Jacobs Receives Contract from Luberef

PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) announced today that it was awarded a contract from Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co. (Luberef) to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services to support an expansion project at its lube oil refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

Officials did not disclose the contract value. However, they noted that based on the outcome of the feasibility study the overall expansion project cost was estimated at approximately $US 1 billion.

Under the agreement, Jacobs is providing FEED services for both inside battery limits (ISBL) and outside battery limits (OSBL). The ISBL services involve a new lube oil unit (hydrocracking, iso-dewaxing/hydrofinishing), a new sulfur complex, and an expansion of the propane de-asphalting unit; the OSBL services involve all utilities and infrastructure.

Jacobs' Leiden, The Netherlands office is managing the overall project, while the infrastructure and buildings services are being executed by Jacobs' Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia office. Additionally, Jacobs' office in Mumbai, India is executing selected design elements.

The Yanbu Refinery expansion is intended to increase base oil production to meet future demands for high quality G-II and G-III base oils and increase the GR-I Bright stock to almost double current production; produce higher-value byproducts (naphtha, diesel, kerosene); and satisfy Kingdom requirements for drilling fluid, which is currently imported.

Luberef's President and CEO, Ali A. Al-Hazmi stated, "This expansion project will add value to the Kingdom's economy including employment, and provide high quality lubricants to the markets we serve. In addition it is part of Luberef's overall strategy to provide high quality base oil with different product slates of GR-I, GR-II, and GR-III to strengthen Luberef's position as a one-stop shop supplier. Luberef is looking forward to working with Jacobs to execute this major milestone of the expansion project."

In making the announcement, Jacobs Group Vice President Robert Mathastated, "Jacobs is extremely proud to partner with Luberef on this significant project at the Yanbu Refinery, which also expands our growing presence and capability in Saudi Arabia. We welcome the opportunity to support Luberef's production of higher-grade clean fuels."

Luberef is one of the world's leading suppliers of high quality base oil. Luberef is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Jadwa Industrial Investment

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2010 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 - Business, 1A - Risk Factors, 3 - Legal Proceedings, and 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

SOURCE Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.