Switzerland-based engineering and construction group Foster Wheeler has won a contract to carry out an availability and reliability study on the possible expansion of Abu Dhabi’s Zirku oil processing facilities.

Foster Wheeler was awarded the contract by Abu Dhabi-based oil company Zakum Development Co (Zadco), formed in order to develop the Upper Zakum oil field on behalf of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and other shareholders, namely ExxonMobil and the Japan Oil Development Company.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame announced its 2011 inductees today, recognizing the inventors of the sensor that enables cameras in cell phones, and the Universal Product Code (UPC) which we all know now as the bar code on our shopping items.

N. Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver will be recognized for their contribution to the invention of the UPC, the world’s most pervasive inventory tracking tool that has transformed the way consumers shop, and how businesses and retailers manage inventory.

Intermodal transportation is becoming increasing popular in the United States, with the price of road fuel likely to stay high for some time, and new government road safety regulations putting pressure on truck carriers.

Intermodal transportation integrates rail and truck services to move product to market more efficiently, using the rail network to carry cargo that would otherwise move via tractor trailer.

Urgent action is needed to restructure South Africa’s electricity distribution industry, with infrastructure and maintenance backlogs recently breaking R30 billion and growing at a rate of R2.5 billion a year, Deputy Energy Minister Barbara Thompson told energy industry delegates at the 2011 Energy Indaba conference this week.

The conference coincides with the controversial closure of EDI Holdings, the company set up in 2003 by the South African government to address the issue of energy distribution.

Dutch construction firm Ballast Nedam has agreed to take over a proportion of the activities of its bankrupt Dutch rival Heddes.

Nieuwegein-based Ballast Nedham will take on 16 projects, collectively worth around €100 million, as well as Heddes’ small-scale construction activities.

Heddes Bouw & Ontwikkeling’s 100 employees will continue to operate from the company’s head office in Hoorn.

Heddes filed for bankruptcy on 16 February, having suffered from the effects of the slowdown in the construction industry.

Deepwater drilling has recommenced in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since the drilling moratorium was imposed in June after the BP oil disaster.

Although the moratorium was officially lifted last October, Noble Energy is the first to receive a permit to resume drilling at its Santiago prospect in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico.

ESB International (ESBI) has been awarded a contract by NamPower to provide technical advisory services for the development of the 800 MW Kudu combined cycle power plant at Oranjemund on the Namibia / South Africa border.

The power plant will use gas from the Kudu Gas field to produce electricity for Namibia and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Increasing demand for electricity in Africa as economies in the region grow is continuing to put pressure on state utilities such as NamPower.

The 2011 International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago from 4-6 March will see a new glass bottle from BottlesUp, designed by the company’s founder, nationally-acclaimed glass artist Laurel Herter.

The show is considered the world's premier housewares marketplace, featuring over 2,000 exhibitors from 34 countries, and more than 20,000 buyers. BottlesUp will debut in the special invitation-only “Discover Design” section (Booth #3971) at the show.

The chairman of the taskforce overseeing the creation of the Kigali Free Trade Zone (KFTZ) in Rwanda has said it will be launched in April this year.

Speaking to Business Times, Alex Ruzibukira, head of the Kigali Free Trade Zone initiative at the state-run Rwanda Development Board, said around 90 per cent of the work on the 250-hectare project has been completed.

With the necessary infrastructure now in place, investors will be able to commence construction of factories and warehouses.

Oil and gas exploration in Bahrain is set to boom over the next decade; and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) is positioning itself to help drive this exciting period of development.