Here is this week's round up of capital projects and contracts.
Over the past seven days we have seen the European Commission approve the Siemens-Rolls Royce merger, while Balfour Beatty's potential tie-up with Carillion has hit the rocks. GE will deliver gas turbines and engines to Algeria, while Saudi Aramco has received a royal seal of approval to build 11 new stadia in Saudi Arabia.
AREVA Federal Services will provide EPC services for a low-level nuclear waste disposal facility at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The USD30 million development will provide additional storage capacity for low-level waste, host administration and maintenance buildings, as well as 225 concrete vaults located 25 ft underground.
http://www.areva.com/scripts/news/publigen/content/templates/Show.asp?P=10280&L=EN
Balfour Beatty and Carillion have ended discussions regarding a possible merger.
http://hsprod.investis.com/servlet/HsPublic?context=ir.access&ir_option=RNS_NEWS&ir_client_id=83&item=1820799845531648
Bechtel has named Brendan Bechtel president and chief operating officer and a member of the board of directors of Bechtel Group, Inc.
http://www.bechtel.com/2014-07-31.html
Bechtel and Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. have also revealed that they will pursue opportunities together in the offshore market in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world.
http://www.bechtel.com/2014-07-30.html
Saudi Aramco has been authorised by King Abdullah to build 11 new state-of-the-art stadiums across the country, will start the projects in January, reports Trade Arabia.
http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CONS_263152.html
Trade Arabia also reports that Anton Oilfield Services Group, the leading independent oilfield services provider in China, has won a deal for a USD50million worth drilling project in southern Iraq.
http://www.tradearabia.com/news/OGN_263062.html
The Jakarta Post reports that Bechtel Corporation plans to complete the construction of 69 modularised processing modules in Batam, Indonesia, later this year to support its largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/08/04/bechtel-complete-modules-batam.html
GE's Distributed Power business has received orders for eight trailer-mounted aero derivative gas turbine-generators and the first Jenbacher gas engine project in Algeria.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140805006314/en/Citi-Source-2.5-Billion-0.000000E+002 %9CPower-Africa0.000000E+002 %9D#.U-H_XEj6S3U
GE Energy Financial Services has partnered with Casillas Petroleum Corp. to purchase oil and gas reserves in southwest Kansas from Cimarex Energy Co.
The assets include more than 500 producing wells spread across 14 counties in Kansas. Tulsa-based Casillas Petroleum will operate the properties and serve as the general partner of the partnership.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140805005374/en/GE-Energy-Financial-Services-Casillas-Petroleum-Partner#.U-IDzUj6S3U
Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co. will erect a dry flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) unit at Southwestern Electric Power Co.'s Flint Creek Power Plant in Gentry, Ark. Construction of the 550 MW plant's dry FGD system will begin shortly and is expected to finish in mid-2016.
http://www.babcock.com/news-room/Pages/BW-Awarded-Construction-Contract-For-AEP-SWEPCO-Power-Plant-in-Arkansas.aspx
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has been signed a contract with the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania to provide professional engineering design services for light rail transit systems.
http://invest.jacobs.com/investors/Press-Release-Details/2014/Jacobs-Selected-for-Light-Rail-Projects-in-Pennsylvania/default.aspx
Oil and gas major Eni has discovered gas and condensates in the Nyonie Deep exploration prospect, offshore Gabon. The total estimated potential of these discoveries is approximately 3 billion boe, with potential for further improvement, claims Eni.
http://www.eni.com/en_IT/media/press-releases/2014/07/2014-07-31-gabon.shtml?home_2010_en_tab=editorial
Gazprom Neft has begun drilling an exploration well at the Shakal block in Kurdistan (Iraq) and is soon to commence drilling on a second exploration well. The project will study two oil reservoirs in the Shakal block including flow testing. Well testing will be completed by late 2014/early 2015.
http://www.gazprom-neft.com/press-center/news/1102603/
CB&I together with its partner, Chiyoda Corporation (Chiyoda), has been awarded a FEED services contract for a proposed LNG export project by Golden Pass Products, LLC (GPP). GPP is a joint venture between affiliates of Qatar Petroleum International and ExxonMobil.
The scope of work, includes FEED services for the GPP LNG liquefaction and export facilities with a production capacity of 15.6 million tonnes of LNG per year
http://www.cbi.com/investor-relations/news-releases
Indonesia's Ministry of Environment has approved the environmental and social impact assessment for the BP-led Tangguh LNG expansion project in Teluk Bintuni, Papua Barat province, and an environmental permit has been issued. The expansion project is projected to cost USD12 billion.
American Energy-Permian Basin LLC has completed its acquisition of 63,000 net acres and associated gathering assets in the southern Permian basin from affiliates of Denver-based Enduring Resources LLC for USD2.5 billion.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/american-energy-permian-basin-llc-announces-closing-of-permian-basin-acquisition-and-16-billion-senior-notes-offering-2014-08-01
China Communication Construction Company has inked a USD479 million deal to build three berths at Lamu Port, Kenya, reports Port Technology.
http://www.porttechnology.org/news/lamu_port_in_us479_million_chinese_deal/?utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=News&utm_medium=rss&utm_reader=feedly#.U-IWK0j6S3U
A third commercial port is to be built in Ghana to boost maritime trade, according to Richard Anamoo, director-general of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, reports Port Technology.
http://www.porttechnology.org/news/new_port_to_be_built_in_ghana/?utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=News&utm_medium=rss&utm_reader=feedly#.U-IWkEj6S3U
A multi-million dollar contract has been signed between UK port operator, Peel Ports, and engineering firm, ZPMC, helping to boost future bilateral trade opportunities between China and the UK.
Peel Ports Group is investing over USD512 million to redevelop and expand the existing Port of Liverpool. ZPMC is supplying eight ship-to-shore (STS) megamax quay cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs) as part of the Liverpool2 project.
http://peelports.com/news/new-uk-container-port-at-uks-port-of-liverpool-to-boost-sino-anglo-relations
Essar Projects has secured a USD54 million EPC project from Saudi Aramco that involves the upgrade of a crude stabilization unit at the Abqaiq Plant in Shaybah. The project is scheduled to take 29 months.
http://www.essar.com/article.aspx?cont_id=xZWFHlPvHJ8=
Newvision reports that bid documents for the construction of the 238 km Malaba (Kenya) - Kampala (Uganda) standard gauge railway have been approved.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/658274-bid-documents-for-kampala-malaba-standard-gauge-railway.html
The European Commission has approved Siemens' acquisition of Rolls Royce's aero-derivative gas turbine business, compressor activities and aftermarket services, as well as Rolls Royce's 50 percent stake in Rolls Wood Group.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-902_en.htm