Europe

The UK’s biggest energy supplier, Centrica, is buying natural gas assets in Canada from Suncor Energy in a deal worth £229 million.

Direct Energy, Centrica's North American unit, will gain 241 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas reserves in the Wildcat Hills area of Alberta, increasing its resources by about 60 per cent to 641 billion cubic feet.

Twenty miles north-west of Calgary, the assets consist of 97 producing wells and related infrastructure, as well as 42,000 net acres of undeveloped land.

Vedanta Resources is in talks to purchase assets or take a substantial stake in the UK oil and gas exploration company Cairn Energy.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the talks are at an advanced stage, with an announcement possible later this month. The companies are said to be discussing a range of options, including an equity stake, asset purchases or a complete takeover of Cairn.

Russian state-owned nanotechnology corporation Rusnano is in advanced talks to take over the UK display screen maker Plastic Logic—a deal that would assist Russia in bringing Western know-how to its fledgling tech industry.

According to the Financial Times, Rusnano is considering the purchase of a significant stake in Plastic Logic—on the condition it relocates the next phase of its development to Russia.

French power giant GDF Suez is expected to announce it has taken over its UK rival International Power (IP) as early as tomorrow.

The two companies had resumed talks after failing to agree a deal earlier this year, with GDF now believed to be offering a special dividend of £1.3 billion to sweeten the agreement for IP investors.

A deal with GDF would create one of the world’s biggest independent power generators, with estimated sales of €13.5 billion. The enlarged group would keep the name International Power.

Jane Bordenave discovers how Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water company, is turning its customers’ flushes into energy and cost savings via its Poo Power initiative.

Hatfield Colliery near Doncaster is proving that the UK coal mining industry is more progressive and forward-thinking than popular perception gives it credit for.

For many people during the past three decades, the perception of the UK mining industry has been one of a sector in decline. However, Hatfield Colliery is turning such assumptions around, providing ample proof that UK mining is very much alive and kicking, thanks to a cleaner, greener approach to coal usage.

Jane Bordenave talks to Dragados Offshore about the company’s expertise in EPC contracting for the oil and gas industry and how it is applying its skills to new areas of business.

UK company Inmarsat has ordered a fleet of three advanced satellites from Boeing for about £629 million, in order to deliver faster broadband service to customers by the end of 2014.

The major upgrade to Ka-Band satellites will enable London-based Inmarsat to offer broadband to commercial and government clients at speeds up to 20 times faster and at less cost than its ageing L-Band fleet, which operates at the opposite end of the frequency spectrum.

Drax, the UK’s biggest power station, has said that government reforms of subsidies for renewable energy have put the company’s planned biomass expansion in jeopardy.

According to a report in the Financial Times, the UK government’s new subsidy rules have made it hard for the company to make the case to shareholders for its planned £2 billion biomass investment.