Fluor Daniel Inc

Fluor Daniel Inc. and Minera Alumbrera Ltd. reached an agreement to settle all disputes related to the design and construction of the Bajo de Alumbrera mine in Argentina, the companies said Tuesday. Terms weren't disclosed. Minera Alumbrera sued Fluor Daniel for damages of at least $60 million in August 1998, alleging that Fluor Daniel had incurred cost overruns that increased the construction cost of the Bajo de Alumbrera mine to $1.2 billion from $798 million.

Three of four verdicts in an age-discrimination lawsuit against a Fluor Daniel Inc. unit cleaning up radioactive wastes at the former Fernald processing plant in Ohio have been thrown out by an appeals court. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected three of a U.S. District Court jury's findings against Fernald Environmental Restoration Management Corp. and its parent, Irvine-based Fluor Daniel. The appeals judges said the evidence did not support jury conclusions.

Irvine-based Fluor Daniel said Thursday that its Maintenance Services operating company has been awarded a three-year contract valued at more than $50 million to provide various engineering and construction services to Clariant. The contract covers work at sites in North and South Carolina, Virginia and Rhode Island, Fluor said.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday he will withhold funding for a $6.3-billion high-speed train system to have been built by an international consortium that included Irvine-based Fluor Daniel Inc. The 325-mile rail system would have connected Tampa, Orlando and Miami with trains traveling at 125 to 200 mph. Bush opposed the Florida Overland Express, known as the FOX, because of concern that it wouldn't attract enough riders to make it financially viable.

Fluor Daniel said Thursday it will share in a $49-million contract to provide management and construction services for a $150-million polyethylene facility in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. The contract was awarded to Irvine-based Fluor Daniel and SADE Ingeniera y Construcciones S.A. by Polisur S.A., a joint venture of Dow Chemical Co. and Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales.

Officials of Fluor Corp.'s Fluor Daniel unit have signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Mozambique regarding a U.S. Trade and Development Agency-sponsored feasibility study for the development of a $1.3-billion aluminum smelter project on the African nation's coast near the city of Beira. Fluor Daniel will work with Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) AG and Kaiser Aluminum Corp. in performing the feasibility study.

Fluor Corp. said Friday that its Fluor Daniel operating unit has completed the previously announced sale of Fluor Daniel GTI Inc., its Massachusetts-based environmental company, to IT Group. The firm, an environmental services company, acquired all outstanding shares of Fluor Daniel GTI for $8.25 per share in cash. Irvine-based Fluor Corp., which owned a 52% stake in the company through its Fluor Daniel engineering and construction services unit, received $36.

Fluor Corp., one of the world's largest engineering companies, posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, largely due to cost-cutting measures and higher selectivity of projects. In its fiscal fourth quarter ended Oct. 31, Irvine-based Fluor reported earnings of $63.8 million, or 84 cents a share, compared with $88 million, $1.06 a share, a year ago on revenues of $3.3 billion and $4 billion respectively. Analysts polled by First Call Corp.

A Fluor Daniel venture with Morrison Knudsen Co. received a $308-million contract from Virginia's Transportation Department for the design and construction of a high-level river crossing in Richmond, Va. The venture is 60% owned by Fluor Daniel, a unit of Irvine-based Fluor Corp. and 40% by Morrison Knudsen. Fluor Daniel said the venture will design and build an 8.8-mile, four-lane highway and bridge over the James River to link Virginia 150 and Interstate 295.