Black & Veatch and Shell Puget Sound Refinery Win Prestigious 2005 Best Project Award for Sulfur Recovery Unit Expansion.

SEATTLE -- Black & Veatch Corporation and Shell Puget Sound Refinery have announced receipt of the prestigious 2005 Best Project Award by Northwest Construction Consumers Council (NWCCC) for the Sulfur Recovery Expansion project at Shell's Anacortes, Wash., facility. The project doubled the refinery's capacity to remove sulfur and supports a process that results in sulfur being used in the creation of fertilizer and sulfuric acid rather than being released in the atmosphere.

The project consisted of building a new sulfur recovery unit (SRU) with a new SCOT (Shell Claus Offgas Treating) unit that runs concurrently with the existing units. The setup provides the refinery with enough redundancy that any upsets or trips in the system will not result in sending acid gas to the flare.

"This award is the result of true teamwork and ingenuity from Shell, Black & Veatch and all contractors associated with this project," said Burt Newbry, Major Projects Engineering and Construction Manager for Shell Puget Sound Refinery. "This project was completed over two months ahead of schedule, was under budget by 15 percent, and completed without interrupting the daily operations of the refinery."

Black & Veatch was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction support for the inside battery limits portion of the facility.

"The new unit was designed as a 'clone' of a unit at Shell's Deer Park Refinery in Texas," said David Stevens, Vice President of Sulfur Technology for Black & Veatch. "The design had to be rendered to accommodate the environmental and seismographic differences between the Texas unit and the Seattle clone. We used innovative system design and layouts when necessary to match the cloned unit requirements exactly."

The new SRU and SCOT unit were commissioned on October 19, 2004, and have the capability of removing 200 long tons of sulfur per day. SRU and SCOT units are important parts of the oil refining business, removing sulfur compounds from crude resulting in industrial use of the byproduct.

About Shell Puget Sound Refinery

The Shell Puget Sound Refinery is the second largest of four refineries located in Northern Puget Sound in Northwest Washington State. The Shell Puget Sound Refinery converts crude petroleum from the Alaskan North Slope and from Central and Eastern Canada into many useful, practical products that are used everyday. This refinery primarily serves the Pacific Northwest from the Canadian border to Portland, occasionally south to California. Safety, health and environmental protection are the highest priorities for the refinery. Located in the pristine waters of Northern Puget Sound and at the gateway to the spectacular San Juan Islands, protection of the environment is a primary concern.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch Corporation is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, information and government markets. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions that meet clients' needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions include conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, information technology, environmental, security design and consulting, and management consulting services. The employee-owned company has more than 90 offices worldwide. Black & Veatch is ranked on the Forbes "500 Largest Private Companies in the United States" listing. The company's Web site address is www.bv.com.