Northeast Utilities and NSTAR have agreed to merge in a deal that will form New England's premier utility company, worth $17.5 billion.

The companies have described the deal as a merger of equals, but if it goes through it will retain the Northeast Utilities name. NU shareholders would own approximately 56 percent and NSTAR shareholders would own approximately 44 percent of the combined company.

The German insurance giant Allianz is set to make a £2 billion bid for the Channel Tunnel rail link, it has been reported.

Allianz is one of a number of groups planning to bid for the 68-mile stretch of railway running from London to Folkestone in Kent. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Eurotunnel and Hong Kong-based CKI are understood to have formed other consortia that are also planning to bid.

Nova Scotia's main energy regulator has given a $208 million biomass project the green light.

Nova Scotia Power and NewPage Port Hawkesbury had asked the board to approve a plan to burn 650,000 tonnes of wood a year to fire a steam generator at a paper mill in Cape Breton.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Boardhas now said that the project can proceed, but it outlined several conditions in an effort to protect customers from footing the bill for any overrunning costs or a plant failure.

London-based Sirius Petroleum has entered a conditional agreement to purchase a 40 per cent participating interest in Nigeria’s Ke oil field and the surrounding Ke farmout area.

In order to fund the development of Ke, the company is preparing to place 313.9 million new shares, representing 30.73 per cent of the enlarged share capital to raise £15.67 million.

Global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is to give the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $25 million to research and develop high value, sustainable technologies to drive innovation in energy delivery.

The money, to be delivered in five annual payments of $5 million, will go to the MIT Energy Initiative, a program that conducts research aimed at transforming the way the world obtains and uses its energy.

UK airport operator BAA will have to sell two of its airports after the Court of Appeal rejected its claim of regulatory bias during an investigation by the Competition Commission.

The company will now be forced to sell off Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, the High Court has ruled. It is thought this will allow for greater competition, better service and a greater choice of flight destinations.

The metal and mineral resources of Turkey have been under-exploited for decades. Afrasia Mining and Energy Consulting (AME) and Red Crescent Resources (RCR)are bringing South African and global expertise into alliance with local knowledge. Ruari McCallion found out more.

Mining is often about an underground world of tunnels towards the centre of the earth. At Pike River Coal, however, the challenge of New Zealand’s geology has resulted in tunnelling uphill and a reliance on water. New CEO Peter Whittall explains all to Andrew Pelis.

The recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand reveals the geological complexity of the South Island. For Pike River Coal, however, while earth tremors are no major problem, geology has proved to be an uphill struggle.

Kenya’s transport service poses many challenges to bus operators. Edwins Mukabanah, managing director of Kenya Bus Service Management Ltd tells Andrew Pelis how his company is making a real difference in Nairobi.

The challenge of running a successful bus service in Kenya is one fraught with difficulties and danger. But against the backdrop of failed enterprises, corruption and gangsters, one company has adopted a new approach—and is now making great headway in Nairobi.