Middle East

Dubai-based Dragon Oil has announced the signing of a deal through which it will earn a 55 per cent interest in the Bargou Exploration Permit offshore Tunisia.

The farm-in agreement, which has been signed with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Perth, Australia-based Cooper Energy, will also give Dragon Oil operatorship of the permit in any development phase.

The Bargou Exploration Permit is located in the Gulf of Hammamet in the Mediterranean Sea, covering an area of 4,616 square kilometres with predominantly offshore exploration prospects.

Dubai-based port operator DP World has announced that London Gateway, the UK’s newest port, is due to open in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The port will have an initial capacity of 1.6 million TEU (twenty foot equivalent container units), and is expected to boost the UK’s economy by an estimated £3.2 billion per annum.

Marriott International has identified enormous growth potential in the Middle East and Africa. Ed Fuller, president and managing director of International Lodging in the region, talks to Jayne Flannery about the rationale and strategy that underpins the expansion.

UK investment vehicle Vallares, headed by the former CEO of BP Tony Hayward, is to merge with Turkey’s Genel Energy in a £2.5 billion deal.

The transaction, which will give Vallares oil fields in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, will see the new company trading as Genel Energy Plc, with Hayward as CEO.

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is thought to contain about 40 billion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubic feet of gas.

La’ala Al-Kuwait Real Estate is proving that urban development and ecological protection can go hand in hand. Ian Williams talks to Gay Sutton about the symbiotic relationship between engineering and the environment at the new Sabah Al-Ahmed Sea City.

A reputation for reliability and a track record for delivering on time and on budget has helped to turn one Saudi Arabian business into an international giant.

Saudi Arabia has an impressive programme of converting its oil dollars into other forms of essential infrastructure. Billions are being spent on water desalination plants and even more on ever increasing electricity capacity (although it has to be said that not all projects have yet received their financial green light).

Israeli food flavourings company Frutarom Industries has acquired UK-based Aromco for £15 million, it has been announced.

The transaction is Frutarom’s fourth acquisition of a flavour company since the beginning of 2011.

Hertfordshire-based Aromco develops, manufactures and markets flavours for the beverage, dairy, confectionary, bakery and savoury markets. The company had sales of £7.7 million in 2010.

Located on the northernmost point of the Red Sea, Aqaba Container Terminal is a port of international standards that is fast becoming the docking place of choice for all shipping lines wishing to move cargo not just through Jordan but through the whole of the Levant and Iraq. Jane McCallion reports.

Canadian engineering and construction group SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a contract by Emirates Aluminium Company (EMAL) for phase II of its smelter in Al Taweelah in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The contract involves the engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services for a new aluminium smelter, including a 1,000 MW power plant and a 1.7 km-long potline, the longest ever built.

The first new aluminium smelter to be built in the Arabian Gulf in 25 years has become a catalyst for industrial growth in the region, helping to make Oman an attractive destination for multinationals to locate facilities.