Modern Mining November 2018

COVER STORY

with a project or put it on hold. It all but elimi- nates the risk of over-spending on projects that have little hope of being economically or tech- nically viable.” Although historically WorleyParsons RSA has derived a major part of its turnover from mining, it operates in all the business sectors that WorleyParsons targets globally, namely hydrocarbons, minerals, metals & chemicals, and infrastructure. “We are moving towards having less dependency on mining and we’ve completed some notable contracts in the infra- structure and energy field, including the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in Kenya. Now commissioning, this is able to generate up to 310 MW and is the largest development of its kind in Africa,” he states. “We’ve been fortunate enough to have been recently awarded a second renewables contract in Kenya. This is for the Kipeto Wind Power Project which will have a capacity of 100 MW and will be the second largest in the country after the Lake Turkana project. We are acting as the owner’s engineer and the contract has a 22-month duration.” Discussing WorleyParsons’ strategy in Africa, Dreyer says the group regards the con- tinent as a key growth area. “Quite clearly this is a continent that is rapidly developing and opportunities abound for WorleyParsons in every market segment in which it operates. Traditionally, WorleyParsons RSA has been strongest in the Southern African region but we are certainly keen to work throughout the continent. Having said this, we are selective in what projects and clients we will take on and in which geographies we will operate, which inevitably makes our playing field somewhat smaller than it would otherwise be. Above all, we value high ethical standards and transpar- ency and will never do anything to compromise these principles.” Within South Africa itself, WorleyParsons has embraced the concept of transformation and has a vigorous Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme in place which is a model of its kind. In terms of the initia- tive, the company is partnering with a number of black-owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to jointly deliver services over the min- ing, water, energy and infrastructure sectors. “We’re very proud of the programme, which currently sees WorleyParsons RSA support- ing 12 companies,” Dreyer states. “We have no equity in these SMEs but we do provide support of every type – not just technical but also legal, marketing and commercial. We are doing this because we recognise the need to broaden the

base of the engineering industry in South Africa by transferring skills to black-owned companies and by helping these companies to grow.” While WorleyParsons RSA is one of the biggest organisations of its kind in Africa, it represents only a relatively small part of the international WorleyParsons group, which has 116 offices in 42 countries and over 26 000 employees. In FY2018 (the year to 30 June 2018), it recorded revenues of A$4,75 billion and a statutory net profit after tax of A$62,2 mil- lion, an 85,7 % improvement on the prior year. In FY 2018 the group secured 94 significant awards compared with 86 in FY 2017. Listed on the ASX, the group is already one of the leading providers of consulting engi- neering and project delivery services globally. It is set to become bigger still. In October this year, it announced it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire US-based Jacobs Energy, Chemicals & Resources division, a leading global technical services provider across hydro- carbons, chemicals and mining & minerals. The deal is worth A$4,6 billion and will effectively double the size of WorleyParsons. Photos courtesy of WorleyParsons

The headgear of the pro- duction shaft at Wesizwe Platinum’s Bakubung mine near Rustenburg. Bakubung is just one of the many shaft projects that WorleyParsons has been responsible for in recent years as EPCM contractor.

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