World’s 10 largest oil and gas contractors

So it is with this that ArabianOilandGas.com presents the world’s 10 largest oil and gas contractors. These are the companies that are making sure the hydrocarbons industry has the state-of-the-art facilities required to maintain its position as the world’s number one provider of energy.

Like our list of the world’s 10 largest oilfield services companies we have based the list solely on the last financial year’s revenues. However, some companies on the list have higher revenues than others placed above them. This is due to the fact that being conglomerates, they have a number of major interests in other areas of industry that had to be taken into account. Daelim is a good example of this as it has a number of civil infrastructure projects etc that are not oil and gas related. Also Fluor could lay a serious claim, but seeing as it was included in the oilfield services companies list, we decided to feature another company instead. 

The information regarding each company was taken from its respective websites and as much as possible was double checked on other websites including www.britannica.com,
the Forbes Global 2000 list, Reuters and a number of other websites. 

If you think a company is missing from our list who should have been included, please feel free to leave a comment.

1. Bechtel (USA)
2. Technip (France)
3. Aker Solutions (Norway)
4. Chiyoda Corporation (Japan)
5. SNC-Lavalin Group (Canada)
6. J. Ray McDermott (USA)
7. JGC Corporation (Japan)
8. Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
9. Foster Wheeler (USA)
10. Daelim Industrial Company (South Korea)

 
1. Bechtel ($31.4 billion)

The company has its headquarters in San Francisco and was founded in the early 1900s as a contracting business concentrating on the railroad industry. Bechtel now has 44,000 employees working on projects in nearly 50 countries.

As well as still being involved in general construction Bechtel has been heavily involved with the oil and gas industry for a number of decades. The company has built refining and chemical projects, including grassroots refineries and refinery expansions and modernisations.

Other projects include gas processing plants, major oil and gas field developments, and about a third of the world’s gas liquefaction capacity — more than any other contractor. The company has also built tens of thousands of kilometers of pipeline.

Bechtel has worked on various projects across the Middle East for all the major NOCs including Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Qatar Petroleum. 

2. Technip ($9.84 billion)
   
The French contractor has its headquarters in Paris and has been in operation for over 50 years. The company started out building refineries and petrochemicals plants in 1958 and built the world’s first LNG facility in Algeria in 1962.

With over 23,000 employees in 46 countries around the world, Technip have a reputation within the industry for tackling difficult infrastructure projects and its activities cover the whole spectrum of the hydrocarbons industry including onshore, offshore, sub-sea and petrochemicals facilities. 

The company usually works with NOCs and IOCs on various projects in places as diverse as Peru, China, the Gulf of Mexico and Bulgaria.

In the Middle East Technip has won a number of high profile contracts in 2009 including two packages on the recently announced Satorp refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, worth an estimated $3 billion.

Technip are also constructing LNG trains for QatarGas at the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar in a joint venture with Chiyoda Corporation that is worth around $4 billion.

3. Aker Solutions ($8.34 billion)

The roots of this massive Norwegian company can be traced as far back as 1841. Now Aker Solutions has 26,000 employees working in around 30 countries worldwide.

The Norwegian company delivers engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions to the petroleum, natural gas, refining and petrochemicals industries. Aker provides management, design and construction of major projects including refining, petrochemical processing and bio-refinery, LNG, and onshore and offshore oil production. 

They provide the full lifecycle of services from initial concept through technology development, process technology application, design, procurement, construction and commissioning to operations, maintenance, modification and decommissioning.

Aker Solutions are active in countries across the MENA region and high profile projects in the Middle East have included Yansab’s polyethylene, polypropylene and product handling contract and the project management services contract for the Ibn Zahr polypropylene III project, both in Saudi Arabia.

4. Chiyoda Corporation ($6.35 billion)

Founded in 1948 Chiyoda is a leading Japanese integrated engineering and construction company with a significant presence both domestically and overseas in key markets such as Asia and the Middle East.

Chiyoda Corporation specialises in the construction of LNG plants. The company’s first foray into the sector was in 1973 when it built a LNG plant in the UAE. Now Chiyoda enjoys around a 30% share of the LNG market. 

Chiyoda has a number of high profile contracts in the Middle East including the QatarGas LNG project at Ras Laffan City in Qatar as well as the Satorp refinery project at Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

5. SNC-Lavalin Group ($6.14 billion)

The Canadian company was founded in 1911 in Montreal by Arthur Surveyer and first specialised in hydraulic projects. Now SNC-Lavalin has over 21.250 employees and is active in over 40 countries worldwide. 

