Europe

Tullow Oil is to strengthen its Dutch portfolio through the acquisition of Nuon Exploration & Production, it has been announced.

Tullow will pay Sweden’s Vattenfall Group €300 million in cash for the Amsterdam-based company.

Tullow said the acquisition will significantly enhance its North Sea business, adding a portfolio of 25 licences that include over 30 producing fields, further development and exploration opportunities, and ownership of crucial infrastructure. 

Ireland-based Kentz Engineering and Construction Group has won a $33.6 million contract from Bariq Mining to carry out works at its Jabal Sayid project.

Kentz’s Saudi operating unit, Saudi Arabian Kentz Co Ltd, has won the procurement, construction and commissioning contract to carry out the structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation works for Bariq Mining’s copper processing plant at its new Jabal Sayid copper mine located in western Saudi Arabia.

The mine will produce copper concentrate with gold and silver credits. 

Mining is never an easy life but as Alan Swaby learns, not even the harshness of the Arctic Circle can faze some operators.

You might be forgiven for thinking that developing a brand new iron ore mine, well inside the Arctic Circle, might throw up the odd problem or two. But Karl-Axel Waplan, CEO of Northland Resources, is remarkably matter-of-fact about a project that will have consumed at least US$700 million by the time it gets off the ground.

Royal Dutch Shell has decided to go ahead with its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in Australia, which will see it build the world's first FLNG facility.

The platform will be moored around 200 kilometres off the Australian coast and will liquefy gas from offshore fields onboard by cooling.

Shell will now commence detailed design and construction of what will be the world's largest floating offshore facility, in a ship yard in South Korea.

Amec, the UK-based engineering and project management company, has agreed to buy the US engineering and environmental services company Mactec for $280 million.

Mactec provides a similar range of services to Amec's Earth & Environmental (E&E) unit, including environmental planning, assessment and remediation, infrastructure engineering, water resources and construction support services. Its clients are those operating in the energy, commercial/industrial, transportation/infrastructure and federal sectors.

Lydian International is focusing all its energies on Armenia this year, where its prospects are looking better with each month that passes.

Africa-focused investment company Lonrho has said it will acquire a 51 per cent equity interest in seafood wholesaler Fish On Line for R3.5 million in cash.

Cape Town, South Africa-based Fish On Line operates bulk cold storage and fish processing facilities, wholesale seafood operations, and a global import & export business.

With its primary focus in the catering and retail sectors, Fish On Line deals in a wide range of products including prawns, lobster, salmon, pangasius, hake and kingklip.

Rolls-Royce and Daimler, through their 50:50 joint venture, have agreed to take over the German engine manufacturer Tognum in a deal worth €3.4 billion.

The two companies first bid for Tognum in early March, offering €24 per share; however it wasn’t until they raised their offer to €26 per share that they secured the backing of Tognum’s board.

Friedrichshafen, Germany-based Tognum is the world’s second-biggest manufacturer of high-speed diesel engines for the defence, marine and energy sectors.

South Africa’s largest private hospital operator Netcare has announced a rise in first-half profits of 15 per cent, driven by a strong performance in South Africa.

Profits for the six months ending 31 March rose to R666 million, up from R579 million in the same period a year earlier.

The company said that growth in the South African market was able to offset far weaker results in the UK, where the challenging economic environment had a negative impact.

British Airways and the Unite union have finally reached an agreement that will see an end to their long-running dispute.

The dispute, which lasted almost two years and involved 22 days of strike action, originally began because of cabin crew job cuts and a pay freeze.

BA has now agreed to restore travel concessions to staff who went on strike and award a two-year pay deal for cabin crew, worth up to 7.5 per cent. The agreement will be put to a ballot of around 10,000 union members, with Unite strongly recommending them to accept.