Published on 25th August 2023
Pipelines are used to transport materials like oil, natural gas, and water from one location to another.
As the lifelines of the global O&G industry, pipelines provide a convenient, efficient, safe, and reliable mode of transportation from upstream production to downstream refineries, dependent industries, and end users.
Pipeline systems encompass a wide range of pipelines—from inland cross-country pipelines to pipelines in offshore areas.
Based on the location of installation, pipelines are categorized into onshore and offshore pipelines, such as:
Onshore Pipelines
Offshore Pipelines
A large pipeline construction project is generally broken into “spreads” or manageable lengths utilizing qualified and highly specialized workgroups.
Hazardous terrain, extreme pressures, and suspended loads are some challenges workers face in constructing pipelines or performing maintenance of heavy equipment.
Organizations in the pipeline industry take a number of measures to ensure employees adhere to the highest pipeline construction standards and meet the pipeline project’s specific needs.
Read on to learn more about the top players in the pipeline construction market.
Table of Contents
Global Top 10 Pipeline Construction Companies [2023]
Bechtel Corporation
Bonatti S.p.A.
Kinder Morgan, Inc.
McDermott International, Inc.
Pembina Pipeline Corporation
PJSC Transneft
Primoris Services Corporation
Spiecapag
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation)
TechnipFMC plc
Blackridge Research & Consulting – Global Pipeline & Process Services Market Report
Wrapping Up
Here are the world’s leading pipeline construction companies (listed alphabetically):
Founded: 1898
Location: Reston, Virginia, United States
Founded by Warren A. Bechtel, Bechtel Corporation is one of the world’s biggest construction and engineering companies.
Bechtel offers engineering, construction, and project management solutions and has a successful track record of completing over 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents.
Four generations of family members have run the globally leading company that serves the following markets:
Since the 1940s, Bechtel has built international pipelines that transport industrial gases, natural gas, oil, petroleum products, slurry, and water for the private sector.
According to Bechtel, it has completed “more than 50,000 miles of pipeline—enough to circle the Earth twice.”
Bechtel Pipeline Projects
Bechtel has worked on several projects worldwide, including the following pipeline projects:
Pipeline Integrity Management Tool
Bechtel was awarded the “2018 Digital Edge 50 Award” for its Pipeline Integrity Management (PIM) tool designed to help customers prioritize critical pipeline integrity work and improve overall pipeline safety.
The PIM tool enables better pipeline maintenance and replacement by integrating data science modeling, geographic information systems, and pipeline data.
As one of the most respected companies in the pipeline construction industry, Bechtel’s professional services and training leave a legacy of quality upon each project completion.
Founded: 1946
Location: Parma, Italy
Bonatti S.p.A. is one of the largest pipeline contractors with a successful track record of executing a wide range of projects in O&G transportation facilities construction.
As an international general contractor, Bonatti has laid pipes around the world under challenging environmental and logistical conditions—from deserts, forests, and frozen steppes to jungles, mountains (up to 5,000 m), and swamps.
Bonatti provides project management, EPC, commissioning, and O&M services for the following:
Pipeline Automatic Welding System
Bonatti’s O&G pipeline automatic welding system ROB.E 10:01 is the result of a 25-year R&D effort. The automated system has been designed to weld pipes of every thickness with a diameter above 10” and refined in the construction sites to ensure maximum reliability and profitability.
SAFE-T-REX 130 Pipelayer
Bonatti’s SAFE-T-REX 130 is an in-house designed and manufactured pipelayer with two work modes for maximum control of load capacity and laying parameters.
Apart from full monitoring of operator experience, qualifications, and skills, the pipelayer also features a unique dashboard to immediately control every machine parameter.
Bonatti’s SAFE-T-REX 130 with its 130-ton lifting capacity was awarded the IPLOCA (International Pipe Line and Offshore Contractors Association) Health and Safety Award.
Pipeline Projects
Bonatti’s pipeline construction projects include:
Bonatti’s experienced professionals develop cutting-edge equipment and provide solutions that deliver “the best performance” in terms of timing and minimization of the error percentage rate.
Founded: 1997
Location: Houston, Texas, United States
Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure companies with interest in or operating approximately 82,000 miles of pipelines and 140 terminals and 700 bcf (billion cubic feet) of working gas storage capacity.
While Kinder Morgan’s terminals store and handle chemicals, petroleum products, renewable fuels, vegetable oils, and other products, its pipelines transport carbon dioxide, crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, and more.
