Europe

Dutch rail operator Abellio Group has been selected by the UK’s Department for Transport to operate the Greater Anglia train franchise.

The new franchise, due to start in February 2012, will provide intercity, commuter and rural services throughout the Greater Anglia region.

In the UK, the company already operates the rail companies Merseyrail and Northern Rail, as well as the bus companies Abellio London & Surrey.

Ireland’s Providence Resources has announced its intention to commence drilling operations on its 48/24-JBarryroe well in mid-November.

The company has been awarded an exploration licence for Barryroe for a period of up to six years, split into two three-year phases.

The well location and programme have been finalised using new fast-track 3D seismic data.

Sam Howard speaks to Willie Wood, senior sustainable horticulture manager at CFL to find out how partnerships with producers and growers worldwide are impacting the products found on UK supermarket shelves.

Part of the AG Thames group of companies, Chingford Fruit Limited (CFL) was founded in 1966. Over the last forty four years AG Thames has continued to grow through the acquisition of companies within key areas of its business. The group now employs 480 people with offices in South Africa, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and Chile.

Engineering and project management provider AMEC has been awarded a £150 million contract to deliver engineering and project management services for the Clair Ridge project, west of Shetland.

Clair Ridge is the second phase of the giant Clair oil field. The contract was awarded to AMEC by BP and its Clair partners Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron.

Dutch engineering consultancy Arcadis has announced it is to acquire UK-based consultancy EC Harris.

Through the merger, Amsterdam-based Arcadis will grow to almost 19,000 employees and €2.3 billion in revenues. Combined, the two companies will obtain a top five global position in strategic advisory and project delivery services for built assets, Arcadis said.

Energy giant BP has announced plans to invest almost £10 billion in developing four new North Sea oil and gas projects over the next five years.

The company said that the investment, which will be made with its partners, will help to maintain BP’s production from the North Sea “for decades to come”.

The UK government yesterday granted BP and its partners—Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron—approval to proceed with the £4.5 billion Clair Ridge project, the second phase of development of the Clair field complex, west of the Shetland Islands.

Rolls-Royce has announced a partnership with Pratt & Whitney to develop next generation engines for mid-size aircraft, as well as a restructuring of the companies’ International Aero Engines collaboration.

The new partnership will see the two companies developing engines for mid-size aircraft (capable of carrying 120 to 230 passengers) that will replace the existing mid-size fleet. Both companies will hold an equal share in the joint venture.

Sainsbury’s, the UK’s third largest supermarket chain, today unveiled a new £1 billion sustainability plan.

The plan, called the Sainsbury's 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan, outlines 20 sustainability targets to be achieved by 2020.

Developing new IT systems is fraught with danger at the best of times; but as Alan Swaby learns, when you harness the power of 98 different customers, you become a force for change.

Not all are tainted, by any means, but in the UK a large number of IT projects for government departments or other public bodies are either long overdue, way over budget or both. As such, the sheer size of a commissioning agency is no guarantee of success—so it’s no bad thing to take a look at how it is being done successfully in a different arena.

London, UK-based Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) has announced plans to acquire the shares of Kazak thermal coal producer Shubarkol Komir that it does not already own.

ENRC, which currently owns 25 per cent of Shubarkol, said that its directors have unanimously approved to exercise rights to acquire the 2,638,103 outstanding shares for up to $600 million, plus assumed debt of $50 million.