The opening of the UK’s first high-speed rail line in November 2007 capped an extraordinary year for Bechtel. Like the Eurostar trains that inaugurated service between central London and the European continent, our company was on a very fast track.
Fueled by robust performance across our diversified global portfolio, we delivered world-class projects and posted record results. Reflecting the escalating cost of projects, revenue rose to $27.0 billion in 2007, up 32 percent from $20.5 billion in 2006. New work booked increased to $34.1 billion from $24.7 billion—
a jump of 38 percent. It was the fifth straight record year for revenue, and the second straight record for new work.
Our North American operations accounted for 40 percent of revenue last year and generated twothirds of new work, reflecting awards of several big new energy and power projects. Business also was strong in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Again in 2007, our Oil, Gas & Chemicals business unit led the way by helping customers meet growing worldwide demand for clean, efficient energy. Projects in oil refining, natural-gas development, pipelines, and liquefied natural gas underscored the breadth of our expertise and took us to far-flung locations—from Equatorial Guinea off the West Coast of Africa, where we completed a big LNG processing plant six months ahead of schedule, to northern Alberta, Canada, where Bechtel and its Bantrel subsidiary are expanding a large oil-sands project.
Also turning in another strong performance was Bechtel National, a leading service provider to the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and other U.S. government agencies. In October, a consortium led by Bechtel and the University of California began managing and operating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Another Bechtel and UC-led team completed its first year managing Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
At a former nuclear material production site in Washington state, work accelerated on one of our largest projects, a massive facility to safely treat millions of liters of hazardous waste left over from the Cold War.
In addition to the High Speed 1 rail line, our Civil Infrastructure unit celebrated the opening of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge near Seattle, Washington— the longest suspension span built in the United States in four decades. Work also continued on major rail and road projects in the UK and continental Europe.
Our Power business unit, long a leader in power generation, figured prominently in both the fossil-fuel and nuclear markets last year. In Wisconsin, work progressed on the big Elm Road Generating Station, one of several plants we are building in the United States, and we continued to promote the use of cleaner-coal technology through our alliance with GE Energy. We also helped lay the groundwork for the rebirth of nuclear power, contributing to the historic restart of a long-dormant reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Power plant in Alabama.
It also was a busy year for our Mining & Metals unit, which worked on major projects in Australia, the Middle East, and South America. We also completed our first-ever project in Iceland—an aluminum smelter that was recognized for its safety and environmental performance.
Our communications unit continued to help AT&T Wireless with its national network upgrade, and worked on other projects helping customers provide next-generation voice and data networks.
Overall, 2007 was our best year ever. In the following pages, you’ll learn about many projects that contributed to our success and strengthened our position
as the world’s top choice for engineering and construction.
