Each year, we put together a list of the top EPC players that have demonstrated excellence in upstream projects in the Middle East region.
This year, with a focus on increasing oil and gas production and an urgent need to address climate change issues, EPC firms have had some hard choices to make. They must strike the right balance between conventional and decarbonisation opportunities while allocating their resources accordingly.
Over the past several years, EPC contractors in oil and gas have endured significant hardships such as low capital expenditure, which has led to financial losses, project backlogs, and significant layoffs. Despite challenges, the EPC contractors in the region who have stood up against headwinds and increased efficiency through optimisation, collaboration, and use of advanced technologies – have made it onto our list!
Additionally, EPCs are increasingly focused on sustainability efforts with many actively supporting national decarbonisation initiatives. As such, the company’s involvement in addressing climate change was a key focus while shortlisting the top EPC contractors in the region.
Methodology: While formulating the list, the Oil & Gas Middle East team took into account financial reports, current and completed projects, project backlog, sustainability initiatives, and the company’s overall impact and future potential in the Middle East.
- 1. NPCC
- 2. L&T
- 3. Petrofac
- 4. Saipem
- 5. McDermott
- 6. Technip Energies
- 7. Archirodon
- 8. Técnicas Reunidas
- 9. Penspen
- 10. JGC Corp
1. NPCC
NPCC has topped our list this year as the company successfully secured multi-million EPC contracts while managing its backlog and consolidating margins.
NPCC kicked off the year with a great start by securing a $2.2 billion award from Saudi Aramco for the Zuluf offshore field.
In July, NPCC secured a nearly $1 billion EPC contract from ADNOC Offshore for the Umm Shaif field after a competitive tender process. The scope of the award covers engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and commissioning activities required to maintain Umm Shaif’s 275,000 barrels per day crude oil production capacity.
The list of NPCC’s new EPC awards doesn’t end there. In September, the company reportedly inked another $548 million EPC contract from ADNOC to build a new main gas line at its Lower Zakum field offshore Abu Dhabi.
Over the past years, NPCC has also set ambitious targets for the next 5 years aiming for significant long-term and sustainable growth while providing value to all its stakeholders.
According to NPCC, its integration with National Marine Dredging Co in February 2021 has “opened several opportunities due to a broader coverage of the EPC value chain as well as geographical reach.”
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2. L&T
India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured the second spot on our list as the company continues to progress on major EPC contracts in the region. At the end of 2021, L&T closed a giant deal worth $1.6 billion with Saudi Aramco for the giant Jafurah gas development.
Moreover, oil giant Saudi Aramco signed EPC agreements with L&T in July 2022 for various onshore construction projects including enhancing the LPG Piping Network at Ju’aymah NGL, Jubail Industrial gas network, and Ethane Upgradation Facility.
L&T also secured a contract extension with Kuwait Oil Co in August 2022 for the construction of a gas pipeline valued around $450 million. In the Middle East region, L&T said it aims to focus on building partnerships, developing markets for adjacencies in business offerings and nurturing new businesses like asset management and offshore windfarms.
The company said it is currently executing several domestic and international offshore projects, and is committed to building its regional presence in the Middle East by growing local skills and talent, improving procurement from local vendors and engaging commercially with local contractors.
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3. Petrofac
Petrofac has moved up on our ranking as the company continues to advance major projects in the region, both offshore and onshore. Moving into the second half of 2022, a significant increase in bidding activity has put the company firmly on the path to grow its backlog over the full year.
Supported by a strong commodity price environment and an increasing focus on energy security, Petrofac is focusing on new energy infrastructure projects, capitalising on the growing investment in this market.
As of 11 August 2022, Petrofac’s E&C division reported 18-month pipeline of opportunities worth $45 billion with $7 billion of bids already submitted and a further $7 billion under tender. Opportunities scheduled for the second half of 2022 are expected to be awarded evenly over the period. Petrofac’s reinstatement to ADNOC’s commercial directory provides significant growth potential in 2023, and activity is picking up across many of its core markets.
Petrofac has set an ambitious target to reach net zero in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. Also, the company has committed to have 30% women in leadership roles by 2025.
