meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Bechtel marks 80 years working in Saudi Arabia

21 June 2023

 

Register for MEED's guest programme 

Warren Bechtel founded the engineering company Bechtel at the end of the 19th century and, under five generations of family leadership, the firm has developed a reputation for taking on big projects. 

During the early 20th century, Bechtel worked on major projects across the US as it established itself as an economic superpower. 

Its most famous project during this period was the Hoover Dam, which Bechtel built as part of the Six Companies consortium.

The company then played a role in supporting US efforts during the Second World War, and before the end of the conflict it was contracted in 1943 to build the Ras Tanura refinery in what was then the little-known market of Saudi Arabia, where oil was just starting to be produced.

Making an impact

Bechtel found that Saudi Arabia was a market well suited to a company that works on big projects with a big impact. Today, Saudi Arabia is one of Bechtel’s largest markets after the US.

“We do projects. Yes, we are builders and engineers, but we are also trying to do projects that have a positive impact,” says Jake Mumm, senior vice-president of Bechtel. 

“We are selective about the projects we work on, and we try to find projects that have a long-term positive impact. If your goal is to have a positive impact in a community and to improve lives and livelihoods, then public infrastructure is what you should be doing. And if you are doing infrastructure, where is a better place in the world to do that?” 

Bechtel’s projects follow a lot of the economic and historical parallels of the country. 

After Ras Tanura, Bechtel was appointed to work on the first railroad in Arabia since Ottoman times and the Hejaz Railway. Then there were the kingdom’s early power projects, early telecommunications schemes and, in more modern times, oil and gas facilities such as Shaybah and Khursaniyah, Jubail Industrial City, Waad al-Shamal and Riyadh Metro.

“It is 300 projects and counting that Bechtel has done in the kingdom,” says Mumm. “I do not think of Bechtel as a multinational in the kingdom. I think of us as a local company because our largest population across all of our projects are Saudi nationals, so it is by Saudis for Saudi Arabia, and that is very important to us.”

Growing presence

Bechtel has over 2,500 employees working in the kingdom, of which close to 800 are Saudi nationals. More than 300 are women, of whom over 200 are Saudi women. 

“One of my biggest focuses is promoting gender diversity. We have something called Women@Bechtel, which is an employee-led group. 

“Our largest chapter for women outside of the US is here. It is all about helping women thrive in their careers,” says Mumm.

These totals will increase as Bechtel plays a leading role on some of the largest projects being delivered in the kingdom as part of Vision 2030. 

“We have two projects at Neom, which are project management consultancy (PMC) roles. One is on The Spine, which also includes a regional infrastructure component, which includes the roads and water. We are also doing the PMC scope at Trojena, which is a year-round Alpine resort with six clusters. 

“These two projects mean our largest concentration of professional staff in Saudi Arabia is now working at Neom,” says Mumm.

Working on projects in remote locations like Neom is typical for Bechtel.

“A lot of us spend big parts of our career on fly-in, fly-out arrangements. These are camp assignments, and it is something we are comfortable with,” says Mumm. “I spent about 40 per cent of my career living in camps in remote locations. Most recently, I was up at the Keeyask [hydropower project] in the Canadian Arctic, in Manitoba.”

Bechtel’s largest concentration of professional staff in Saudi Arabia is now working at Neom
Jake Mumm, Bechtel

Looking ahead

Bechtel will continue to take on new projects in the kingdom as it moves towards its next major milestone, 100 years in Saudi Arabia. 

One area of interest will be aviation. Over the past 80 years, Bechtel has worked on airports in Riyadh and Dammam, and with major new projects planned – such as King Salman International airport in Riyadh – there will be more opportunities for work in the aviation sector in the future. 

“We like the footprint that we have today. First and foremost, we want to deliver on the work that we have. Once that work is completed, we will replenish it with a similar backlog,” says Mumm. 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10953099/main.gif
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Read the February 2026 MEED Business Review

    2 February 2026

    Download / Subscribe / 14-day trial access

    After years of cautious capital discipline, upstream oil and gas spending is gathering pace across the Middle East and beyond, with 2026 shaping up to be a statement year for investment.

