Willbros Group
Willbros Group, Inc. is a global engineering and contractor company based in Houston, Texas, United States. It is listed in the New York Stock Exchange. The company operates in the field of energy infrastructure services. Willbros provides engineering, procurement and construction, such as refinery turnarounds, pipeline construction, pipeline integrity management, GIS consulting and other specialty services. Willbros was founded by William Brothers Company in 1908. It is organized under laws of Panama. It was reorganized as a public company in 1996. Originally, it was headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, in 2000 it moved its administrative headquarters to Houston , Texas. In 2006, Willbros discontinued its operations in Nigeria and Venezuela, although in 2004, Nigeria accounted about 25% of company's global revenue. This decision was due to political instability and the militant attacks in Nigeria. Before making this decision, nine Willbros' workers were taken hostage by Nigerian militants. On 28 February 2005, Willbros Group Inc., said that it was restating financial reports from 2002 on and forecast 2005 earnings far below Wall Street estimates. The adjustments would lower 2002 profit by $900,000, widen the 2003 loss by $2.6 million. On 14 May 2008, the United States Securities  and Exchange Commission filed a suit against Willbros Group and its former managers due to multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Nigeria, Ecuador and Bolivia in 2003–2005. Willbros agreed to pay US$32.3 million in penalties while two of its former managers were sentenced to more than a year in prison. In 2010, Willbros expanded its activities from the oil and gas industry services to the electric transmission and distribution market by the acquisition of InfrastruX Group for about $480 million. In September 2011, Standard & Poor's lowered Willbros Group's credit ratings to B+ with  a negative outlook. In November 2015, it was announced Michael Fournier was named Chief Executive Officer. Fournier was the Chief Operating Officer before being appointed to this post.