Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). We'll go first to Jamie Cook with Credit Suisse.
Jamie Cook - Credit Suisse
You guys talked about the Greater Gabbard project, I'm wondering how much revenue you have left to burn through on that project and how much of that's impacting your EPS in 2010?
Alan Boeckmann
Significant.
Jamie Cook - Credit Suisse
If it's running through a certain amount at zero margin?
Alan Boeckmann
I would say from a revenue standpoint, we're probably midway, maybe just a little past midway.
Jamie Cook - Credit Suisse
When do you expect to be complete?
Alan Boeckmann
It is a stage project, in several stages. I would say our first completion is probably towards the end of 2010.
Jamie Cook - Credit Suisse
Michael, I need to ask about the guidance for 2010. I am just trying to get a sense for when we look at the midpoint, I think your earnings down about 11%. How much of that is driven by slower burn rate versus, how should we think about margin pressure?
Mike Steuert
I think our margins have held up pretty well in this timeframe. The key to 2010, clearly is the pace of bookings in the quarter. I made the comment that this is the first quarter in ten quarters we haven't had an elephant or a $1 billion project. It is a very lumpy business as I've said before.
Most of the people in the office here were wondering how many times I would say the word lumpy today on the call. There is a pool started, but last quarter at $6.7 billion or $6.8 billion of new awards, we had a number of projects. In fact, the largest one came in the last week and-a-half of that quarter. Otherwise it would have been in Q3, so it just points to how uneven it is.
We're tracking quite a number of fairly large projects that will all hopefully materialize in 2010, so it is the pace of orders that will determine that, Jamie.
Jamie Cook - Credit Suisse
Obviously, everyone will probably overreact to your orders in the quarter. You mentioned you're tracking a number of elephants in 2010, you mentioned you're tracking some on the upstream, which tend to be larger and more complex. Are the elephants you're tracking for 2010 greater than what we saw for 2009 and this year it was front-end loaded. When we think about next year, is it evenly distributed? Is it backend loaded or is it too early to make that call?
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