    In the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, oil companies are pushing ahead with projects deemed critical to long-term energy security, even as oil prices soften. Gas and LNG developments are taking an increasingly prominent role, reflecting rising power demand and the search for lower-carbon fuels.

    Globally, North America is set to lead upstream spending through to 2030, but the Middle East remains a close follower, underpinned by low-cost reserves and expanding infrastructure. Read more about what’s driving the next wave of upstream investment here.

    Meanwhile, February’s market focus covers Qatar, where Doha is beginning to reap the rewards of its long-term gas investment, strategic spending and diplomatic efforts.

    This edition also includes MEED’s latest ranking of GCC water developers. In this package, we look at how the water sector has regained momentum, as the value of public-private partnership and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract awards for Mena water infrastructure schemes reached a record level in 2025. 

    In the latest issue, we also examine how Iran's recent protests have elevated regional uncertainty, and reveal that GCC contract awards declined by almost a third in 2025. The team also speaks to Mohamed Youssef of AtkinsRealis about demand drivers and challenges for the Canadian EPC specialist; discusses projects market resilience with US engineering firm Parsons' Pierre Santoni; and highlights how DP World underpins Dubai’s economic growth strategy. 

    MEED’s February edition is also bursting with exclusive leadership insight. Saeed Mohammed Al-Qatami, CEO of Deyaar Development, talks about the need for tomorrow’s communities to move beyond conventional real estate thinking; Ali Al-Dhaheri, managing director and CEO of Tadweer Group, explains why waste-to-energy infrastructure is critical to future energy needs; and Dal Bhatti of global insurance broker Marsh predicts a breakthrough year for Middle East construction in 2026.

    We hope our valued subscribers enjoy the February 2026 issue of MEED Business Review. 

     

    Must-read sections in the February 2026 issue of MEED Business Review include:

    > AGENDA: 
    > Mena upstream spending set to soar
    > Global upstream spending to grow

    > CURRENT AFFAIRS: Iran protests elevate regional uncertainty

    INDUSTRY REPORT:
    MEED's GCC water developer ranking
    > Regional IWP deals show cautious growth
    > Pipeline boom lifts Mena water awards

    > PROJECTS: Contract awards decline in 2025

    > LEADERSHIP: Tomorrow’s communities must heal us, not just house us

    > INTERVIEW: Building faster without breaking the programme

    > PORTS: DP World underpins Dubai’s economic growth strategy

    > INTERVIEW: Projects show resilience

    > LEADERSHIP: Energy security starts with rethinking waste

    > LEADERSHIP: Why 2026 is a breakthrough year for Middle East construction

    > MARKET FOCUS QATAR: 
    > COMMENT: Qatar’s strategy falls into place
    > GVT & ECONOMY: Qatar enters 2026 with heady expectations
    > BANKING: Qatar banks search for growth
    > OIL & GAS: QatarEnergy achieves strategic oil and gas goals in 2025
    > POWER & WATER: Dukhan solar award drives Qatar’s utility sector
    > CONSTRUCTION: Infrastructure investments underpin Qatar construction

    > MEED COMMENTS: 
    >     Kuwait oil tender delays cause problems for key contractors
    > International Financial Centre Oman will have to differentiate
    > Chinese firm’s Riyadh skyscraper debut signals a shift
    > Ras Al-Khaimah sewage award marks key milestone

    > GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index enters 2026 upbeat

    > DECEMBER 2025 CONTRACTS: Middle East contract awards

    > ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects

    > OPINION: Trump’s distraction is the region’s gain

    > BUSINESS OUTLOOK: Finance, oil and gas, construction, power and water contracts

    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15526442/main.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • Turner & Townsend to manage Rak Central construction

    2 February 2026

    UK-based Turner & Townsend has been appointed to provide project management services for the Rak Central mixed-use development in the UAE’s northern emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah.

    Rak Central features residential and commercial districts.

    The project will be developed in phases.

