The oil and gas boom coupled with an improved economy and a better financing environment boosted contractor bookings last year in Texas and Louisiana, and could serve as a launching pad for revenue spikes in 2014. Combined revenue of the Top 10 firms in the ENR Texas & Louisiana annual Top Contractors survey reached $9.84 billion in 2012—the highest since the recession took hold. The results reverse a downward trend among the top firms in which revenue fell from $9.4 billion in 2009 to $8.3 billion in 2011.
Petrochemical projects played heavily into this year's ranking. Turner Industries Group, Baton Rouge, retained its top spot, tallying more than $2 billion in revenue in Texas and Louisiana in 2012. Fort Worth-based Kiewit, which gleans more than half its revenue from petroleum and industrial work, ranked second with $1.37 billion in regional revenue. S&B Engineers and Constructors, Houston, jumped to No. 4 from No. 13 last year, with $1 billion in local oil-and-gas projects.