Europe

There’s been a harbour at Gibraltar for 2,000 years; but today it’s never handled so little freight. Instead, it has found its own unique mix of services, as Alan Swaby learns.

If ever an estate agent was called upon to sell the Port of Gibraltar, you know for a fact it wouldn’t take long for them to start banging the ‘location, location, location’ drum. At the crossroads to just about all north/south and east/west routes, it couldn’t be better placed. 

GeoSea, part of the DEME group of companies, has applied a pioneering approach to a host of underwater construction challenges. Business development manager Bart De Poorter talks to Jayne Alverca about the company’s flair for innovation.

New partners from Germany and France have been signed up to the South Stream gas pipeline project, it has been announced.

Germany’s Wintershall Holding and France’s EDF have each acquired a 15 per cent stake in the offshore section of the South Stream project through a 30 per cent reduction of Italian Eni's stake.

South Stream is a project conceived by Russia’s Gazprom to construct a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to South European and Central European countries, for the purpose of diversifying natural gas export routes.

Kingfisher, Europe's leading home improvement retailer, has announced it will create over 1,200 new jobs across the UK this year as it expands its B&Q and Screwfix stores.

The expansion plans will bring Kingfisher's total investment in the UK this year to £130 million, with a combined total of over 80 new Screwfix and B&Q stores being opened during 2011.

Rockhopper Exploration has announced further significant oil finds in the North Falkland Basin in the South Atlantic.

The company has encountered more oil during drilling of a fifth well to a total depth of 2,696 metres within its Sea Lion prospect.

UK transport group National Express has announced its acquisition of one the largest student transport service providers in the US.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Petermann Partners Inc is the fifth largest provider of student transport services in the US, with operations across 10 states in the Midwest, West and Southwest.

Ireland’s Kerry Group has announced its acquisition of the German sweet ingredients and flavours producer SuCrest.

The Co. Kerry-based company said the move would significantly expand its sweet ingredients and flavours business in the EMEA region.

SuCrest has production and product development facilities located in Hochheim, Germany and Vitebsk, Belarus, as well as a sales representative office in Moscow. The company is a leading provider of sweet ingredients to the bakery, ice cream, confectionery, cereal and snack sectors in European markets.

South Africa’s Allied Technologies (Altech) has announced its acquisition of Germany’s SetOne, a provider of DVB-based products and solutions in the German-speaking region of Europe.

Altech said that SetOne, which specialises in digital video broadcasting (DVB) STB receivers, has built alliances with key players in the value chain of its products and services offering within Asia and Europe—including licence agreements with companies such as Sisvel, MPEG LA and Rovi.

UK investment vehicle Vallares, headed by the former CEO of BP Tony Hayward, is to merge with Turkey’s Genel Energy in a £2.5 billion deal.

The transaction, which will give Vallares oil fields in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, will see the new company trading as Genel Energy Plc, with Hayward as CEO.

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is thought to contain about 40 billion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubic feet of gas.

UK oil company Northern Petroleum has announced the commencement of operations for an extended well test of the Markwells Wood oil discovery in West Sussex, England.

The test will enable Northern Petroleum and its joint venture partners—Magellan Petroleum and Egdon Resources—to evaluate the potential and plan future development of the Markwells Wood oil accumulation.

Northern holds a 50 per cent interest in the licence; Magellan holds 40 per cent; and Egdon Resources 10 per cent.