FWLT (MM)

Foster Wheeler AG’s (FWLT) Global Engineering and Construction Group received a contract for making the basic engineering design of a new hydrogen production unit, which will be constructed at the Atyrau Refinery (Atyrau, Kazakhstan Republic). The refinery is a part of Kazakhstan’s leading national oil and gas company, JS National Company “KazMunayGas” group. The hydrogen unit will deploy Foster Wheeler Terrace-Wall™ steam reforming technology. 

The project involves restoration and modernization of the Atyrau refinery. Foster Wheeler received this contract from OJSC Omskneftekhimproekt, the project engineering contractor for the Deep Oil Conversion Complex. The focus of the project is to enhance the oil conversion rate and production of all types of motor fuels as per the Euro IV and Euro V standards.

The value of the contract was not disclosed but added to the first-quarter bookings of Foster Wheeler. The main feed stock for the new hydrogen unit is high olefinic LPG and natural gas as the alternate feedstock. The production capacity of the unit will be 24,000 normal cubic meters per hour (Nm3 /h) of pure hydrogen. The basic design of the unit is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.

Foster Wheeler AG is based in Zug Switzerland, but its operational headquarters are in Clinton NJ USA. The majority of Foster’s revenues and new businesses originate from outside the United States.  The company serves the following industries: Oil and Gas; Oil Refining; Chemical & Petrochemical; Pharmaceutical; Environmental; Power Generation; and Power Plant Operation and Maintenance. Major competitors of Foster Wheeler are Fluor Corporation (FLR) and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC).

We continue to maintain a Neutral rating on Foster Wheeler, with a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold recommendation) over the next one-to-three months.

 
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