Europe

UK manufacturer Avingtrans has been awarded a £3 million, three-year contract to supply rigid pipe assemblies to a market leader in the provision of flight controls.

Sigma Precision Components, a unit within Avingtrans' Aerospace division, has won the contract to deliver rigid pipe assemblies to a customer supplying clients across the aerospace and defence sectors, including Boeing.

Avingtrans manufactures components and provides associated services to the medical, energy, industrial and global aerospace sectors.

Rockhopper Exploration has announced the discovery of more oil and gas in the North Falklands Basin.

The oil and gas exploration company drilled in multiple reservoir targets: Beverley, Casper South, Casper and Sea Lion Main Complex.

The positive drilling update is expected to raise estimated reserves of hydrocarbons across the four fields.

The Sea Lion discovery was the first oil to flow to surface in Falkland Islands waters, having been successfully tested during September 2010 and June 2011.

Norwegian oil company Det norske has awarded Denmark-based Maersk Drilling with a three-year contract at its Draupne project.

Maersk Drilling is to supply the CJ-70 ultra harsh environment jack-up rig, XL Enhanced 2, presently under construction in Singapore, for development drilling on the Draupne field in the Norwegian North Sea.

The contract, awarded by Det norske on behalf of the Draupne licence, is for three years with options to extend up to seven years.

The total contract value for the three-year period is approximately $413 million.

Tel Aviv is not only Israel’s second city by population and its business capital, it is also globally recognized as one of the world’s most innovative startup hubs. In addition, according to one 2018 report, more than 300 large multinational firms have set up research and development centers in Israel – mostly in Tel Aviv – to take advantage of its young, tech-savvy population.

French water utility Veolia Environnement has announced plans to divest several of its UK assets as part of its restructuring programme.

The €5 billion of assets it will sell include three UK-regulated water companies and its 50 per cent stake in public transport company Transdev.

The three companies are Veolia Water Central, Southeast and East—known until 2009 as Three Valleys Water, Tendring Hundred and Folkestone & Dover. Together, the companies have a combined turnover of £269 million and serve more than three million customers.

French power utility EDF has announced plans to construct a 900 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant on the Rybnik site in Poland.

The project, worth around €1.8 billion, will involve the replacement of the four oldest units at the Rybnik plant with a single, more efficient one.

EDF said the advantage of the supercritical technology is its capacity to achieve the highest net efficiency in the market—equivalent to 45 per cent.

Investec has agreed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to establish a €100 million renewable energy funding facility to promote clean energy generation and energy efficiency initiatives in South Africa.

Investec and the EIB are to be equal partners in the programme, with each contributing €50 million.

Wood Group’s new Angola-based joint venture has been awarded a contract by BP, it has been announced.

Wood Group Kianda, a joint venture involving Amílcar Nascimento—Wood Group's Angolan business partner—and Wood Group, is to be officially launched in Luanda, Angola today. Wood Group Mustang, Wood Group Kenny and Wood Group PSN will all provide their services through the joint venture.

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has signed a joint venture agreement with Shell, the South Gas Company and Mitsubishi Corporation on an initiative to capture natural gas in southern Iraq.

The South Gas Company (SGC), an affiliate of the Ministry of Oil, will take 51 per cent in the joint venture, the Basrah Gas Company (BGC). Shell will take 44 per cent and Mitsubishi will take five per cent.

Bridge Energy’s balanced portfolio of exploration and production oil and gas projects across the North Sea makes it an attractive investment as it sets out to list in London as well as Oslo.