ABSTRACT
The fundamental principle of EPC contracting is to make the EPC contractor responsible for all work associated with the design, procurement, erection and testing of the facility. There will be items of work that the sponsor and others must perform (perhaps the provision of fuel, water and interconnections to local utilities) but the overarching premise of EPC contracting is that the EPC contractor has been engaged to turn the owner’s functional specification into an operating facility within the time allotted. In fact, as will be discussed in later chapters, it is crucial that, other than monitoring the EPC contractor’s progress, the sponsor should not become too involved in the EPC contractor’s work; otherwise, the legal protections that the sponsor has negotiated for itself in the EPC contract can be jeopardized.
