FWLT (MM)

Foster Wheeler Ltd. (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that its subsidiaries Foster Wheeler Energy Limited and Foster Wheeler Arabia, Ltd. have received a contract from SABIC affiliate, Eastern Petrochemical Company (SHARQ), for the engineering, procurement and construction management contracts for the complete utilities and offsite facilities to support the SHARQ 3rd Expansion Project at Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. SHARQ is a 50:50 joint venture between SABIC and SPDC, a Japanese consortium headed by Mitsubishi. This is a major expansion of SHARQ's existing complex, and will add a total of 2.8 million tonnes per year (tpy) to production, including 1.3 million tpy of ethylene, 700,000 tpy of ethylene glycol, 400,000 of linear low density polyethylene, and 400,000 tonnes of high density polyethylene. The Foster Wheeler contract value was not disclosed and the project will be included in the company's third-quarter 2005 bookings. "The offsites and utilities required to support this world-scale expansion are significant and we are delighted to have secured these EPC contracts against strong international competition," said Steve Davies, chairman and chief executive officer of Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. "As program management services contractor (PMC) for the entire 3rd Expansion Project, we have developed a strong working relationship with SHARQ and its partners during the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase. I am pleased that we now have the opportunity to extend and reinforce this relationship. As PMC for the entire expansion and EPC contractor for the offsites and utilities, we are uniquely positioned to integrate and co-ordinate the various elements of this complex project to achieve SHARQ's beneficial operations target." Foster Wheeler's scope of work as PMC included the FEED preparation, and preparation and issue of invitations to bid for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. Foster Wheeler is also managing all EPC contractors and providing the overall management, coordination and control of all phases of the expansion program. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2008. "We are pleased to continue our relationship with Foster Wheeler for this important element of the project," commented Mohammad Al-Jabri, president, Eastern Petrochemical Company. "After the expansion, SHARQ will be one of the world's largest petrochemical sites, and the world's largest single producer of ethylene glycol, boosting SABIC's contribution to the national economy and enhancing its competitiveness worldwide." Photo is available from: http://www.fwc.com/enewsroom/images/sjw_9517.jpg Caption: At the Contract Signing. Steve J. Davies (left), chairman & chief executive officer, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, and Dr. Abdulaziz S. Al-Jarbou, chairman of the board of directors, Eastern Petrochemical Company (SHARQ). Photo is available from: http://www.fwc.com/enewsroom/images/sjw_9522.jpg Caption: At the Contract Signing. Seated: Steve J. Davies (left), chairman & chief executive officer, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, and Dr. Abdulaziz S. Al-Jarbou, chairman of the board of directors, Eastern Petrochemical Company (SHARQ). Standing: Mohammed M. Al-Jabri (left), president, Eastern Petrochemical Company (SHARQ), and Stephen Culshaw, director, commercial operations, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. Notes to Editor: 1. Foster Wheeler Ltd. is a global company offering, through its subsidiaries, a broad range of design, engineering, construction, manufacturing, project development and management, research and plant operation services. Foster Wheeler serves the refining, upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, petrochemicals, chemicals, power, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare industries. The corporation is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, New Jersey, USA. For more information about Foster Wheeler, visit our Web site at http://www.fwc.com. 2. Safe Harbor Statement This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management's assumptions, expectations and projections about the Company and the various industries within which the Company operates. These include statements regarding our expectations regarding revenues (including as expressed by our backlog), liquidity, the outcome of litigation and legal proceedings and recoveries from customers for claims and the costs of current and future asbestos claims and the amount and timing of related insurance recoveries. Such forward-looking statements by their nature involve a degree of risk and uncertainty. The Company cautions that a variety of factors, including but not limited to the factors described under the heading "Business--Risk Factors of the Business" in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K/A and the following, could cause the Company's business conditions and results to differ materially from what is contained in forward-looking statements: changes in the rate of economic growth in the United States and other major international economies, changes in investment by the power, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, chemical/petrochemical and environmental industries, changes in the financial condition of customers, changes in regulatory environment, changes in project design or schedules, contract cancellations, changes in estimates made by the Company of costs to complete projects, changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies worldwide, currency fluctuations, war and/or terrorist attacks on facilities either owned or where equipment or services are or may be provided, outcomes of pending and future litigation, including litigation regarding our liability for damages and insurance coverage for asbestos exposure, protection and validity of patents and other intellectual property rights, increasing competition by foreign and domestic companies, compliance with debt covenants, recoverability of claims against customers and others, changes in estimates used in critical accounting policies. Other factors and assumptions not identified above were also involved in the formation of these forward-looking statements and the failure of such other assumptions to be realized, as well as other factors, may also cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Most of these factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond our control. You should consider the areas of risk described above in connection with any forward-looking statements that may be made by us.