Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with SIBUR, Russia’s leading petrochemical company, for the establishment of a joint venture with the Scientific Research and Design Institute for Gas Processing (NIPIgaspererabotka) in Krasnodar, Russia. Fluor will initially commit a 10 percent stake in the SIBUR design institute. Three Fluor executives will become members of the Board of Directors of NIPIgaspererabotka.
The team will then launch a pilot project for the design and construction of the Yuzhny Balyk-Tobolsk gas pipeline, which will connect the South Balyuk gas processing plant with the Tobolsk petrochemical complex.
The joint venture participants plan to develop the company into one of the leading engineering, procurement and construction management service firms for the oil and gas markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
“Fluor’s long history with SIBUR and NIPIgaspererabotka in Russia makes this new alliance a logical next step,” said Peter Oosterveer, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals Group. “We believe that combining local Russian capabilities and ingenuity with Fluor’s proven global project execution systems will provide value for oil and gas development projects in Russia and the CIS.”
“The partnership with Fluor will allow SIBUR and other market participants to use world-class engineering services for Russian and CIS capital development projects,” said the SIBUR President Dmitry Konov. “NIPIgazopererabotka has a wealth of project design and project management experience, and we believe the additional expertise in this area will raise the investment process of the company to new levels.”
The competitive advantage of the new business will be the union of the global engineering, procurement, construction and project management expertise of Fluor with the investment and construction experience of SIBUR and NIPIgaspererabotka in Russia and the CIS.
About NIPIgaspererabotka
NIPIgaspererabotka is Russia’s leading research and design institute for gas processing. It is the general designer for more than forty gas processing plants and other facilities for the transportation and preparation of hydrocarbons. The Institute employs around 700 staff. The central office is located in Krasnodar. The Institute includes scientific and design production, as well as a subsidiary enterprise NPO Tekhneftegaz.
About Fluor Corporation
Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) designs, builds and maintains many of the world’s most challenging and complex projects. Through its global network of offices on six continents, the company provides comprehensive capabilities and world-class expertise in the fields of engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and project management. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Fluor is a FORTUNE 200 company and had revenues of $22 billion in 2009.