EPC contractors feeling the pinch

摘要

AGAINST A BACKDROP of production cuts,stifled demand from a planet wrestling with a global health pandemic,and gloomy economic forecasts ahead,energy planners in the Gulf are having to think fast on their feet.This downbeat scenario has taken an inevitable toll on projects and timelines,which has had a knock-on effect on the big engineering,procurement and construction(EPC)contractors that have thrived in in the Middle East for decades.The effects are tangible.Abu Dhabi National Oil Company(ADNOC)in April cancelled two contracts with Petrofac Emirates for its Dalma gas project.It is a massive blow: Petrofac Emirates'portion of the work-only awarded in February this year just before the outbreak engulfed the world-was worth US$1,5bn.