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Washington Group International Forms Co-Venture With Whessoe Oil & Gas to Deliver Solutions to LNG Customers

Posted on: Thursday, 8 June 2006, 12:01 CDT

BOISE, Idaho, June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Washington Group International Inc. announced today it has formed a co-venture with Whessoe Oil & Gas Limited, a U.K-based leader in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and processing market.

The Washington Group -- Whessoe LNG Co-Venture will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for LNG tanks, receiving terminals and peak shaving (storage) facilities in the United States and at select locations internationally. The co-venture brings together the resources of two leading engineering and construction services companies and integrates the expertise of two organizations with more than 120 years combined experience in the LNG and broader oil and gas industry.

Demand for LNG facilities is expected to grow significantly worldwide during the next decade. In the United States alone, LNG supplies currently make up less than two percent of the U.S. gas supply but are predicted by the U.S. Department of Energy and several independent sources to reach between 8 and 12 percent in the next 10 years.

"This teaming arrangement continues our strategy of expanding our capabilities to serve clients in the very strong oil and gas market," said Stephen G. Hanks, president and chief executive officer of Washington Group International. "Considering the complimentary strengths that each company brings to the venture, the significant market demand, and the ability to exclusively offer full containment LNG tanks from the world-leading supplier, we believe there to be significant opportunity for this venture."

The majority of planned LNG tanks to be built in the United States will be of full containment design, where Whessoe has a technology advantage over its worldwide competitors by being the only company with a proven concrete LNG primary containment technology.

"The co-venture will offer a consistent, integrated, single-source delivery solution to potential clients," said Jon Dale, managing director of Whessoe Oil & Gas Ltd, "allowing them to benefit from the combined experience of our team. Ultimately this provides increased project delivery confidence and will serve to lower our client's delivery risk."

Specific project support work will be performed out of existing parent offices in Houston, Darlington, U.K., and Bucharest, Romania.

About Whessoe Oil & Gas Ltd.

Whessoe is a specialist engineering, procurement, and construction contractor in the cryogenic and low-temperature gas industry. Whessoe is headquartered in Darlington, U.K., where it has been an engineering force for more than 200 years. It currently employs more than 300 people there for engineering and procurement of its worldwide contracts.

Whessoe completed the world's first commercial LNG import terminal at Canvey Island near London more than 40 years ago and has been an evergreen part of the LNG industry ever since. In the area of LNG storage, Whessoe has been an innovator in the LNG tank business and now offers the proven technology for both metallic and concrete primary containment. Whessoe is also responsible for the development and implementation of the world's first modular, rectangular LNG tank for use in offshore gravity-based structures.

About Washington Group International

Washington Group International Inc. provides the talent, innovation, and proven performance to deliver integrated engineering, construction, and management solutions for businesses and governments worldwide. Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with more than $3 billion in annual revenue, the company has approximately 24,000 people at work around the world providing solutions in power, environmental management, defense, oil and gas processing, mining, industrial facilities, transportation, and water resources. For more information, visit http://www.wgint.com/.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as may, will, could, should, expect, anticipate, intend, plan, estimate, or continue or the negative thereof or other variations thereof. Each forward-looking statement, including, without limitation, any financial guidance, speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Washington Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. The forward-looking statements are necessarily based on assumptions and estimates of management and are inherently subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially as a result of changes or developments in social, economic, business, market, legal, and regulatory circumstances or conditions, both domestically and globally, as well as due to actions by customers, clients, suppliers, business partners, or government bodies. Performance is subject to numerous factors, including demand for new power generation and for modification of existing power facilities, public sector funding, demand for extractive resources, capital spending plans of customers, and spending levels and priorities of the U.S., state and other governments. Results may also vary as a result of difficulties or delays experienced in the execution of contracts or implementation of strategic initiatives. For additional risks and uncertainties impacting the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, please see "Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in Washington Group's annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2005.

Washington Group International Inc.

CONTACT: Media, Jerry Holloway or Laurie Spiegelberg, +1-208-386-5255, orInvestors, Earl Ward, +1-208-386-5698, all of Washington Group InternationalInc.; or Media, Paul Sullivan of Whessoe Oil & Gas Limited, +1-713-523-2046

Web site: http://www.wgint.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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