Recently, China Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. (COOEC) received a notification of award from QatarEnergy, successfully winning the bid for the Qatar MM EPIC2 project. This marks yet another major EPC project secured by COOEC in the Qatari market, following the Qatar BH EPIC project and the Qatar NFPS COMP5 project.
Winning the bid for the Qatar MM EPIC2 project marks a significant milestone for the company in achieving its strategic goals for the Middle East market, as the cumulative value of contracts signed by COOEC in the region over the past three years has surpassed RMB 50 billion (approximately US$7.46 billion).
The Qatar MM EPIC2 project is a key component of QatarEnergy’s redevelopment program for the Maydan Mahzam oil field. The project encompasses the EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation) scope for over 100 kilometers of subsea pipelines, subsea cables, and umbilical cables, along with associated facilities.
On October 21, 2025, COOEC announced the formal signing of the BH EPIC EPC contract with QatarEnergy, with a total contract value of approximately US$4 billion. This marks the largest, most comprehensive, and most complex international offshore oil and gas EPC project ever undertaken by a Chinese enterprise; work on the project commenced on September 15, 2026.
The BH Project is located in the waters of the Bul Hanine oilfield in Qatar and is being developed by QatarEnergy; the maximum water depth is approximately 40 meters. COOEC’s scope of work includes the construction of over 60 offshore oil and gas facility units and the installation of 40 subsea pipelines and cables, as well as the modification of existing platforms and the decommissioning and removal of platforms. The project involves a total steel processing volume exceeding 130,000 tonnes and encompasses the full project lifecycle, including engineering design, procurement, construction, transportation, installation, and commissioning.
The project owner for the Qatar NFPS COMP5 project is QatarEnergy LNG. The project was awarded to a joint venture between COOEC and the Italian offshore engineering giant Saipem; the total contract value is approximately US$4 billion, with COOEC’s share exceeding US$800 million.
In recent years, COOEC has continued to deeply cultivate the high-end international offshore energy engineering market. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the company secured over 170 overseas projects—spanning Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uganda, and Thailand—and repeatedly broke records for the highest contract value of a single project awarded to a Chinese enterprise in regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It successfully delivered a series of landmark projects with significant international impact, including Canada LNG, the Penguin FPSO, and Saudi Arabia’s Marjan project, thereby achieving a historic transformation from an engineering subcontractor to an international general contractor, and subsequently to an “all-inclusive” international general contractor.
COOEC is reportedly China’s only large-scale general contractor integrating engineering design, procurement, construction, offshore installation, commissioning, and maintenance for offshore oil and gas development, as well as projects involving LNG, offshore wind power, and refining and chemical engineering; it is also one of the largest and most capable offshore oil and gas engineering general contractors in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to its official website, COOEC is headquartered in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin and operates large-scale offshore engineering fabrication bases in locations such as Tianjin Binhai New Area, Qingdao (Shandong), and Zhuhai (Guangdong). With a combined site area of approximately 4 million square meters, the company has established a strategic layout that spans north and south, features complementary functions, covers both deep- and shallow-water operations, and serves a global market. COOEC operates a specialized offshore construction fleet comprising 19 vessels—including DP3 deepwater pipelay vessels and a 7,500-ton crane vessel—and holds a leading position in Asia for offshore installation and pipelaying capabilities, with operations extending to over 20 countries and regions.