Europe

Talisman Energy (UK) has awarded Wood Group PSN £500 million of North Sea contracts, it has been announced.

Under the terms of a new five-year contract, which includes an option to extend for a further five years, Wood Group PSN will provide operations and maintenance services on all 11 of Talisman's UK offshore assets and at the Flotta Oil Terminal on Orkney. The contract will be worth £90 million per annum and will begin today.

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover has announced the creation of 1,000 new jobs in Solihull, West Midlands.

The car maker referred to the scheme as its “most ambitious growth plan in recent history”, as it embarks upon the delivery of 40 significant product actions over the next five years thanks to a multi-billion pound investment in product creation.

The new jobs will be located at Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced manufacturing plant in Solihull.

Sweden’s SCA has made a binding offer to acquire the EMEA operations of US-based manufacturer Georgia-Pacific, it has been announced.

The price offered by SCA is €1.32 billion.

The proposed transaction includes Georgia-Pacific's consumer and away-from-home tissue paper products and personal care businesses and manufacturing assets across Europe, including consumer brands as well as away-from-home and private label products.

German manufacturing group RKW has started production at its first plant in Egypt, it has been announced.

The new plant, RKW Egypt, was built in less than 16 months and will be officially inaugurated on Thursday.

RKW invested more than $30 million in the manufacturing building, warehouse and administrative offices on 20,000 square metres of land in 6th October City, 35 kilometres south-west of Cairo.

The $7 billion (£4 billion) sale of BP’s 60 per cent interest in Pan American Energy to Bridas Corporation has collapsed, the company has announced.

The deal had been delayed because the Argentine anti-trust and Chinese regulatory approvals required to complete the transaction had not been obtained by Bridas, BP said.

Mining giant Anglo American has agreed to acquire the Oppenheimer family’s 40 per cent interest in De Beers for US$5.1 billion, taking its own stake up to 85 per cent.

Proposals for a four-runway airport in the Thames Estuary were unveiled yesterday by Lord Foster, the founder of UK architects Foster & Partners.

The Thames Hub would encompass a new flood barrier and river crossing, rail and shipping infrastructure and an international airport at the Isle of Grain in Kent.

The project was unveiled by Foster & Partners alongside planners and builders Halcrow and consultancy group Volterra.

The Bank of England has issued a new-style £50 note into circulation as of 2 November 2011.

The note features the renowned 18th century business partnership of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt.

UK engineering company Costain has been awarded a £400 million contract to redevelop London Bridge Station, it has been announced.

Under the terms of the contract from Network Rail, which is worth £400 million over a five-year period, Maidenhead, Berkshire-based Costain will carry out the detailed design and delivery of the project.

Tullow Oil has agreed new production sharing contract (PSC) arrangements with the government of Mauritania and its joint venture partners, allowing it to progress exploration in the country.

Tullow said the deal would enable it to progress the appraisal and development of existing discoveries and pursue exploration in a new contract area covering 10,725 square kilometres, with Tullow as operator.