Mining Magazine > Panorama > Fluor Corp wins Ras Az'Zawr contract

Panorama

Fluor Corp has won a series of contracts from the joint venture comprising Saudi Arabian Mining Co, also known as Ma'aden, and Alcoa, to provide program management consultancy (PMC) and engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for a number of projects related to the development of the integrated Ras Az'Zawr aluminium complex in Saudi Arabia.

The estimated US$10.8 billion super-project will include a bauxite mine, alumina refinery, aluminium smelter and rolling mill. In the second quarter of 2010, Fluor expects to book approximately US$3 billion covering four separate scopes of work for the Ras Az'Zawr complex.

Fluor will provide: overall PMC services for the development of the entire Ras Az'Zawr aluminium complex; EPCM services, in a 50:50 joint venture with Australia's WorleyParsons, for the mine and alumina refinery with an expected delivery date of December quarter 2013; stand-alone EPCM services for the site's rolling mill also with an expected delivery date of December quarter 2013; and stand-alone EPCM services for Ras Az'Zawr site's integrated infrastructure.

"The mining and metals sector continues to be a bright spot for Fluor and the commencement of this significant project in a key region of the world is another sign of the strengthening global economic recovery," says David Seaton, Fluor Corp's COO.

"The Ma'aden-Alcoa joint venture has expressed great confidence in our team by the size and scope of these awards and we look forward to helping them implement their vision to realise one of the world's largest, integrated metals projects," comments Dwayne Wilson, president of Fluor's industrial business.

Fluor will execute the engineering for the Ras Az'Zawr projects from its offices in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia; New Delhi, India; and Greenville, South Carolina; with support from other global Fluor locations.

Once complete, the super-project will include a bauxite mine with a capacity of 4Mt/y at Al Ba'itha, a 1.8Mt/y refinery, a 740,000t/y smelter, and a rolling mill with a capacity of up to 460,000t/y.