With robust performance across Bechtel’s diversified global portfolio, Bechtel delivered world-class projects and posted record results. Operations in North America generated two-thirds of new work, reflecting awards of several big new energy and power projects. Business also was strong in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
"The satisfactory completion of several important, challenging projects, stellar safety performance, strong market demand, and good underlying budget and schedule performance by our project teams all drove record revenues, combining to make 2007 the best year in Bechtel's 110 year history," said Chairman and CEO Riley Bechtel.
Bechtel’s Oil, Gas & Chemicals business unit led the way by helping customers meet growing demand for clean, efficient energy, while Bechtel National, a leading service provider to the U.S. government, turned in another strong performance. Bechtel Power figured prominently in both fossil-fuel and nuclear markets, Bechtel Mining & Metals completed its first-ever project in Iceland, Bechtel Communications provided next-generation voice and data networks, and Bechtel Civil continued its work on significant infrastructure projects worldwide.
Complementing the strong execution in 2007 was the best safety performance in Bechtel history, with more than 90 percent of Bechtel projects completing the year without a lost-time accident, and 53 projects each achieving more than 1 million consecutive safe work hours.
In addition to project execution, Bechtel did its part in helping customers meet their sustainability goals by developing sustainable engineering and construction tools and innovative job training programs for local workers. Bechtel collaborations with governments, communities, and customers provided training and on-the-job experience for hundreds of workers at sites ranging from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Romania.
Project completion highlights include High Speed 1 in the United Kingdom, the first high-speed rail project in the UK and Britain's first new railway in a century; the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington, the longest new suspension span built in the U.S. in 40 years; Equatorial Guinea LNG, a liquefied natural gas processing facility that will supply at least 3.4 million tons of energy to the market annually; the Fjarðaál aluminum smelter, Bechtel’s first project in Iceland and the largest private investment in Iceland’s history; and Brown's Ferry Unit 1 in Alabama, the first nuclear reactor to come into service in more than a decade.
