Published: 4th September 2025
Executing a major energy infrastructure project is an extraordinarily complex operation. As an example, from pre-engineering through to fabrication, offshore installation, hook-up, testing, and commissioning, an offshore oil platform can typically take up to five years to complete.
The build-out time for a petrochemical facility or an oil refinery is similar, depending on the complexity of the plant. Energy transition projects such as carbon capture and storage facilities and hydrogen plants are no different. Nuclear power stations typically take ten years to deliver, or longer for first-of-a-kind designs in Western nations – the Olkiluoto-3 reactor in Finland finally achieved a grid connection in 2022, over sixteen years after construction began. Construction work on Hinkley Point C power station began in 2016. The reactor was lifted into the core at the end of 2024, but it seems unlikely that the plant will supply power to the grid before 2030.
Irrespective of the technology involved, the process is well understood. A project developer will start with an idea and a business case, then hone and progress the idea through various stages of development to understand the technical parameters and economic viability. Only when there is a high degree of certainty that the project makes economic sense and can be designed and built, can a final investment decision (FID) be agreed and project execution commence.
Complex project execution
BCECA member companies are involved in every stage of the project execution process, from techno-economic screening studies through to production of fully developed construction drawings and project plans. BCECA members also procure all elements of the project from global supply chains and manage the on-site construction and commissioning of the installation, from start to finish, through to client handover.
Projects of any significance will involve hundreds, sometimes thousands of suppliers and sub-suppliers in their execution.
Supply chain partners shape cost, quality, and delivery
Supply chain partners are not just vendors. They are central to the successful delivery of major energy infrastructure projects. From original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) supplying turbines, pumps, pipework, valves, and generators, to construction contractors, logistics firms, recruitment companies, and training providers, they collectively shape project cost, quality, and delivery.
Many companies in these supply chains are also involved at every point in the project lifecycle. Projects are sometimes partly, or even fully, designed around specialist equipment provided by OEMs. These OEMs often provide state-of-the-art equipment based on cutting-edge design and technology. At the same time, construction contractors bring expertise and experience to provide guidance both in the early stages of project development and by providing the workforce and plant required to physically put spades in the ground and steel in the sky. These ‘suppliers’ are integral to successful project development and construction, but their voices are often unheard.
A platform for supply chain partners
Engineering contractors—and their clients—are sometimes accused of taking their suppliers for granted. They always seek the essential expert input and advice needed during the early stages of project development, frequently for limited or no fees. This is followed by a competitive tendering exercise, usually with a very quick turnaround before orders for equipment and materials are placed. BCECA is keen to see a rebalancing of these relationships.
BCECA’s 2025 Annual Conference will provide an important platform for supply chain partners. As the UK’s latest energy transformation gains momentum, the wider engineering contracting community needs to hear the supply chain perspective. Is decarbonisation having an impact on their order books and business planning? How do suppliers view their relationships with contractors, developers and owners? What’s working, and what isn’t? Is the energy transformation a distraction or a major business opportunity, and how can suppliers make net zero by 2050 a reality?
Supply chains and energy transformation
The UK’s transformation to a low-carbon energy system—spanning hydrogen and CCUS clusters, new nuclear build, and the expansion of renewables—depends as much on supply chain performance as on technology itself. Governance frameworks are robust, with a £788bn National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline signalling intent, and recent reforms to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme aimed at restoring investor confidence and encouraging local content.
However, delivery is too slow. Projects are delayed by protracted planning approvals, grid connection queues that stretch into the 2030s, global competition for critical equipment, and severe skills shortages across engineering and construction. The result is a widening gap between policy ambition and on-the-ground activity, and the challenges are widely recognised.
Technology pathways face unique and overlapping challenges
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Hydrogen/CCUS clusters offer decarbonisation for heavy industry and flexible generation. However, business models and offtake contracts remain underdeveloped, limiting supply chain investment
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Nuclear new build, including small modular reactors, promises reliable, low-carbon baseload power; however, long lead times, complex financing, and policy inconsistencies deter suppliers from scaling up capacity
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Wind and solar are being deployed at scale. Yet, they are constrained by grid bottlenecks, logistics pinch points, and local opposition.
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The absence of reliable long-duration electricity storage at scale poses additional systemic risk.
Opportunities lie in scaling UK manufacturing for wind, hydrogen and nuclear components, leveraging oil and gas skills into new industries, and exporting expertise in delivery models. Anticipatory grid investment, cluster-based industrial strategies, and procurement reforms that prioritise resilience and training can unlock supply chain confidence.
Faster progress needed
Nonetheless, the risks are all too real: execution delays, policy volatility, escalating costs, labour shortages and fragmented institutional leadership. Without faster progress, the UK will struggle to meet 2030 targets such as 50 GW of offshore wind and large-scale industrial decarbonisation.
Organisations such as BCECA believe that the UK has the policy instruments and industrial base to succeed, but only decisive acceleration on planning, grid reform, skills and supply chain investment will close the gap between vision and delivery. Closing this gap will be the central topic of conversation at BCECA’s 5th Annual Conference, which goes live online at 09:00 GMT on Wednesday, 8 October 2025.
For more information and to register, visit 2025 Conference Registration
Malcolm Crawford spent over thirty years in the UK engineering contracting sector, including senior roles at John Brown, Amec, Amec Foster Wheeler and Wood plc. He is currently the Conference Manager at BCECA.
Andy Furlong is a content strategist at Cogent Content Ltd. Cogent Content provides communication and stakeholder engagement support to BCECA.
