The U.S. Navy has exercised a $1 billion option for fiscal 2020 for Fluor Marine Propulsion, a subsidiary of the troubled engineering giant that is selling off its government contracting business, to continue work on nuclear propulsion systems for U.S. warships and submarines.
Fluor Marine Propulsion has managed the joint Department of Energy-Navy Naval Nuclear Laboratory since Oct. 1, 2018, under contracts worth about $30 billion over 10 years, with options.
The DOE-funded part of the contract has a five-year, $8.5-billion base that runs through Sept. 30, 2023, plus one five-year, $8.5-billion. The Navy-funded contract had a roughly $1-billion base.
Fluor ousted Bechtel Marine Propulsion to take over the multi-site, DOE-owned labs, along with their associated, Navy-funded work.
The Naval Nuclear Laboratory contracts cover management and operations of the NNSA’s Bettis and Knolls atomic power laboratories in West Mifflin, Pa.; the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site in West Milton, N.Y.; and the Naval Reactors Facility near Idaho Falls, Idaho.
The labs develop new nuclear propulsion systems for the Navy’s aircraft carriers and submarines, and train sailors to operate those systems at sea.
Fluor announced last week that it will sell off its government services business and get out of the federal contracting business altogether. The company has not said whether it plans to sell off its entire government portfolio to the highest bidder, or whether it might sell off its contracting work piecemeal.
