Areas of work

Engineering contractors work with many different industries. Read overviews of key sectors here to get an overview of what each area involves and the challenges encountered in each type of work.

Air separation, power generation and water

Clients of engineering contractors working in this area include suppliers of utilities, such as power and water, and those requiring specialist gases to run processes, eg electronics companies, base industries and the medical sector. As well as sale of plant, we may be contracted to build, operate and supply products, for example, oxygen to a steel manufacturer. A lot of current work includes plant upgrades and de-bottlenecking to meet increased demand.

Worldwide demand for energy and natural resources is driving growth, and ‘gas to liquids’ development, the process of converting natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons into liquid products, is a large emerging market.

The challenges are…

  • Building plants in harsher locations presented by places such as Africa, China and the Middle East.
  • Developing efficient and less wasteful plants in the light of increasing power costs.

Fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Large production plants in these sectors can comprise a range of unit operations, such as reaction, recovery and crystallisation operations. Engineering contractors often work hand in hand with clients to realise the design and construction of full-scale processes that are often based on a lab process. Building up long-term, trusted relationships often leads to new work in other sites worldwide.

Tighter regulations and fewer blockbuster discoveries have made the cost of drug development shoot through the roof. As a result clients are more cost conscious and demand tighter project schedules to start production quickly to maximise return on investment. This has driven new developments in plant modularisation, process intensification and value engineering.

The challenges are…

  • Gaining client appreciation of the cost of new full-scale production facilities.
  • Bringing processes on line to meet client expectations.

General processes

General process work covers a wide range of industries including oil and gas, refining petrochemicals, fine chemicals and consumer goods. Engineering contractors work with clients to identify market opportunities and take projects from planning through early design, engineering, procurement and construction and on to fully operational plants that employ the most appropriate process technology.

Significant global economic growth has driven increased demand for both energy and consumer products, and increased investment in new processing plant across all industry sectors, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Many of the growing economies utilise ‘western’ engineering and management skills in the design, construction and management of large complex projects.

The challenges are…

  • Delivering innovative technology solutions and the right project execution strategies.
  • Intelligently meeting resource demands to design and build mega-projects.

Oil and gas (offshore)

The design, construction and operation of offshore production facilities requires expertise from a range of engineering disciplines. The engineering work is technically challenging, due mainly to the space and access constraints of offshore design. Clients range from multinational energy corporations to small independent oil companies.

Significant capital investment is being made into new facilities due to high oil price currently driven by economic growth in Asia. Large projects coming on stream are in interesting locations including the North Sea, Africa, Asia and the former Soviet Union. Field decommissioning also offers new work. While such investment presents significant opportunities for contractors, the number of new projects raises issues of component supply and fabrication, and highlights the shortage of skilled engineers.

The challenges are…

  • Managing the capacity of work.
  • Working safely in technically challenging, space-constrained environments.

Oil and gas (onshore)

Projects can range from gas development work, including onshore wellheads and pipelines, to the construction of enormous refineries and downstream petrochemical plants. Contractors mainly work with major local producing companies and most work is currently in the Middle East and former Soviet Union states.

Previous underinvestment by producers has led to a refinery shortage, but now that oil prices are high a large number of new projects are coming on line. Contractors are increasingly ‘localising’ their engineering resources closer to the project sites. However, current engineering and manufacturing resources won’t meet the global demand. These demands present good opportunities for graduate engineers to gain accelerated experience and travel earlier in their careers.

The challenges are…

  • Finding resources to meet the demand for work.
  • Meeting aggressive schedule requirements to bring projects on line.

Olefins, polymers and derivatives

Nearly all the processes used in the production of olefins, polymers and other derivatives are proprietary technologies. This means clients typically approach contractors that hold the process technology they want to use – it has to be cost effective, efficient and reliable. Contractors may sell a design package where the client then arranges engineering, procurement and construction, or a lump-sum turnkey project where the whole solution is provided.

The peak in the oil economy cycle is driving massive growth in this area. The Middle East, with its abundance of feedstock, and the Far East, with an insatiable demand for products, are currently two major centres of activity.

The challenges are…

  • Balancing clients’ expectations when equipment and material costs are high.
  • Meeting challenging schedules and resourcing projects both home and on site in a busy time.

Project management consulting (PMC)

In project management consultancy (PMC) roles, clients engage engineering contractors to support them in managing projects rather than the delivery of design, procurement or construction services. Contracts vary greatly from managing the schedule and costs to placing contracts, co-ordinating third parties, carrying out technical reviews and reporting to financiers.

Skills shortages and the huge expansion of projects has resulted in a growth in PMC. Independent client companies may need to supplement their own capabilities, while in the case of some national oil companies, financiers may stipulate the input of experienced project managers. The execution of ‘mega’ projects also requires a different model of project management.

The challenges are…

  • Working with client teams and winning their confidence.
  • Aligning global variations in delivery models, eg the supply chain works differently in other countries.

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