GCC oil & gas contract awards slump to three-year low

Contract awards in the GCC’s hydrocarbons sector fell to their lowest level in three years in the second quarter, amidst a prolonged slump in oil prices, MEED reported.

The oil, gas and chemicals sector saw an estimated $3.41 billion worth of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts awarded in Q2, a 62 percent drop from the $8.96 billion awarded in the first quarter.

However, the value of contract awards declined only marginally year-on-year from the $3.57 billion spent in the second quarter of 2015.

The only EPC project with a value over $1 billion awarded in Q2 was on the Hasbah offshore gas field expansion in Saudi Arabia.

The contract was awarded to a consortium comprising India’s Larsen & Toubro and Singapore’s Emas after a bid of about $1.5 billion, MEED reported in late April.