The company have been involved in a huge number of high profile projects in the oil and gas industry and has expertise right across the sector including bitumen extraction and production, chemicals, fertilizers, gas processing, heavy and conventional oil production, offshore oil and gas, petrochemicals, pipelines, terminals and pump stations and refining and upgrading.

SNC-Lavalin has a number on ongoing project in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region including a $1 billion contract with Algerian energy giant Sonatrach for construction and installation of a gas treatment facility, the saltwater injection system contract on the giant 1.2 million bpd Khurais oilfield and the Shaybah refinery expansion in Saudi Arabia.

6. J. Ray McDermott ($6.7 billion)

The company, whose headquarters are located in Houston, Texas, is synonymous with the construction of offshore oil and gas facilities and has been involved in the construction of offshore oil rigs since 1950. 

J. Ray McDermott provides marine solutions with fabrication facilities in the Americas, Middle East, Caspian and Asia Pacific. Services include design, fabrication, transportation and installation of offshore platforms, and installation of offshore pipelines.

The company also has major interests in power generating, nuclear components and governmental services.

The company is heavily involved with the offshore oil and gas industry in the Middle East and has long term agreements signed with NOCs including Saudi Aramco. Recent projects won by J. Ray McDermott includes the Karan gas field development in Saudi Arabia as well as the complex Al Shaheen offshore oilfield in Qatar.  

7. JGC Corporation ($4.3 billion)

The company was founded in Tokyo, Japan, in 1928 and initially concentrated on purchase cracking processing technology from the USA.

Now JGC has over 5800 employees and has been involved in over 20,000 high profile projects in over 70 countries worldwide.

JGC offers a comprehensive line of project services, from basic planning to design, materials and equipment procurement, construction, and commissioning under a system of total responsibility. JGC maintains a global network of satellite engineering centers to assure successful project execution anywhere in the world.

JGC is very active in the MENA region and current projects include the Pearl GTL project in Qatar, a $1.36 billion contract in Algeria for the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) work for the Gassi Touil gas field and was most recently awarded the project management services contractor to conduct a feasibility study for the development of the Rabigh Phase II project in Saudi Arabia.

8. Hyundai Heavy Industries ($6.44 billion)

The South Korean company is one of the few companies working in the oil and gas industry that could lay claim to being able to supply everything an NOC could ask for. From constructing a petrochemicals complex to building a crude or LNG carrier, HHI can deliver it. 

The company’s Industrial Plant & Engineering division carries out industrial plant projects across the oil & gas industry on a turnkey basis. Its services cover all phases of project implementation including engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, operation, and training.

The company was almost single handedly responsible for the huge influx of Korean workers into the Middle East during the 1970s and 1980s after it won a number of high profile construction contracts in the region. Almost 800,000 South Koreans emigrated to Saudi Arabia.

Today HHI are still extremely active in the Middle East with numerous high profile contracts right across the Gulf, including the EPC contract for the Karan gas facilities package and a joint venture with Foster Wheeler for the Khurais gas facility, both in Saudi Arabia.  

9. Foster Wheeler ($6.85 billion)

The two companies that make up Foster Wheeler were founded in the late 1800s in the US before merging to form Foster Wheeler in 1927. Although the company’s headquarters are in Clinton, New Jersey in the US Foster Wheeler is now incorporated in Switzerland.

The company has over 14,000 employees and offices in 28 countries worldwide. Foster Wheeler can handle the design, engineer and construction of  processing facilities and related infrastructure for the upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals and petrochemicals sectors.

The company also owns technology in delayed coking, solvent de-asphalting and hydrogen production processes.

Foster Wheeler’s projects in the MENA region include the $10 billion Khurais onshore and $9 billion Manifa offshore oilfields in Saudi Arabia.

10. Daelim Industrial Company ($7.16 billion)

The South Korean company was founded in 1939 and initially concentrated on supplying construction materials. Now Daelim has around 4800 employees and is active in around 10 countries in the Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Daelim’s main areas of business include gas, petroleum refining, chemical and petrochemical, power and energy plants industries. The company’s engineering and construction arm provides feasibility studies, project management, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up, operation and maintenance, and project financing.

Daelim’s projects in the Middle East include a $400 million contract to construct the Sulphur plant at the $9.6 billion Satorp refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia and a $110 million contract for a LNG plant in Iran.