    The first phase includes 1 million square feet of commercial office space. It also involves developing 34 residential plots, which will be offered to developers to build residential towers up to 45 storeys.

    The development will comprise three hotels offering more than 1,000 keys and 4,000 residential apartments across five interconnected buildings.

    The first phase is set to open in 2027.

    It is being constructed on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Salem Al-Qasimi Street. 

    In September last year, Ras Al-Khaimah-based master developer Marjan appointed Dubai-based firm Alec as the main contractor for its new headquarters and a mixed-use office complex at Rak Central.

    The complex has been designed by US-based architectural firm Gensler.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15552389/main.png
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Adnoc Refining negotiates with naphtha upgrade bidders

    2 February 2026

     

    The refining business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Refining) is in negotiations with contractors that submitted bids for a key project to maximise naphtha production from its Abu Dhabi refineries.

    Adnoc Refining produces approximately 11 million tonnes a year (t/y) of naphtha, which is categorised into two types: crude naphtha, produced from crude processing in the refineries; and condensate naphtha, obtained from processing condensates.

    The project aims to upgrade Adnoc Refining’s naphtha output to more valuable gasoline products, thereby increasing its overall refinery margin.

    MEED previously reported that contractors had submitted commercial proposals for the naphtha upgrade project by 24 December.

    Since receiving commercial bids, Adnoc Refining has been in commercial negotiations with bidders since January, although no contractor is believed to have emerged as a frontrunner to win the contract, sources told MEED.

    According to sources, Adnoc Refining is seeking a target price of $700m, with bidders asked to match that figure. “At this point, the situation is fluid, and there is room for change. Expect flexibility from both sides [project operator and bidders] in the price negotiation process,” one source said.

    Adnoc Refining issued the main tender for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the project in May last year. Contractors that submitted technical bids for the project in June are thought to include:

    • Archirodon (Greece)
    • Enppi (Egypt) / Petrojet (Egypt)
    • Kalpataru Projects International (India)
    • Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
    • Petrofac (UK)
    • Tecnimont (Italy)

    Following the submission of technical bids, Adnoc Refining engaged bidders in a series of technical clarification meetings, sources previously told MEED.

    Kalpataru Projects International was later disqualified from the tendering exercise by Adnoc Refining, as per sources.

    Adnoc Refining then issued a notification on 4 December to contractors bidding for the contract, requesting that they submit commercial bids by 24 December.

    The main scope of work for the project is to develop an integrated naphtha-producing complex comprising light and heavy naphtha hydrotreater units, light naphtha isomerisation units, two heavy naphtha reformer units and a 50,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) continuous catalytic reformer.

    Separately, Adnoc Refining has stipulated that licensed process technology from France-based Axens will be deployed to operate the units.

    The naphtha upgrade project being advanced by Adnoc Refining is separate from another project being undertaken by the operator to convert incremental volumes of its naphtha output into commercially valuable jet fuel. MEED recently reported that Adnoc Refining awarded a feed contract for the project to Engineers India Limited (EIL).

    Feed-to-EPC contest

    Adnoc Group owns the majority 65% stake in Adnoc Refining, with Italian energy major Eni and Austria’s OMV owning 20% and 15% stakes, respectively, as a result of a $5.8bn transaction completed in 2019.

    Adnoc Refining has a total refining capacity of 922,000 b/d of crude oil and condensates. The company produces over 40 million t/y of refined products, such as liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, gasoline, jet fuel, gas oil, base oil, fuel oil and petrochemicals feedstocks such as propylene. The company’s specialty products include carbon black and anode coke.

    Adnoc Refining had started a front-end engineering and design (feed)-to-EPC competition for the naphtha upgrade project in March 2024, MEED previously reported, selecting UK-headquartered Petrofac and South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction to participate in the feed-to-EPC contest for the project.

    The project operator eventually cancelled the feed-to-EPC competition, sources told MEED. The reason for the cancellation could be that “prices that were submitted by the bidders were above budget”, a source said.

    However, the EPC tender issued by Adnoc Refining for the naphtha upgrade project is understood to be based on the feed submission by Petrofac, according to sources.