Natural Gas Pipelines
According to Kinder Morgan, it “owns an interest in or operates the largest natural gas network in North America.”
Kinder Morgan’s pipelines transport approximately 40% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. and serve major consuming domestic markets.
Kinder Morgan’s pipelines are connected to every important natural gas resource play-and-supply area in the U.S., including:
Ruby Pipeline: Owned and operated by Kinder Morgan, Ruby Pipeline is a 680-mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline system that extends from Wyoming to Oregon and supplies natural gas from the major Rocky Mountain basins to consumers in Nevada, California, and the Pacific Northwest.
Kinder Morgan’s natural gas pipelines comprise the following:
Interstate
Intrastate (includes the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline and Permian Highway Pipeline)
NGL
Gathering/Processing (includes Camino Real Gathering and Eagle Ford Gathering)
Storage
LNG Terminals
Products Pipelines
As “the largest independent transporter of petroleum products in North America,” Kinder Morgan transports approximately 2.4 million barrels per day through ~9,500 miles of products pipelines.
In addition, Kinder Morgan has 65 liquids terminals that store fuels and provide blending services (ethanol blending is a specific service aimed at improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions) for ethanol and biofuels.
Kinder Morgan’s products pipelines assets are located in the Midwestern, Southeast, and West United States and comprise the following:
Refined Products Pipelines
Transmix (a mixture of refined products)
Crude Pipelines (such as the Gathering System and Crude and Condensate Pipeline)
Terminals
Kinder Morgan’s commitment to public safety, environment protection, and facilities operations in compliance with industry rules and applicable regulations enables it to shape the present and future of energy infrastructure.
Founded: 1923
Location: Houston, Texas, United States
McDermott International, Inc. is an industry-leading provider offully integrated EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction, and installation) services to the energy industry.
McDermottdelivers best-in-class, comprehensive solutions to global energy projects—from concept to commissioning.
McDermott’s offerings include:
The premier energy services company has worked on multiple projects, such as:
|
Project Name |
Project Location |
Industry Served |
Region |
Scope of Work |
Summary |
|
Baku-Tbilisi -Ceyhan Pipeline |
Baku, Azerbaijan to Ceyhan, Turkey |
Upstream |
Asia |
Corridor Engineering, PipelineEngineering, andEnvironmental Impact Review
|
McDermott undertook the following for the Azerbaijan and Georgia sectors:
|
|
Khuff Gas Development Platform |
150 km off the coast of Abu Dhabi |
Fixed Upstream |
The Middle East |
Detailed Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning, and Startup Assistance |
The complicated and highly integrated project included:
NKPP(New Khuff Production Platform) and TA(Taweelah Alpha)
All these were interlinked by a43-km, 30-inch subsea pipeline, with another 150-km, 36-inch pipeline bringing the gas to shore. |
|
South Caucasus Pipeline |
Sangachal, Azerbaijan (South of Baku) |
Upstream |
Asia |
FEED, Detailed Engineering and Procurement Services for the 42-inch, 700-km gas export pipeline. |
Apart from undertaking the technical and economical optimization of the system, McDermott was responsible for the following:
|
Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott is focused on advancing the next generation of global energy infrastructure with its technology-driven approach and innovative solutions.
Founded:1954
Location:Calgary, Canada
Pembina Pipeline Corporation (also known as “PBA” and “Pembina”) is an industry-leading energy transportation and midstream provider founded as an operator of an oil-transporting pipeline system within the Pembina field.
Pembina owns an integrated network of the following:
Pembina’s well-maintained pipeline network serves various basins and markets—Pembina’s upstream and downstream assets across North America supply products from hydrocarbon-producing regions to market hubs, fractionators, and refineries in:
Pembina’s Pipelines Division provides the following services for condensate, crude oil,natural gas, and natural gas liquids:
The conventional assets consist of strategically located pipelines and terminalling hubs. These assets gather and transport condensate and natural gas liquids, as well as light and medium crudes from western Alberta and northeast British Columbia to the Edmonton area for processing or transporting through downstream pipelines.
The oil sands and heavy oil assets transport heavy and synthetic oil produced in Alberta to the Edmonton area and provide related storage, terminalling, and rail services.
The transmission assets transport condensate, ethane, and natural gas throughout Canada and the U.S. on long-haul pipelines linkingkey market hubs.
Pembina is committed to delivering extraordinary energy solutions to help the world thrive in a collaborative, safe, and sustainable environment.
