Touting his Pickens Plan, Dallas oilman and philanthropist T. Boone Pickens said in a keynote address on October 14 in Grapevine, Texas, that he is courting the 60 United States senators he needs in order to pass his energy plan in a vote scheduled for November 17. Photo: Tonie Auer With more than $80 million from his own wallet, Pickens is promoting America’s energy independence. The 82-year-old Texas oil tycoon told attendees at the 2010 Sunbelt Builders Show held at the Gaylord Texan that this is his mission in life. Pickens says out of the 85 million barrels of oil
Fluor Corp.’s built many complex structures but its first offshore wind farm project isn’t going well. Greater Gabbard project has faced weather and equipment problems. The Irving, Texas-based contractor will report quarterly earnings Nov. 4 and will take a $163-million write-off in its third-quarter earnings because of unexpected complications in building the 504-MW Greater Gabbard wind farm off the coast of England. The loss on the $1.8-billion, fixed-price contract with Scottish and Southern Energy plc means that the project will be unprofitable, says Avram Fisher, an analyst who follows Fluor for BMO Capital Markets. Fluor blames problems with weather, material
In the wake of this year�s fatal oil platform explosion and resulting Gulf of Mexico spill�not to mention major refinery accident and pipeline leaks in recent years�under a new CEO, U.K.-based BP PLC is revamping its corporate safety culture. The firm announced late last month a new safety-and-risk division, the function of which will be �embedded� in corporate operating units with �sweeping powers� to oversee, audit and intervene in BP technical activities. BP chief executive Robert Dudley created a new safety division with oversight and auditing power. �The changes are in areas where I believe we most clearly need to
The City of Orlando’s $480-million Amway Center, the home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, opened Oct. 1, in time for the team’s first preseason game on Oct. 10. The Populous-designed facility features seven concourses that provide approximately 875,000 sq ft of space, or nearly three times the area of the old arena. Photo courtesy City of Orlando Orlando's new $480-million Amway Center opened Oct. 1. It was built by a construction team led by Hunt Construction Group. Populous of Kansas City, Mo., was the designer. Turner Construction Co. of Orlando was the program manager. A joint-venture team led by Indianapolis-based
Corgan Associate’s Dallas office announced three new associates to add to its team of professionals with expertise in aviation and interior design. Dan Hursin, Ginger Gee and Shelly Nichols were promoted to associate. Gee received a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Harding University in Arkansas and received her master’s of architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" STG Design in Austin announced the promotion of two team members, PollyAnna Little and Jeff Ervin. Little has been promoted to principal and Ervin to associate principal. Little is a graduate of the University of
Irving-based VCC Construction was awarded a $7.4-million contract to build an ecologically friendly forensics center in Lacombe, La., about 40 mi northeast of New Orleans. It is expected to be completed in September 2011. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras"
Dallas-based KAI Texas designed the first school to be built in a quarter century in Wilmer-Hutchins. Construction on the $15-million project started this summer. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" It is the only elementary school in operation in a 15-sq-mi area. The new two-story, 98,000-sq-ft facility will serve up to 810 students in grades pre-kindergarten through the fifth grade. The floor plans for the two-story structure call for 40 classrooms, an auditorium, library, cafeteria and gymnasium. Addison-based Ratcliff Construction Co. is building the school, which is slated for a fall 2011 opening.
The Texas Transportation Commission approved roughly $250 million in highway project contracts funded by Proposition 12 bond proceeds, which were authorized by the Texas Legislature in 2009. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The contract letting is the first for the $2 billion in highway projects approved for Proposition 12 funding late last year. Included in the contracts is a major corridor mobility project to widen IH-35 north of Waco from four to six lanes. The contract is for $165-million. Nearly 39% of the state’s population lives along the IH-35 corridor, and this project brings the commission closer to fulfilling
Spire Realty Group released initial plans to develop a six-building office, hotel, retail and parking complex on more than 12 acres in the northeast section of downtown Dallas adjacent to the Arts District. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Named The Spire, the initial phase of development will be a 21-story office building featuring 360,000 sq ft of office space, 25,000 sq ft of retail and 36 residential units. Dallas-based WDG will provide architectural planning and interior design services for The Spire. Austin-based Austin Commercial has been named construction manager/general contractor.
A new study attempts to answer ‘How will PE pipe perform in my utility?’ It identifies areas to be addressed during an evaluation. Released by the Plastic Pipe Institute Inc. and commissioned by the PPI and the Alliance for PE Pipe, the study was done by Ontario-based Jana Labs. It examined potable water systems including chlorination, durability, oxidative aggressiveness, temperature and pressure/stress. Case studies of systems encompassing a range of operating conditions, scope of service and system life were included. Uitility managers or water-system design engineers with questions about the longevity of PE pipe may read the report by visiting
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