KBR's Handle on LNG Industry Propels Role in $155 Billion Worth of Global Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR) (Houston, Texas) is continuing to acquire big-ticket contracts in the global energy and energy-related markets. The surging popularity of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade is bolstering the company's Energy Solutions business, where it is spearheading a series of closely watched projects in hotspots like the U.S. Gulf Coast. Industrial Info is tracking more than $155 billion worth of projects involving KBR worldwide, including nearly $64 billion worth in the U.S. and Canada.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing KBR's active global projects, by industrial sector.

More than half of the total investment value attributed to KBR's projects globally comes from LNG production and export facilities, with nearly $30 billion attached to projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Texas LNG Liquefaction Plant in Brownsville, Texas, for which KBR is performing design-engineering services, and ConocoPhillips' (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas) LNG liquefaction and export complex on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas, for which it is performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, are among the most anticipated projects in the blossoming sector.

The estimated $1.5 billion first train at Texas LNG would convert 275 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas into 2 million metric tons per year of LNG and would be followed by a proposed $1.5 billion second train to double capacity. A $50 million pretreatment unit would process the gas, which is to be sourced from the Eagle Ford Shale's Agua Dulce Hub. An estimated $4.5 billion fourth train at Freeport would process 720 million standard cubic feet per day into 5.1 million tons per year of LNG. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on Texas LNG's first and second trains and pretreatment unit, and Freeport's fourth train.

Texas LNG is seeking permission from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to build an export terminal, and is facing some hurdles: the State Office of Administrative Hearings recently ruled that the City of Port Isabel, a nearby retirement community and another community group will be able to testify against Texas LNG's permit application during a November 20 hearing in Brownsville, according to the Houston Chronicle. Last week, Texas LNG asked FERC to grant final approval, saying that it has complied with all of FERC's conditions.

"You will start to see quite a significant ramp up on the LNG side, and as far as construction is concerned--and as we progress through 2020--probably faster than is typical," said Stuart Bradie, the chief executive officer of KBR, an earnings-related conference call earlier this summer.

The Texas Gulf Coast also is home to some of KBR's biggest projects in the Petroleum Refining Industry, including ExxonMobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) $400 million offsite expansion for its refinery in Beaumont, which would include new transportation facilities and at least three new storage tanks. That project is preparing to begin construction early next year, and another is nearing completion across the country: BP plc's (NYSE:BP) (London, England) $300 million unit addition at its refinery in Whiting, Indiana, where an 85,000-BBL/d naphtha hydrotreater will reduce sulfur content to comply with Tier 3 standards. KBR is performing engineering services for both projects. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Beaumont and Whiting projects.

KBR's project list extends beyond energy-related industries, including two projects in the U.S. South for International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) (Memphis, Tennessee): a $300 million paper machine conversion at the Riverdale Pulp & Paper Mill in Selma, Alabama, boosting its production of high-quality linerboard and containerboard to 450,000 tons per year, and a proposed $40 million replacement of a natural gas-fired steam turbine/generator in Riegelwood, North Carolina, increasing its output from 20 to 40 megawatts (MW). For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Selma and Riegelwood projects.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.