BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 2005--The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SGR) today announced that its Shaw Stone & Webster unit has signed a letter of intent with Eastern Petrochemical Co., also known as SHARQ, for engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of a 1.3 million metric tons-per-year ethylene plant utilizing Shaw Stone & Webster ethylene technology. Under the letter of intent, Shaw will immediately begin the engineering and procurement activities. The plant will be located in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008. The value of the project was not disclosed.

J.M. Bernhard, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shaw, said, "Our global reach and proprietary technologies continue to create business opportunities in every corner of the world. Shaw is very pleased to have been selected to provide its proprietary ethylene technology and engineering and construction expertise to this important project. This premier facility will be one of the largest in the world and will enhance SHARQ's leadership position in the petrochemical arena."

Ethylene is an intermediate petroleum product primarily used in the production of other chemicals, particularly plastics, including polyethylene and polypropylene, the world's most widely used plastic. The 1.3 million metric tons-per-year plant will provide ethylene for an ethylene-glycol plant and a polyethylene plant at the same location.

SHARQ, a joint venture equally owned by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation and SPDC Ltd, a Japanese consortium led by the government of Japan and the Mitsubishi group of companies.

Shaw Stone & Webster is an established leader in the world of ethylene technology, having provided technology, design, engineering and/or construction on more than 120 ethylene plants worldwide. Approximately 35 percent of the world's incremental production during the last decade has been based on Shaw Stone & Webster technology. Ethylene plants using Shaw Stone and Webster technology have established a worldwide reputation for exceptionally high operational reliability, rapid startup and superior performance. Earlier this year, Shaw Stone & Webster completed a 600,000 metric ton-per-year ethylene plant that it engineered and constructed in Nanjing, China for BASF-YPC.

The Shaw Group Inc. is a leading global provider of technology, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation, and facilities management services for the energy, chemicals, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response markets. With over $3 billion in revenues, Shaw is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and employs approximately 18,000 people at its offices and operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. The Company was recently named for the second consecutive year to Fortune magazine's annual list of "America's Most Admired Companies". For further information, please visit Shaw's website at www.shawgrp.com.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained herein that are not historical facts (including without limitation statements to the effect that the Company or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," or other similar expressions) and statements related to revenues, earnings, backlog, or other financial information or results are forward-looking statements based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by the Company. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions and are subject to change based upon various factors. Should one or more of such risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. A description of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements can be found in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports, and on the Company's website under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements". These documents are also available from the Securities and Exchange Commission or from the Investor Relations department of Shaw. For more information on the company and announcements it makes from time to time on a regional basis visit our website at www.shawgrp.com.

CONTACT: The Shaw Group Inc.
Chris D. Sammons, 225-932-2546

SOURCE: The Shaw Group Inc.