Founded:1993
Location:Moscow, Russia
PJSC (Public Joint Stock Company) Transneft is known as “Russia’s largest oil pipeline company” managing the “world’s largest oil pipeline”—extending from Siberia to the Baltics in severe terrain conditions.
Transneftis an integrated national oil pipeline company, which has built key export oil pipelines in Russia—one of the countries with large O&G pipeline systems.
Apart from a branch office in St. Petersburg, Transneft is reported to have five representative offices in Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, and Slovakia.
As the leading state-controlled oil pipeline operator,Transneft owns more than 69,000 km of main pipelines, 500+ pumping stations, and about 23 million cubic meters of reservoir tanks, and transports over 85% of the oil produced in Russia.
Transneft’s main activities include:
According to an industry news source, Transneft operates several oil transport systems, such as:
Furthermore, Transneft isconsidered one of the most energy-efficient companies in the global pipeline transport sector.
Founded:1960
Location: Dallas, Texas, United States
Primoris Services Corporation is a specialty construction and infrastructure company specializing in natural gas, water, and wastewaterpipelines.As a full-service, self-perform contractor,Primoris provides world-class engineering and construction services to a diversified client base in the energy market.
Primoris’ “Energy” capabilities include:
Primoris is a premier pipeline, underground utility, and related facility constructioncontractor.
According to Primoris, it is “the safe, reliable, solutions-focused pipeline contractor” for all types of pipelines—from a long cross-country pipeline to a complicated project in a congested corridor.”
Primoris’ pipeline construction expertise encompassesnew build, expansion, replacement, and improvement work of all scopes and sizes in a wide range of areas, climates, and terrains.
Pipeline Capabilities
Pipeline Subservices
As an experienced pipeline contractor, Primoris provides best-in-class services for all forms of pipeline construction. It also safely delivers high-quality, environmentally compliant, and cost-efficient projects on time for its clients, regardless of size or challenges.
Furthermore, Primoris’ business model drives predictability and limits risks while deeper customer engagement provides cross-selling opportunities.
Founded: 1923
Location: Nanterre,France
With 100 years of dedicated pipeline experience, Spiecapag is a globally leading provider of O&G pipelines and associated systems.
Spiecapag is a subsidiary of Vinci SA (VINCI)—a well-known French concessions and construction company operating in more than 120 countries worldwide.
As a complex project specialist, Spiecapag has experience in laying over 60,000 km of pipelines in extreme environments—from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula to the rainforests of Cameroon.
The company’s diverse range of projects encompasses greenfield and heavy logistics, large diameter pipelines, long-length pipelines, environmentally sensitive, and remote areas projects.
Let’s look at some of Spiecapag’s projects:
|
Name of the Project |
Duration/Year |
Location |
|
VDS5 |
2017-2019 |
France |
|
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) |
2016-2019 |
Greece |
|
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) |
2016-2020 |
Albania |
|
Arc de Dierrey |
2014-2015 |
France |
|
Incahuasi Project |
2013-2016 |
Bolivia |
|
PNG LNG Project-EPC5A |
2009-2014 |
Papua Nouvelle Guinée |
|
Angola LNG Project-Nearshore & Onshore Pipelines |
2008 |
Angola |
|
New Multi Product Pipeline (NMPP) |
2008 |
South Africa |
|
Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales (ODL) |
2008 |
Colombia |
|
Yemen LNG Pipeline Project |
2005 |
Yemen |
Spiecapag’s expertise in building key pipeline transportation and associated facilities enables it to execute a variety of onshore pipeline projects and associated infrastructure, such as:
Spiecapag also provides the following services to the O&G industry:
With its full EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) lifecycle expertise, Spiecapag delivers turnkey projects for its clients—working on projects of all sizes and complexity.
Founded: 1951
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Formerly known as “TransCanada Corporation,” TC Energy Corporation is a leading energy infrastructure companyoperating in the natural gas, oil, and power industries.
TC Energy was founded to develop the TransCanada pipeline (now known as the “Canadian Mainline”) to supply natural gas produced in the west to eastern Canadian markets.
TC Energy’s business segments include Energy Solutions, Natural Gas, Oil & Liquids, and Power & Storage.
Natural Gas
TC Energy builds and operates reliable and safe energy infrastructure, such as the 93,300-km network of natural gas pipelines supplying more than 25% of natural gas used on a daily basis across North America to generate power,fuel industries, and heat homes.
