Why Is Water Reuse Rising on the Gulf’s Industrial Agenda?

Industrial water reuse is gaining ground across the Gulf, shaped by national strategies, rising costs, and uneven regulation, alongside continued desalination growth

2 Feb 2026

Water has never been abundant in the Middle East. What is changing is how the industry thinks about it.

In one of the world’s driest regions, water is no longer a background utility. Across energy, manufacturing, and heavy industry, operators are rethinking how water is used, reused, and valued. The shift is practical, not ideological. Costs are rising. Supply risks are clearer. Expectations from governments and investors are growing.

For years, industrial wastewater was treated mainly as something to get rid of. Today, it is increasingly seen as a resource. Reuse can cut freshwater intake, stabilize operations, and reduce exposure to supply shocks. In a region where water security shapes economic planning, those benefits matter.

Saudi Arabia is at the center of this change. Under Vision 2030 and updates to the National Water Strategy in the early 2020s, wastewater treatment and reuse have moved up the national agenda. Rules and targets are still evolving, but the signal is strong enough to shape long term decisions. Refining and petrochemical operators are now factoring water reuse into risk management and cost planning.

That shift is showing up in real projects. Veolia Water Technologies Middle East is delivering a reuse facility for SATORP in Jubail that treats and recycles large volumes of industrial wastewater on site. The aim is straightforward: reduce reliance on freshwater and improve reliability in a water stressed location.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, progress is uneven. Some countries support reuse through permitting and national plans. Others leave it largely to economics or corporate environmental goals. There is no single regional playbook, and adoption reflects local policy more than shared standards.

At the same time, desalination continues to expand. Developers like ACWA Power are investing in large scale plants to secure supply, while companies such as SUEZ deepen their roles in long term water and wastewater services.

Together, these trends are reshaping how industry approaches water. Desalination delivers volume. Reuse delivers efficiency. For many operators, the combination is becoming less of a choice and more of a requirement.