InterviewFluor sees Russia engineering growth

29 July 2008 21:42  [Source: ICIS news]

By Ivan Lerner

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--US-based engineering and construction firm Fluor projects 10-15%/year growth in Russia for the next 3-5 years, driven by petrochemical and refinery projects, a company executive said on Tuesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of petrochemical work coming up in Russia, and I have expectations that will be growing for us going forward,” said Peter Oosterveer, Fluor senior vice president for chemicals.

In September, the Houston, Texas-based company was picked by Russia’s oil major Tatneft to manage the construction of its $5.6bn (€3.5bn) petrochemical complex in Nizhnekamsk.

Most of Fluor’s petrochemical-related work is still in the Middle East, with four major projects in Saudi Arabia and a fifth in Kuwait, said Oosterveer.

There will be growth in the region going forward, said Oosterveer, “but there will be less and less natural gas available in the Middle East,” he added.

Polysilicon for solar cells is considered another important part of the company’s portfolio, Oosterveer said.

Fluor is building polysilicon projects in North America, Europe and China. About $2.1bn of the company’s $6bn chemical project backlog consists of photovoltaics projects. “More countries are pursuing solar energy applications,” said Oosterveer.

The company plans to increase market penetration in polysilicon projects. “We have an expectation that we can get more involved in the downstream units - that would be the silicon wafer manufacturing,” said Oosterveer.

($1 = €0.63)

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By: Ivan Lerner
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