Energy

Sapphire Energy, Inc., one of the world leaders in algae-based green crude oil production, has secured the final tranche of $144 million investment funding.

Readers of our 1 April story about profal oil need not be sceptical. It’s not the first of April today.

With this final investment round, San Diego-based Sapphire Energy’s total funding from private and public sources has risen to over $300 million.

South Africa-based high voltage power contractor CONCO expects to double its turnover within the next three years. Clive Pillay explains to Gay Sutton how the company is preparing to meet this enormous growth in demand.

Scottish oil explorer Cairn Energy has announced the acquisition of Agora Oil & Gas, a private Norwegian company with non-operated, exploration, appraisal and development assets in the United Kingdom and Norwegian North Sea.

The transaction is subject to consent from the relevant regulatory authorities in the UK and Norway.

Agora will add drilling activity to Cairn's 2012 exploration and appraisal programme, with nine wells, eight firm and one contingent, scheduled to be drilled in the UK and Norway in 2012.

Forget hydrogen. Forget wind, sun, geothermal and ethanol. Business Excellence can tell you exclusively today that the future of alternative energy is profal oil.

Never heard of it? That’s because its discovery has been kept a closely guarded secret for political reasons. Now that our reporter in the South Atlantic has broken the story, however, the world’s press is heading to the Falkland Islands en masse.

Sumitomo Corp. of America (SCOA) is to become a 50-50 equity partner in two large-scale wind farms Duke Energy Renewables is building in Kansas.

Today’s announcement revealed that SCOA, part of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp, is buying a 50 percent stake in the 131-megawatt (MW) Cimarron II Windpower Project in Gray County and the 168-MW Ironwood Windpower Project in Ford County. Construction of both wind farms will be completed later this year.

Scotland’s energy minister Fergus Ewing has announced a new £103 million investment fund designed to drive the growth of renewable energy in Scotland.

The Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) will initially focus on supporting communities and rural businesses to develop their own local renewable projects. It will also support district heating, and wave and tidal developers with the development and deployment of array projects.

Air Products today announced it has acquired advanced adsorption technology assets for its generated gases product lines from Xebec Adsorption, Inc.

Air Products has purchased the technology, intellectual property and know-how related to structured adsorbents, beaded adsorbents, and rotary valves from Xebec, a publicly-traded Canadian company specializing in adsorption technology headquartered in Blainville, Quebec. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Canadian engineering group SNC-Lavalin has signed a project management contract with Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) for the Delta Caribe Oriental Project, valued at C$133 million.

The project is in the Sucre State in northeastern Venezuela and consists of four offshore gas fields; Dragon, Patao, Mejillones and Rio Caribe, as well as a substantial onshore development for industry, named Complejo Industrial Gran Mariscal Ayacucho (CIGMA).

Plans have been announced for the development of a new low-carbon power plant west of Edinburgh.

Summit Power Group, a Seattle-based developer of low-carbon electric power projects, has entered into an agreement with National Grid and Petrofac to seek funding for the development—which would include full-chain, commercial-scale carbon capture and storage—at the Port of Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth.

Wessex Exploration has received a surprise takeover offer from French oil major Total, sending the Bristol-based company’s shares rocketing by over 30 per cent.

Total said it is looking to buy Wessex, which has interests in the south of England and offshore Africa, for around £71 million.