Bechtel
US-based Bechtel is perhaps one of the world’s largest integrated design, procurement, construction, and project management companies for oil, chemical, and natural gas facilities.
The company has been behind one-third of global LNG capacity, and has worked on 53 major oil and gas field developments, more than 275 refinery expansions and modernisations, 380 major chemical and petrochemical projects, and 110 gas-processing plants, not to mention 50 major offshore oil and gas field development projects, nearly 80,000km of pipeline systems, and 42 tank and terminal projects.
In the Middle East, however, the company appears to be decreasing its involvement in oil and gas projects, which may not necessarily be a strategic move but rather the result of tough market conditions, fewer projects in the pipeline, and more competition. Bechtel was among several international contractors to be awarded contracts for Qatar’s $6bn petrochemical complex in Ras Laffan. With the project falling victim to the oil price rout at the start of last year, however, its activities in the country are beginning to slow down.
