USA and Canada

The UK’s biggest energy supplier, Centrica, is buying natural gas assets in Canada from Suncor Energy in a deal worth £229 million.

Direct Energy, Centrica's North American unit, will gain 241 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas reserves in the Wildcat Hills area of Alberta, increasing its resources by about 60 per cent to 641 billion cubic feet.

Twenty miles north-west of Calgary, the assets consist of 97 producing wells and related infrastructure, as well as 42,000 net acres of undeveloped land.

General Motors Co. has reported profits for the second successive quarter, and is widely expected to be on the brink of a landmark IPO which could raise as much as $16 billion to begin the process of releasing it from government ownership.

GM reported second quarter profits of $1.3 billion today, on revenues of $33.2 billion, bringing its half-yearly profits to a total of $2.2 billion on revenues of $64.7 billion. GM reported a first-quarter profit $1.07 billion in May, compared with a $5.98 billion loss a year earlier.

Germany's Siemens is to build wind turbines to supply as much as 600 megawatts of energy for the Canadian province of Ontario under an agreement reached with Samsung C&T, it has been announced.

As part of the deal, Siemens will set up Ontario's first turbine blade factory. The German company said that the agreement with South Korea’s Samsung and its partner, Pattern Energy, will create 300 ‘green collar’ jobs and an additional 600 construction and indirect service jobs.

The US Department of Energy has finalized a $43 million loan guarantee for a company's flywheel energy storage plant, which is expected to enable greater use of solar and wind power.

Beacon Power Corp., based in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, is building the 20-megawatt plant in Stephentown, New York, about 20 miles east of Albany.

Vermont’s power transmission company, VELCO, is preparing for another phase of development as it migrates to the smart grid. CEO Chris Dutton and VP external affairs Kerrick Johnson talk to Gay Sutton about the challenges of becoming a telecommunications company.

In April this year, longstanding energy expert Chris Dutton was called in from retirement to take over as president and CEO of Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc. (VELCO) to see it through one of the most challenging periods of growth in its 60-year history.

Turner Construction is on course to deliver a splendid new courthouse for Florida’s Duval County. Project executive Mark Alles talks to Gay Sutton about the unique features of good courthouse construction.

Competing with the big boys in the oil patch is a healthy challenge for this family company known for its customer service, David Hendricks learns.

For some investors the recent global financial crisis has sounded the bell for acquisition opportunities. Matt McCann, CEO of TransAtlantic Petroleum, gives Andrew Pelis some insight into how troubled times for the oil and gas sector have worked to the company’s advantage.

An aggressive strategy of acquisitions in emerging markets during the current market slump is very much paying off for one oil and gas company from Texas.

Tunnel boring can be hard work, but it doesn’t come much harder than on this Maryland project by Oscar Renda Contracting, as Alan Swaby learns.

There are gophers busy under the suburbs of Silver Spring, Maryland, but they’re not doing any harm. Instead, they’re busy nibbling away the rock, ready to construct a vital link in the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) water system.

First Majestic Silver Corp. is committed to building a senior silver-producing mining company based on an aggressive development and acquisition plan with a focus on Mexico. COO Ramon Davila takes David Hendricks on a virtual tour of the company’s three producing silver mines.

First Majestic Silver Corp. was established in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2002 as a silver mining company focused on Mexico. The company currently has three underground mines in production and is nurturing two other projects for future production.