HOME PAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS, Print Editions, Newsletter PRODUCTS READ THE PETROLEUM NEWS ARCHIVE! ADVERTISING INFORMATION EVENTS PETROLEUM NEWS BAKKEN MINING NEWS

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
September 2001

Vol. 6, No. 9 Week of September 23, 2001

Business continues as usual at Montgomery Watson Harza following merger

Alan Bailey

Butch West, vice president of Montgomery Watson Harza, told PNA recently that the June merger between Harza Engineering and Montgomery Watson Inc. will not impact Alaska in the immediate future.

Montgomery Watson specialized in water, wastewater and environmental protection, while Harza was an international engineering firm specializing in the construction of large-scale power generation plants.

Montgomery Watson had established a substantial operation in Alaska and the company’s projects will continue unchanged under the new corporate ownership arrangements. Harza did not operate in Alaska.

“There was no Harza presence in Alaska in June of this year — they haven’t been here since probably the late ‘80s,” West said.

Montgomery Watson in Alaska

Montgomery Watson has been doing a number of environmental projects for the Alaska oil industry. These projects have included the cleanup of orphan North Slope sites for BP and environmental impact assessments for Phillips drill sites. “We were selected earlier this year to do the remote portions of the orphan sites project that BP is doing under the Charter for Development of the North Slope,” West said.

Outside the oil industry, Montgomery Watson has carried out water treatment plant upgrades and environmental cleanups for the U.S. Department of Defense. The company has also been upgrading rural Alaska water and wastewater facilities. “We have a number of villages now that we’re active in,” West said.

Power generation

West said that Harza’s worldwide experience in power generation will enable the merged company to provide a broader range of services than before. “Hydroelectric work or fossil fuel power generation were not things we (Montgomery Watson) did,” he said. “With the Harza acquisition those skills now come into our family of companies.”

“Harza’s major clients have been energy authorities — or governments around the world,” West said. “They’re involved in some of the largest hydroelectric projects going on today.” In the early 1980s Harza led a major study into the proposed Susitna hydroelectric scheme in Alaska.

West said that Montgomery Watson Harza would bring additional people into the state if the company became involved in any Alaska power generation projects. “They (Harza) were headquartered and still are in Chicago,” he said. “The bulk of the employees work out of the Chicago office — they go all over the world to do projects.”

Changing company names

Montgomery Watson Harza has retained most of the old Harza organization under the name MWH Energy and Infrastructure. “It’s continuing to operate pretty much like it was before,” West said.

The main divisions of Montgomery Watson have also adopted new names, such as MWH America and MWH Europe. The company as a whole will abbreviate its name from Montgomery Watson Harza to MWH Global Inc.

West believes that the merged companies enjoy complementary skills. “One of the things that’s been going on in our industry is tremendous consolidation,” he said, “and I think this merger shows that we’re one of the consolidators, as opposed to being consolidated.”






Petroleum News - Phone: 1-907 522-9469 - Fax: 1-907 522-9583
[email protected] --- http://www.petroleumnews.com ---
S U B S C R I B E

Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)©2013 All rights reserved. The content of this article and web site may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law subject to criminal and civil penalties.