When Saudi Aramco elected to expand its oil and gas production in the northeastern coastal area of Saudi Arabia, it selected a contractor that could not only provide lump-sum, turnkey (LSTK) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services in that area, but also had a comprehensive knowledge of the laws, culture and expectations of the region.

Perfect fit   
With more than 100 years of experience, Chicago Bridge and Iron (CB&I) was founded in 1889, operates in over 40 countries and has more than 8,000 employees. The company has also developed a longstanding presence in the Middle East. 
CB&I has worked continuously in Saudi Arabia since 1944 on a variety of projects, including the design and construction of large, field-erected petroleum and petrochemical tanks, vessels and processing units, and has demonstrated an excellent safety record in the process.

Prime example
CB&I was awarded a LSTK EPC contract by Saudi Aramco to design and build a Gas/Oil Separation Plant (GOSP) at its Qatif South field in March last year.  To execute the complete project, CB&I Howe-Baker handled the out-of-Kingdom detail engineering, detail and procurement of the plant, while local subsidiary Arabian CBI Ltd. assumed responsibility for all in-Kingdom field construction services for the project.  Arabian CBI Ltd. also provided fabrication of critical vessels and piping since its fabrication shop is conveniently located only 10 km from the Qatif job site. 
The Qatif 2 GOSP project is a prime example of CB&I's growing expertise as an LSTK EPC provider serving the hydrocarbon industry.  In light of recent acquisitions and organic growth, the company now has the ability to self-perform a majority of its process plant work - a value that differentiates CB&I from many other EPC providers.

Cohesive unit
From executing detail engineering in-house to manufacturing the structural steel, coded vessels, pre-fabricated piping, process modules, instrumentation and electrical control systems at one of its strategically located fabrication facilities, CB&I's various business units operate together as a cohesive unit to provide clients such as Saudi Aramco with high quality performance and an excellent safety record.
This value has caught the attention of many other Middle Eastern clients, which are now broadening the scope of the contracts they award to CB&I in an effort to utilise these expanded capabilities.  In the meantime, CB&I has been contracted for a number of projects in the Middle East that are currently at various stages of completion. 
One such project is a turnkey offshore Produced Water Handling Facility that CB&I will soon complete for Occidental Petroleum on Halul Island, Qatar. 
CB&I assumed EPC responsibility for the facility in June 2002, which includes the building of two 150,000 barrel capacity separation tanks, crude oil pumping and fiscal metering facilities, pumping and filtration facilities, a remote flare system, a local equipment and control room and associated facilities. 
Upon completion, the unit will be able to process up to 435,000 barrels per day of liquids, and will signify CB&I's important contribution to the Qatari offshore oil and gas market.   
CB&I's presence in the offshore oil and gas sector has recently expanded further when it acquired the engineering and project management services of John Brown Hydrocarbons Ltd., a well-known firm that traces its founding in England to 1837.

Increasing value
Now operating as CB&I John Brown Ltd., it provides comprehensive engineering, programme and construction management services in the offshore, onshore and pipeline sectors of the hydrocarbon industry.  John Brown's offshore knowledge and experience enables CB&I to provide EPC services that encompass the entire oil and gas stream - from wellhead to product storage and distribution. 
CB&I looks forward to pursuing these new opportunities in geographic regions where clients such as Saudi Aramco need contractors that are able to provide LSTK offshore services.  With its expanded single-source solutions and worldwide presence, CB&I continues to increase the value it provides to the oil and gas industry.