Shining Example

Bechtel’s global reach, expertise on large projects, and leadership in the aluminum industry all are on display in the Sultanate of Oman, where the company is building a major new smelter for Sohar Aluminium.

The $1.4 billion project will be one of only two greenfield aluminum smelter projects started since 2000 (the other one is the new Fjarðaál smelter that Bechtel is building in remote eastern Iceland). “Bechtel and other companies have expanded existing sites,” says Sohar Project Manager Stacey Barlow, “but like Fjarðaál, this is all new, from the ground up.”

The Sohar project will feature the world’s largest, most technologically advanced potline. With 360 pots (the next largest plant has 336), it will be able to produce up to 386,000 tons (350,000 tonnes) of aluminum annually.

Construction at Sohar began in December 2005 and is scheduled for completion in 2008. In addition to the enormous potline, the project includes construction of a carbon plant, a metal casting facility, and port facilities for storage and shipping.

The majority of engineering for the new smelter is being done at Bechtel’s engineering hub in New Delhi. Engineers there are working closely with the project team in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The project is on track to come in ahead of schedule and within budget.

Oman is located at the northeastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. The smelter site sits just inland from the Gulf of Oman, halfway between Muscat and neighboring Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Bechtel is providing engineering, procurement, and construction management services for the project. The company also is providing construction services, building more than 50 percent of the total project scope on a direct-hire basis.

More than half the Bechtel team came to the project after completing the successful Alba Line 5 expansion for Aluminium Bahrain. Jim Haynes, president of Bechtel’s Mining & Metals unit, notes that experience gained on Alba and other previous projects is invaluable, “given the massive size, complexity, and speed of execution on today’s smelters. It’s not a place for rookie teams, or for engineering-and-construction companies that are new to the game.”

“Given our deep experience in smelter design and construction over the past decade, our customers can depend on Bechtel to provide both experienced teams and the learning-curve benefits that we have captured at our Aluminum Center of Excellence in Montreal,” adds Haynes. “We know what makes a project successful and have been able to consistently deliver it for our customers.”

Unlike other countries in the region, Oman is not a major oil producer. To diversify its economy, the country’s government is encouraging foreign investment in a variety of light and heavy industries such as aluminum. Through the project, Bechtel and Sohar Aluminium are playing a big role in boosting the Omani economy by purchasing local goods and services and employing Omani citizens.

In fact, Bechtel is training nearly 750 Omanis to work on the project as electricians, carpenters, and other skilled laborers. In addition, they’ll learn computer skills, and English to improve on-the-job communication, which also will help them prepare for careers after the project is completed.

“This training program is the largest of its kind to date in Oman,” says Bechtel’s Selvin Van Niekerk, who is overseeing the “Omanization” program. “It has offered local people the opportunity to learn new skills and embrace Bechtel’s high safety standards.”

The training program is an equal opportunity program. With concurrence from government ministries, women are also being trained in electrical and mechanical disciplines and placed into construction roles. “This is a huge milestone and a first in the country,” says Van Niekerk.

As workers ramp up construction to finish electrical, mechanical, and steel work this year, Bechtel will spend up to 30 percent of the project’s procurement budget in Oman. “When it makes sense, we buy from Omani vendors and suppliers,” says Barlow. “We want to make sure that everyone benefits from this project.”

In recent years, Bechtel has provided industry leadership in the design and construction of aluminum smelters. Projects such as Boyne (Australia), Alba, and Fjarðaál have become benchmark examples of how to execute megaprojects, says Haynes, and they have played a vital role in meeting the exploding global demand for aluminum.

“Bechtel teams have their fingerprints on many of the products that are the staples of life today—from kitchen foil to cans to automobiles,” says Haynes. “If the forecasts from industry experts are true—that the demand for aluminum will double over the next 15 years—Bechtel will be one of the few companies that can help make this vision a reality.”

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