Europe

Tullow Oil has announced a new discovery of oil and gas offshore Ghana, close to the Jubilee Field.

The company said it discovered 73 metres of net hydrocarbons in the field, in which it has a 22.896 per cent stake. The well is located in the West Cape Three Points licence, outside the Jubilee unit boundary.

The £5.5 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station in London has been given the green light following approval from the UK government’s communities secretary.

Treasury Holdings plans to redevelop the site with 10 million square feet of office space, shops, hotels, a conference centre and 3,400 homes.

Irish engineering group Kentz has announced the acquisition of South African engineering services firm RNE Engineering and Projects for €7.4 million (R73 million).

Kentz said the deal will enable the group to offer a wider range of niche engineering, procurement and construction solutions in southern Africa, as well as supporting the opportunity to jointly tender for certain EPC contracts.

UK oil company Ensco is buying its US rival Pride International for around £4.5 billion in a deal that will create the world's second largest offshore oil and gas driller.

UK oil explorer Regal Petroleum has backed an improved takeover bid from Energees Investments, which came on the back of a rival bid from a Ukrainian billionaire.

The offer from Energees values its proposed 70 per cent stake in Ukraine-focused Regal at around £85 million.

Energees is the main holding company of Ukraine's Smart Holding Group.

The revised offer comes following a rival proposal from Cyprus-based Heamoor and oil explorer Geo-Alliance. Both Heamoor and Geo-Alliance are controlled by the Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk.

Swiss food giant Nestlé has opened a new state-of-the-art factory in Nigeria’s Ogun state.

The NGN12 billion (approx. €57 million) Flowergate factory will be primarily dedicated to the production of the company’s Maggi branded range.

The 12 hectare facility—Nestlé’s 27th in Africa—will offer jobs to 180 people and indirect jobs to hundreds more.

Dutch oil giant Shell has reported profits of $18.6 billion (£11.5 billion) for 2010, on the back of increased production and rising oil prices.

Profits were nearly double that of last year, with earnings in the final quarter soaring by almost 400 per cent to $5.7 billion.

Commenting, Shell’s CEO Peter Voser said: “Our 2010 earnings increased substantially from 2009 levels, driven by improving industry fundamentals, and Shell’s production growth and cost performance.”

West Africa-focused Stellar Diamonds has reported “encouraging” initial diamond recoveries from drill core samples of the company's Droujba kimberlite pipe in south-east Guinea.

The company recovered 538 diamonds from 291.62kg of kimberlite, including five commercial-sized diamonds larger than 0.85mm.

The majority of the diamonds recovered are classified as white, colourless and transparent.

Employment in the UK’s wind power industry has surged 91 per cent in just three years, according to a report commissioned by trade body RenewableUK.

Figures in today’s report show a 91 per cent increase in full-time employment in the sector between 2007/8 and 2009/10.

The study was jointly commissioned by RenewableUK and Energy & Utility Skills—the Sector Skills Council for the power sector—from Warwick University’s Institute for Employment Research (IER) and Cambridge Econometrics.

Polaris International Industrial Parks looks set to become an historic project that will cement economic relations between Turkey and Egypt. Osman Arikan, general manager, and Elif Gurpinar, corporate communications director, talk to Jayne Alverca.