Europe

Mining giant Xstrata has said it will spend R4.9 billion (€510 million) to boost capacity of ferrochrome production and cut costs with a more energy-efficient smelter in South Africa.

Xstrata, one of the world's biggest producers of ferrochrome, has approved the second phase of expansion at its Lion ferrochrome complex, which is struggling to meet power needs.

Under the plans, a new smelter will be built with a capacity of 360,000 tonnes per year, boosting the group's overall ferrochrome capacity to over 2.3 million tonnes.

UK oil explorer Max Petroleum has announced the discovery of a zone of oil in a well in Kazakhstan, sending its shares soaring.

Testing at the UTS-1 well on the Uytas prospect in Western Kazakhstan has revealed 16 metres of oil at shallower depths than the current position, with the oil column potentially stretching for 86 metres.

The company said it would now drill ahead from the current intermediate depth of 300 metres to explore deeper targets at around 900 metres, before returning to the shallower zones to test the find.

Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group have agreed a £500 million joint venture to develop London’s next large skyscraper.

Canary Wharf Group, the owner of the Docklands estate, will buy half the 690,000 square foot tower development for approximately £250 million, and will act as construction manager on the project.

The joint venture will be backed by sovereign wealth from China and Qatar.

The 150 metre-high, 37-storey skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street, EC3, is known as the Walkie Talkie due to its concave shape.

The German insurance giant Allianz is set to make a £2 billion bid for the Channel Tunnel rail link, it has been reported.

Allianz is one of a number of groups planning to bid for the 68-mile stretch of railway running from London to Folkestone in Kent. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Eurotunnel and Hong Kong-based CKI are understood to have formed other consortia that are also planning to bid.

London-based Sirius Petroleum has entered a conditional agreement to purchase a 40 per cent participating interest in Nigeria’s Ke oil field and the surrounding Ke farmout area.

In order to fund the development of Ke, the company is preparing to place 313.9 million new shares, representing 30.73 per cent of the enlarged share capital to raise £15.67 million.

Global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is to give the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $25 million to research and develop high value, sustainable technologies to drive innovation in energy delivery.

The money, to be delivered in five annual payments of $5 million, will go to the MIT Energy Initiative, a program that conducts research aimed at transforming the way the world obtains and uses its energy.

UK airport operator BAA will have to sell two of its airports after the Court of Appeal rejected its claim of regulatory bias during an investigation by the Competition Commission.

The company will now be forced to sell off Stansted and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airports, the High Court has ruled. It is thought this will allow for greater competition, better service and a greater choice of flight destinations.

The metal and mineral resources of Turkey have been under-exploited for decades. Afrasia Mining and Energy Consulting (AME) and Red Crescent Resources (RCR)are bringing South African and global expertise into alliance with local knowledge. Ruari McCallion found out more.

Aberdeen-based energy services company John Wood Group has won a £100 million power station contract in California.

The contract is to construct and commission the conversion of the Tracy Peaker Plant in Tracy, California, owned by GWF Energy, in order to make it more environmentally friendly.

The work will be carried out by the company’s power division, Wood Group GTS.