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.
McDermott has moved up a few places despite posting a $2.7bn net loss for 2018 due to a $2.2bn goodwill impairment charge. After completing its acquisition of CB&I, valued at around $6bn, the company has seen increased activity across the value chain, including a petrochemicals contract in Kuwait, two EPCI contracts for Saudi Aramco’s offshore Marjan field, a contract for FEED services from ADNOC Refining, among others. It signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco to establish an EPCI facility in Saudi Arabia for large scale fabrication of offshore platforms and onshore/offshore modules, in line with localisation initiatives. With $6.7bn in new contracts as of Q1 2019, McDermott appears poised to jump back in the black.