In addition, TC Energy owns more than 653 bcf of natural gas storage in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
Oil & Liquids
This segment includes an oil & liquids pipeline infrastructure—a 4,900-km (approximately) pipeline network—connecting Alberta crude oil supplies to the U.S. refining markets in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
TC Energy also has storage terminals in Canada and the U.S., including Cushing (Oklahoma), Hardisty (Alberta), and Houston (Texas).
TC Energy owns one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure portfolios with a massive energy network comprising pipeline and storage assets, among others.
TC Energy Assets and Projects
TC Energy’s assets and projects include(but not limited to) the following:
2021 NGTL System Expansion Project: TC Energy added several compressor unit additions and natural gas pipelines as part of Alberta’s 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project.
ANR Pipeline: The ANR system has access to major producing basins in North America and transports natural gas from Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas to cities and towns in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Bison Pipeline: The Bison Pipeline stretches 302 miles across Wyoming and Montana to North Dakota. From North Dakota, the pipeline connects with another interstate natural gas pipeline.
Keystone Pipeline System: The Keystone Pipeline System—stretching 4,850 km in length—is crucial in delivering U.S. and Canadian crude oil supplies to markets around North America.
TechnipFMC plc
Founded: 2017
Location: Houston, Texas, United States (operational headquarters)
TechnipFMC plc is the world’s leading subsea tree production system manufacturer and supplier, which was formed as a merger between France’s Technip and the U.S.’s FMC Technologies.
TechnipFMCis a well-known expert in project management, engineering, and construction for the energy industry—from the deepest subsea O&G developments to the most complex and largest offshore and onshore infrastructures.
Operating in 48 countries, TechnipFMC owns state-of-the-art industrial assets worldwide and operates a specialized vessel fleet for pipeline installation and subsea construction.
Over the decades, TechnipFMC has been the chosen provider for SURF (Subsea Umbilicals, Risers, and Flowlines), connections and tie-ins.
TechnipFMC develops, engineers, manufactures, and installs the following for subsea systems:
• Connections and tie-ins
• Flexible pipes
• Rigid pipelines
• Umbilicals
Rigid Pipelines
TechnipFMC specializes in procuring, fabricating, and installing rigid pipelines globally in water depths from tens to thousands of meters offshore.
It offers a broad range of rigid pipe products to meet diverse subsea challenges—from transporting highly corrosive fluids to solving flow assurance issues.
TechnipFMC leverages one of the industry’s most advanced fleets of pipelay vessels and four strategically located global spoolbases for pipeline installation.
The rigid pipeline systems include:
• Single pipelines
• Plastic-lined pipelines
• Corrosion-resistant alloy pipelines
• Direct electrically heated pipelines
• Pipe-in-Pipe
• Electrically trace heated pipe-in-pipe
• Piggybacked pipelines
• Steel catenary risers (SCR)
• Free-standing hybrid risers
When it comes to size, rigid pipelines vary, such as:
• Small diameter 4-inch pipes (for oilfield service fluids)
• 18-inch (infield lines)
• Larger diameter export trunk lines (connect offshore processing facilities to onshore receiving facilities)
ETH-PiP Technology
TechnipFMC’s expertise is recognized in the industry for the design, assembly, and pipelay of reeled PIP (Pipe-in-Pipe) systems.
A company news release stated that TechnipFMC extended the capabilities of ETH-PiP (Electrically Trace Heated Pipe in Pipe) technology for the Fenja iEPCI™ (integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation) development in the Norwegian North Sea.
The ETH-PiP is a combination of many of TechnipFMC’s pipeline technologies. It is designed to prevent the reduction of the fluid flow resulting from the waxing up of the pipeline.
Furthermore, TechnipFMC provides automation solutions and measurement systems fortransportation, distribution, and storage of gas, natural gas liquids, and oil by truck, rail, vessel, and pipeline.
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Pipelines serve various purposes, such as carrying crude oil to refineries (industrial), jet fuel to airports (commercial), and natural gas to homes (domestic).
The life cycle of a pipeline includes various aspects, such as:
Pipeline construction is a multi-step process encompassing pre-construction, construction, and post-construction activities. For example, a reconnaissance survey is a pipeline pre-construction activityinvolving site visits covering major control points.
Open trenching and trenchless methods (such as HDD or Horizontal Directional Drilling) are commonly used pipeline construction methods.HDD has become a preferred method of installing cables, underground pipelines, and utility lines because it minimizes surface disruption and saves time and money.
Pipeline construction companies specialize in laying pipelines for projects of every scope and are qualified to handle all aspects of pipeline construction—from excavation and installation to maintenance and decommissioning.