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4. Saipem
Italian service company Saipem has also moved up on our ranking after winning several contracts in the region. In July, Saipem signed an industrial national EPC champion implementation agreement with Saudi Aramco. According to a statement from the company, the agreement is part of the Namaat Industrial Investment Programs event, for the execution of onshore EPC projects in the kingdom by a newly established entity, to be incorporated by Saipem and NSH in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this year, Saipem also announced it won several contracts, both onshore and offshore, in the Middle East worth approximately $1,250 million. The awards relate to the ten-year extension of existing contracts regarding four land rigs.
The company was awarded on August 11 one onshore and two offshore contracts worth $900 million by the Azule Energy-led New Gas Consortium. The contracts include EPC activities relevant to the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields’ development project off the northwest coast of Angola. Saipem will handle the EPC activities, including hook-up and commissioning assistance, of the Quiluma platform and of the relevant onshore natural gas processing plant.
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5. McDermott
McDermott has retained its spot on our list this year. The Houston, Texas-based contractor started the year by securing a major EPCI contract from QatarEnergy for the offshore scope of its North Field Expansion Project. The contract’s scope includes 13 unmanned wellhead platforms topsides, as well as pipelines, beach valve stations and buildings, representing one of the largest single contracts McDermott has been awarded in its company history.
Commenting on the award when it was announced in January 2022, Tareq Kawash, McDermott’s senior vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, said, “For McDermott, this contract shows that we are back stronger than ever and our key customers have confidence in our ability to deliver strategically significant energy infrastructure.”
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6. Technip Energies
Technip Energies, a spinoff of Technip FMC, is back on our list this year. The company along with Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Co (NPCC) established a MENA-focused energy company named NT Energies in July 2022. The venture will focus on the UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa region to provide added value in blue and green hydrogen, carbon capture, waste-to-energy, and biorefining.
Technip Energies CEO Arnaud Pieton said the agreement with NPCC “marks a new milestone in our journey to accelerate the energy transition and limit climate change.”
He added that NT Energies will rapidly bring to life the energy transition infrastructures that the region requires both domestically and for exports.
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7. Archirodon
Archirodon, a European contractor, is a new entry on our list. In June 2022, the company was awarded an EPC contract by ADNOC Onshore worth $173 million to to develop further production capacity of the Asab oil field.
Other current projects that the company is executing include Al Dabbíya development in UAE, where the company is working on the engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, and assistance in commissioning of two packages in Al Dabb’iya Thamama Zone B Transition Zone.
The company, which was established in 1959, has been a part of the construction of the multi-million dollar seaports of Jeddah and Dammam and other major ports in Saudi Arabia, three ports in the United Arab Emirates, and numerous other marine projects.
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8. Técnicas Reunidas
Spanish contractor Técnicas Reunidas has moved up our list this year after securing a major EPC contract from QatarEnergy for the expansion of the existing infrastructure from four new LNG trains North Field Expansion (NFE) The project, which includes the start-up of the first LNG train, is expected to begin by year-end 2025.
The company reportedly recorded contract awards worth $1.2 billion during the first half of the year in line with the recovery trend of investments.
Juan Lladó, chairman of Técnicas Reunidas commented, “I believe that normalisation is the word that best describes the recent evolution of our operations. We are seeing normalisation in project execution, that is reflected in growing sales and operating results, as well as normalisation in client dialogue.”
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9. Penspen
Penspen has continued its momentum in the second quarter of this year with over seven new contracts in the Middle East across the project management consultancy, detailed engineering, and asset integrity service lines, including a multi-year framework agreement with a major Middle East national oil company.
Recently, the company reaffirmed its commitment to the UAE with a tailored scheme to develop the next generation of engineers.
The scheme is specifically designed for graduates in the UAE and is delivered in partnership with Khalifa University, with the aim to help future engineers develop the technical competency and real world experience required to succeed in their fields.
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10. JGC Corp
JGC Holdings Corporation has moved up on our list, thanks to its EPC contract awarded by Saudi Aramco for the Zuluf Arab Heavy Increment Central Processing Facilities.
The EPC award includes the construction projects for the core onshore GOSP and utility facilities including water injection facilities.
JGC credits the award to its relationship with Saudi Aramco, which is founded on its track record of successfully executing projects in Saudi Arabia. JGC also noted that the plan to simultaneously execute the two packages was a key factor in securing the EPC contract.
Moving forward, the JGC Group aims to continue winning projects planned by Saudi Aramco, realising job creation and technology transfer to many Saudis through the execution of such projects.