Egypt Selects WorleyParsons as Nuclear Consultants

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Australian engineering and consultancy company WorleyParsons (ASX:WOR) (North Sydney) has been selected as the consultant for Egypt's first nuclear power plant. The selection comes after Bechtel Group Incorporated (San Francisco, California), the first choice for this project, failed to sign the $177 million agreement because of legal issues. WorleyParsons, with a bid of $180 million, was then invited for discussions. A Spanish consortium led by Iberdrola SA (MCE:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain) and Empresarios Agrupados (Madrid, Spain), Sweden's AF Consult (Stockholm), a consortium of Finland's Poyry Oyj (HEL:POY1V) (Vantaa) and Invap SE (Rio Negro, Argentina), and a consortium headed by Belgium's Tractebel Engineering (Brussels) were also part of the tendering process. The tender was floated by the ministry of electricity and energy.

The ministry of electricity and energy also announced that the country's first nuclear power plant will be built in Al-Dhabah, 160 kilometers southwest of Alexandria. The other potential locations are Al-Najilah, and two sites on both the northern section of the Gulf of Suez and the southern coast of the Red Sea. Egypt's first nuclear power plant will consist of two units of 1,000 megawatts (MW) each and is estimated to cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Bechtel, which had selected the proposed site, was expected to begin construction of the power plant in the first quarter of 2010 and complete the activity by 2018. Egypt is also likely to start work on three new reactors with a total generating capacity of 1,800 MW shortly.

If the ongoing discussions are successful, WorleyParsons will be the consultant for this project. The company will be responsible for identification of sites, review and selection of suitable nuclear technology, development of a robust quality control program, and training of personnel. In addition to carrying out all of the engineering, procurement and construction of the project, WorleyParsons will also undertake commissioning and trial operations of the power plant. Egypt's state council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (New York) have already reviewed the specifications and conditions of the nuclear power project.

WorleyParsons has extensive experience in building and operating nuclear power plants globally. The company, which also has interests in the hydrocarbons sector, minerals, metals and infrastructure development, is involved in the entire nuclear power plant life cycle. WorleyParsons has successfully implemented 18 nuclear power projects with a generating capacity of approximately 13,100 MW. The company is also presently building the 2,000-MW Belene nuclear power plant in Bulgaria. According to the 10-year contract signed in 2005, Worley Parsons is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and operations of the plant. The power plant, expected to be commissioned in 2015, will adhere to the Kyoto protocol and the European Commission's environmental regulations.

In 2007, Egypt decided to revive its nuclear power program to cater to the increasing energy demand in the country and develop alternate sources of energy. Egypt is witnessing a 7% growth in energy needs annually. The country decided to go ahead with its nuclear plan despite the slump in oil prices and the worldwide financial downturn. The agenda includes setting up 11 nuclear reactors through multiphase construction. Egypt has already signed nuclear cooperation deals with Kazakhstan, Russia, France and China.

Egypt has been harboring nuclear power ambitions since the early 1970s, but decided to abandon the program in 1986 after the Chernobyl disaster. The country signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1981, but refused to sign the additional clause that allowed United Nations officials to make inspections at short notice on its nuclear sites. In a related development, according to an IAEA report, U.N. inspectors have found samples of highly enriched uranium (HEU) at the Inhas research reactor complex in Egypt. The report states that particles of HEU were found along with other samples taken from the site in 2007-08 but did not divulge if they were weapons-grade. Low-enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear power plants, while nuclear weapons are manufactured from HEU. Egypt has explained that the HEU samples may have been transported through contaminated containers. IAEA, cognizant of the growing tension and conflict in the Middle East, is concerned about countries going against the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and carrying out nuclear weapons programs.

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