Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) was the biggest contractor in the Middle East last year, according to the Engineering News Record (ENR) annual survey of international contractors.

CCC has climbed three places to 14th position in the list of the top 225 international contractors.

The Athens-based company has headed the regional list for more than a decade, and is making headway on the international scene as well.

ENR ranks companies according to revenue generated outside their home market, a method that excludes many large players.

According to the survey, CCC booked $1,422 million in new contracts last year, representing a six per cent rise from 2000 figures, with much of the new work coming from the Middle East.

Meanwhile, CCC's Abu Dhabi-based affiliate, the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), saw its ranking improve by three places to 92nd, impacted by an eight per cent increase in total orders, to $428 million.

NPCC is owned 70 per cent by Adnoc and 30 per cent by CCC.

A major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, NPCC owns and operates a modern fleet of construction barges, capable of lifting single structures weighing up to 2,000 tonnes and laying submarine pipelines up to 60" in diameter.

In 1986, NPCC ventured into manufacturing storage tanks and spheres for storing products including liquid sulphur, water, diesel oil, crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The intention was to serve the petrochemical industry,

The company has completed the design and construction of 23 fixed and floating roof storage tanks for Ruwais refinery expansion project, and liquid sulphur storage tanks for the Onshore Gas Development (OGD-II) project.

Most recently, Qatar Petroleum awarded a 17-month contract for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a wellhead jacket and associated pipelines at the Bul Hanaine offshore field, to NPCC.

Since its inception, the firm's growth and accomplishments over the years have placed the company in a league with major international contractors involved in the development of the offshore oil and gas industry.

In 1992, NPCC expanded its engineering capability for designing offshore facilities, loading terminals, storage tanks, pressure vessels and pipelines.

In 1994, new facilities were constructed. Its fabrication and pipe coating yard, marine base and load out facility located at Mussafah occupies an area of a million square metres and comprises of offices and accommodation space.

It has a capacity of fabricating up to 67,000 tonnes of steel per year.

In 1996, a state-of-the-art facility for the fabrication of pressure vessels, capable of manufacturing 6,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of pressure vessels of various type, in thicknesses up to 160mm by hot rolling and 100mm by cold rolling, in diameters from 600mm to 6,000mm, was added to this.

The products manufactured at this facility are pressure vessels, slug catchers, separators, columns, towers, scrubbers, evaporators and other related equipment covering carbon steel and stainless steel material.

The pressure vessel manufacturing facilities are accredited by ASME to use 'U', 'U2', 'S' and 'R' stamps.

As an established global construction company, NPCC provides total EPC services in the development of offshore and onshore oil and gas fields for the Arabian Gulf and international markets.

In 1994, the company certified its Quality System to ISO9001 (Lloyds Register of Quality Assurance) and became the first offshore construction company in the Eastern hemisphere to receive this stringent version.

NPCC has received several awards from international institutions for its safety record, including the British Safety Council Sword of Honour in 1989 for being one of the top 30 safest companies in the world and the Major Offshore Contractor 1999 Safety Award by the International Pipeline and Offshore Contractors Association (IPLOCA).

NPCC's HSE-MS programme meets with local and international safety standards and the performance has been commended by many of the company's clients, claims the company.

Strong relationships have also been forged with many major international oil companies.

NPCC was established in April 1973, initially to provide a facility for the fabrication of steel structures required by the onshore and offshore oil and gas production industry.

The NPCC onshore marine base, with a fabrication yard and load out facility, was located on Saadiyat Island.

In 1978, NPCC expanded its operation by setting up a custom-built pipe coating facility at the yard, followed the next year by the successful start-up of an offshore operation providing marine spreads for pipelay, installation and hook-up works.

In 1983, it upgraded its offshore construction capability with the acquisition of a specially-built Derrick Lay Barge and two Jack-up Barges for offshore maintenance and hook-up works.

Presently, NPCC has more than 200 dedicated engineering staff to support ongoing operations.

The design team is fully equipped with the latest state-of-the-art computers and software to meet engineering challenges.