The oil and gas sector has seen some drastic changes in the past year, and so have engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors followed suit to cater to an ever-changing industry. As the region’s national oil companies have moved to integrate vertically and boost their downstream portfolios, so, too have EPC contractors. EPC contractors are shifting to adapt to an environment that requires they be more ambitious, and more versatile, while maintaining financial discipline to suit the changing needs of the region’s oil and gas companies.
India’s Larsen & Toubro took the top spot on our list this year thanks to some major wins and a growing presence in the Middle East. L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), the energy arm of L&T, won contracts with Arab oil companies and demonstrated a strong interest in partnership within the region.
LTHE is part of Saudi Aramco’s Long-Term Agreement (LTA) programme, which was created to support the oil giant’s offshore projects and cut down lead time for contractors within the LTA. In consortium with Subsea 7, LTHE has so far won five contracts from the Saudi oil titan. In January 2019, the consortium secured an EPCI contract from Saudi Aramco for the Zuluf and Berri fields. It includes EPCI work on three oil production deck manifolds and subsea pipelines.
In February 2018, it won a $316mn contract from Al Dhafra Petroleum, the joint venture between ADNOC and Korea National Oil Company and GS Energy. The scope of work include engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of flow lines, gathering facilities & pipelines to transfer crude oil and gas from Haliba fields to Asab’s processing facilities. In Kuwait, LTHE in April 2019 won a pipeline construction contract from Kuwait Oil Company, valued between $360mn and $720mn. Further downstream, it won an EPC contract for a $450mn coke calciner project in Sohar, Oman. Across the value chain and the GCC, LTHE has been difficult to miss in the past year.
However, it is not simply the scope or volume of work that matters; L&T has also created L&T-Nxt, an initiative to boost its digital expertise and gain insight into the internet of things, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
Click for the full list of the Top 30 EPC Contractors of 2019