    The naphtha upgrade project itself is a leaner version of an estimated $3bn-plus project undertaken by Adnoc Refining a few years ago to develop a large-scale refining facility with the capacity to produce 4.2 million t/y of gasoline and 1.6 million t/y of aromatics.

    Adnoc Refining cancelled the gasoline and aromatics project in 2019. The operator has “retained some elements and units that were meant to be developed” in the ongoing naphtha upgrade project, a source previously said.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15552220/main2726.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Saudi Arabia tenders Al-Ula wellfield expansion contract

    2 February 2026

    Saudi Arabia’s Water Transmission Company (WTCO) has opened bidding for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to develop and expand the Sharaan wellfield in Al-Ula, in Medina province.

    The submission deadline is 15 February.

    The project is divided into two stages. The pre-expansion phase covers upgrading and rehabilitation works at 13 existing operating groundwater wells.

    This includes replacing diesel generators at the PS1 pump station, upgrading the fuel system and carrying out electrical retrofitting across all wells.

    Each well will be equipped with a dedicated generator to allow continuous, autonomous 24-hour operation.

    The expansion phase, covering phase one only, includes drilling eight new production wells and one observation well. It also includes the construction of a 5,000-cubic-metre ground-level storage reservoir.

    Additional works include installing two high-capacity pumps and developing a carbon steel pipeline network integrated with PS1 to deliver the full design flow.

    According to the tender notice, contractors must demonstrate experience in groundwater well drilling, power generation systems, electrical and mechanical works, pump stations and water transmission networks.

    WTCO is also moving forward with procurement for the Ras Mohaisen-Baha-Mecca and Jubail-Buraidah independent water transmission system projects under the public-private partnership model.

    The state-owned water utility said qualified EPC contractors have until 5 February to submit technical and financial bids for the 542,000-cubic-metres-a-day Ras Mohaisen project.

    The bid submission deadline for the 348-kilometre-long Jubail-Buraidah project was 1 February.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15551695/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Riyadh qualifies five groups for One-Stop Stations PPP

    2 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia’s Roads General Authority (RGA), in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & Public-Private Partnership (NCP), has qualified five groups for a contract to develop the kingdom’s One-Stop Station project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

    The groups include:

    • Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting Company / Al-Jeri
    • IC Ictas / Algihaz Holding / Al-Drees
    • TechTrade Global / Al-Habbas / Fuelax / Markabat / Naqleen Company
    • Petromin / Red Sea Housing
    • Asyad / Sasco

    The project includes the development of facilities at several locations across the RGA’s 73,600-kilometre intercity road network.

    The facilities include refuelling stations, commercial outlets, parking lots, driver rest areas, vehicle maintenance centres and other hospitality amenities.

    The project will be implemented under a 30-year design, build, finance, operate and maintain (DBFOM) contract, and will be tendered in three waves comprising six packages.

    The first wave will include the initial package, the second wave will encompass the second and third packages, and the third wave will cover the remaining three packages.

    In August last year, 49 Saudi and international firms expressed interest in the contract to develop the kingdom’s One-Stop Station project, as MEED reported.

    In January, Saudi Arabia launched a National Privatisation Strategy, which aims to mobilise $64bn in private sector capital by 2030.

    The strategy was approved by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance and chairman of the National Centre for Privatisation (NCP), Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan.

    The strategy builds on the privatisation programme, which was first introduced in 2018. It will focus on unlocking state-owned assets for private investment and privatising selected government services.

    The value of PPP contracts in Saudi Arabia has risen sharply over the past few years as the government seeks to develop projects through the private sector and diversify funding sources

    PPPs have been used in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region for over two decades, but have primarily been limited to power generation and water desalination projects, where developers benefit from guaranteed take-or-pay power purchase agreements that eliminate demand risk.

    As capital expenditure continues to increase, the NCP is expected to add dozens more PPPs to its future pipeline to reduce the state’s financial burden and stimulate private sector involvement in the local projects market.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15551647/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal