Related Links: Fluor JV Wins Giant Canada LNG Project WorleyParsons Investor Announcements April 1 document request letter to KBR from House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Stuart Bradie, the newly named CEO of Houston-based KBR Inc., faces a series of lawsuits, a congressional probe into alleged whistle-blower silencing, reduced defense spending and stiff competition in the North American liquified-natural-gas building market it was once set to dominate.A former top executive at Australian engineer WorleyParsons, Bradie takes over on June 2. He succeeds the now retired William Utt, who was CEO since 2006. CFO Brian Ferraioli, hired last fall from
Vancouver, British Columbia-based methanol producer Methanex has fast-tracked the relocation of a major chemical plant across continents to capitalize on natural gas prices from Louisiana's shale plays. It's a massive undertaking involving thousands of skilled workers and a seven-month sea voyage—but it's still cheaper than building a new plant. Related Links: Idle Methanol Plant Moves From Chile To Louisiana Methanex Nearly 1,000 workers are on site each day at the Geismar, La., site, with a wide selection of contractors and subs. Jacobs Engineering, Pasadena, Calif., is the engineering and procurement contractor (EPC); Cajun Industries Inc., Baton Rouge, has handled site
Pacific Gas & Electric will likely face federal criminal charges related to a September 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in the city of San Bruno, Calif., the company said in a federal filing on March 27.
Photo Courtesy of Greenbrier Rail Most North American tank cars are DOT-111 models that are no longer deemed safe. As carriers and regulators push for newer, more robust design, the tanker business is booming. Related Links: Pipeline Advocates Question Crude-By-Rail Safety Q & A With Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Karen Rae While the U.S. waits to see whether President Obama will approve the Keystone XL pipeline, more and more crude oil is moving by rail. After several fiery accidents in the past year, carriers are taking safety measures, hoping to garner public support for increased rail traffic from North
Courtesy Rosatom Rosatom's Novovoronezh II plant under construction approximately 400 miles southeast of Moscow. Related Links: Work on Enclosure for Chernobyl Begins Japan's Government Takes Over the Fukushima Cleanup Russia’s nuclear power program is making aggressive moves, taking big financial risks to become the world’s leading nuclear powerplant builder. In recent months, the state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom says it has doubled its orders for new plants since the disaster in Fukushima. It is lending Hungary EU 10 billion to construct a new reactor at an existing Hungarian facility in Paks. Local reports say the finance ministry aims to use
Related Links: Lee Introduces Bill to Expand Higher Education Opportunities Legislation being pushed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) would provide participants in construction apprenticeships and other alternative training programs new access to federal loan programs for post-secondary education.The Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act (HERO), introduced on Jan. 9, would allow states to accredit programs that offer degrees, credentials or professional certifications to provide access to federal student loans.Industry groups are optimistic the bill, if enacted, would expedite opportunities for students to choose industry careers.The bill, now in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, includes guidelines for
Only days before the U.S. State Dept. released its long-awaited environmental review of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the company applying to build it, TransCanada Corp., experienced its third major pipeline rupture since October.
Photo by AP/Wideworld Environmental groups claim Winter Olympic construction companies are inappropriately disposing waste around Sochi, despite Vladimir Putin's 'zero-waste' pledge to win the games. Related Links: Anti-Corruption Activist's Home Searched in Alleged Graft Case Sochi, a remote city on Russia's Black Sea coast, required a new highway and railroad to serve hundreds of thousands of guests for the 2014 Winter Olympics. These two projects alone cost as much as the entire construction budget of the 2010 Vancouver games, say event observers and activists."We compared the highway to similar projects in the developed world and found it to be 1.9
Federal charges of jobsite racism against Skanska on a Memphis, Tenn. hospital project in 2009 recently reached a legal milestone. A federal appeals court last month allowed a complaint by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to move forward, making a trial over the charges likely.The complaint bypasses the direct employer, Memphis subcontractor C-1 Inc., and directs the allegations against Skanska USA Building, the principal contractor.The U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati last month reversed a Tennessee federal district court's ruling on the question of whether a general contractor could be held liable to its subcontractor's employees by contending that
