Foster Wheeler Ltd. says that its Milan-based subsidiary Foster Wheeler Italiana S.p.A., part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been awarded a contract by Zwara Oil Refinery Company Limited (ZORCO) for consultancy and project management services for a planned new 200,000 barrels per stream day crude oil refinery at Mellita, near Zwara, in the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. ZORCO is a project company in which Tamoil Africa Holdings Ltd. holds the equity.

Foster Wheeler scope under the contract includes the optimization of the refinery configuration, the selection of the licensors and the front-end engineering design (FEED), including preparation of a cost estimate. Foster Wheeler will also prepare the tender documents for the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) phase, will assist ZORCO in selecting the EPC contractor(s) and will act as project management consultant during the EPC phase.

Foster Wheeler's contract value for the study and FEED phase will be included in the company's fourth-quarter 2008 bookings. The remainder of Foster Wheeler's project scope will not be booked until the project receives approval by ZORCO to proceed into the EPC phase. The refinery is planned to be completed in 2014.

The planned new facility, with an estimated total investment cost of about $4 billion, includes a state-of-the-art facility aimed at producing premium quality gasoline, jet fuel and diesel with minimal fuel oil production, and related utilities, offsites and marine facilities.

"We are indeed extremely pleased to be awarded this prestigious contract by ZORCO," said Marco Moresco, chief executive officer, Foster Wheeler Italiana. "We have strong roots in Libya and we look forward to leveraging our in-depth refinery expertise to build on the excellent working relationships established in the past."

"This is a flagship project in North Africa requiring deep technical knowledge, experience and flexibility," said Dr. Ali Shamekh, chairman, ZORCO Ltd. "We are very pleased to award the contract to Foster Wheeler Italiana and we will join forces for the successful implementation of the Project."

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