The Fluor Research Centre for Chemical Technology was recently opened at
the Kazakh National Technical University (KazNTU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan
by Professor Shaikhutdinov, retired rector of the University and
Nicholas Amott, process engineering director, Fluor Limited.
The official ceremony was attended by representatives from Fluor
Corporation (NYSE: FLR), United States Embassy, University College
London (UCL) and senior faculty members from the KazNTU.
The centre was created through two years' combined efforts by Fluor,
UCL, and the KazNTU and was funded by a gift from the Fluor Foundation.
The centre was created to provide chemical technology students at the
university with additional skills, and exposure to tools such as
computer design, required to secure jobs with western oil and gas
companies operating in Kazakhstan.
More than 100 chemical technology students have been trained to date in
the specialist ChemCAD software and have undertaken process design
projects.
"The partnership between academia and industry has been successful in
creating new opportunities for students in Kazakhstan," said Professor
Absametov, vice-rector of the university. The suite, with its simulation
software, marks a complete departure from the usual style of classroom
teaching.
"Fluor is proud to be involved in developing Kazakhstan's engineers for
the future and that we have participated in the training of several
thousand Kazakh nationals as skilled construction workers, designers and
engineers," said Claude Maurel, director business development for
Fluor's Energy & Chemicals business activities in Central Asia.
"Since we established the Fluor Foundation more than 50 years ago, these
are the types of projects that the company is most proud of," said J.
Robert Fluor II, vice president of global public affairs. "This new
research centre will help make a difference in the lives of students in
this region for generations to come."
The Fluor Foundation was established in 1952 by Fluor Corporation, the
worldwide engineering and construction services company, as a means of
investing financial resources in communities where the company works
around the globe. Funding is focused on four categories including
education-related projects.
Fluor has been working in Kazakhstan for the past eight years involved
in some of the country's most complex and challenging undertakings in
the oil and gas industry. Fluor Corporation provides services on a
global basis in the fields of engineering, procurement, construction,
operations, maintenance and project management. Now headquartered in
Irving, Texas, Fluor is a FORTUNE 500 company with revenues of $13.2
billion in 2005. For more information, visit http://www.fluor.com.
Keith Stephens
Media Relations
+1 469.398.7624 tel
Janet Kearns
Media Relations
01932 246120/020 8222 7057 tel
07802
373466 mobile
media relations, Keith Stephens, +1-469-398-7624, or Janet Kearns, +01932-246120, or+020-8222-7057, or mobile, +07802-373466, both of Fluor Corporation