, to develop a lower-carbon hydrogen production business in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. The transaction links national oil company integration with industrial gas capabilities, supporting blue hydrogen and related syngas conversion routes for industrial and energy end users.
Research Methodology Framework and Report Scope
Market Definition and Coverage
For this study, the market covers the value generated from producing synthesis gas (syngas) in the Middle East and Africa, across major feedstocks and process routes, and supplied for downstream uses like chemicals, fuels, and power.
Scope exclusions: We exclude captive on-site intermediate transfers that are not priced, and we also exclude revenue from downstream derivative products (such as methanol or ammonia) beyond the syngas step.
Segmentation Overview
- Feedstock
- Coal
- Natural Gas
- Petroleum
- Pet-coke
- Biomass
- Technology
- Steam Reforming
- Partial Oxidation
- Auto-thermal Reforming
- Combined or Two-step Reforming
- Biomass Gasification
- Gasifier Type
- Fixed Bed
- Entrained Flow
- Fluidized Bed
- Application
- Power Generation
- Chemicals
- Methanol
- Ammonia
- Oxo Chemicals
- n-Butanol
- Hydrogen
- Dimethyl Ether
- Liquid Fuels
- Gaseous Fuels
- Geography
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- Rest of Middle-East and Africa
Data Validation & Update Cycle
Outputs are validated through triangulation across at least three angles, which typically include supply capacity signals, implied demand from downstream use, and the pricing or value conversion used in the model. Outliers are flagged when a country or application shifts too sharply versus known project timing or versus feedstock trends, and then assumptions are re-checked and adjusted.
Before sign-off, the model and key assumptions go through a multi-step review, and respondents are re-contacted when a variance cannot be explained through public updates. Reports are refreshed annually, with interim updates when material events occur, and a final pre-delivery check is completed so clients receive the latest available view.
Mordor Intelligence's Middle East Africa Synthesis Gas Syngas Market Market Size Versus Other Published Estimates
Published estimates for MEA syngas often differ because each source draws the line in a different place, especially between syngas as an intermediate gas and the larger value of downstream derivatives. Differences also come from whether values are reported at plant-gate versus delivered pricing, how utilization and ramp-up are treated for new projects, and the year used for currency conversion.
In MEA specifically, the biggest gap drivers tend to be whether methanol, ammonia, or hydrogen revenues are counted as part of the market, whether only the Middle East is measured or Africa is fully included, and whether announced projects are assumed to run at nameplate capacity too early. The spread is also influenced by how feedstock price swings are passed through to syngas value and whether delayed commissioning is explicitly modeled.
Benchmark comparison
| Source | Market Size | Gaps in Research Methodology |
|---|---|---|
| Mordor Intelligence | USD 1.62 B (2024) | |
| Global Consultancy A | USD 1.50 B (2024) | Often bundles syngas with derivative value, and may apply a simpler plant-gate value assumption without rechecking country-level utilization shifts in the same year. |
| Industry Publisher B | USD 3.80 B (2026) | Uses a later starting year and can include a wider basket of syngas-linked derivative value, while also assuming faster project ramp-up across GCC and South Africa than what operating checks usually support. |
The table shows that year selection and what is counted around derivatives explains most of the difference, and it becomes larger when new projects are assumed to ramp quickly. By keeping the number tied to priced syngas output, checking utilization with operators, and not extending value into downstream derivative sales, the estimate stays more comparable across countries, which is the approach applied by Mordor Intelligence.
Key Questions Answered in the Report
What is the current Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market size?
The Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market is projected to register a CAGR of 7.03% during the forecast period (2026-2031)
Who are the key players in Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market?
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Linde plc and Air Liquide are the major companies operating in the Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market.
What years does this Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market cover?
The report covers the Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market historical market size for years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The report also forecasts the Middle-East and Africa Syngas Market size for years: 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031.
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