Technip buys Stone & Webster

(upstreamonline) -- France’s Technip has snapped up the energy and chemical division of US engineering company Shaw Group in a EUR225 million (USD287.7 million) deal.

Technip said it was acquiring Stone & Webster Process Technologies and the associated oil and gas engineering capabilities from Shaw, and will take on the divisions 1200 engineers, researchers and project teams.

Stone & Webster generates revenues from technology licensing, process design engineering, early-stage and front-end engineering, project management consulting and the supply of equipment.

Its revenues, pro-forma and annualised, are currently about EUR220 million, according to Technip which it said would double its own revenue it generates from the type of activity performed by Stone & Webster to about EUR400 million, on a pro-forma basis.

The French company said the acquisition would enhance its position as a technology provider to the refining and petrochemicals industries, while diversifying it onshore and offshore segment, as well as add revenues based on technology supply.
MRC

(upstreamonline) -- Mikhail Fridman has resigned as chief executive of BP's joint venture operation in Russia, TNK-BP.
The billionaire native of Ukraine handed in his notice as both chairman and CEO of the company on Monday, a brief statement from TNK-BP read.

Fridman is to step aside from both roles in 30 days, it added.

"After Mikhail Fridman’s resignation, TNK-BP will be managed by a group of executives who hold powers of attorney related to their areas of responsibility.

"Alfa Access Renova shareholders German Khan and Victor Vekselberg remain with the business as executive directors and members of the management board."

Fridman played a key role in blocking BP's monster proposed tie-up with Rosneft for exploration and production activities in the Kara Sea. Rosneft later penned a huge deal with ExxonMobil instead.

Forbes magazine recently named 48-year-old Fridman as the world's 57th richest person with a net worth of USD13.4 billion.

Apart from his oil and gas assets, Fridman has a large stake in the banking and telecommunications industries with his Alfa group, held together with others, the country's largest financial and industrial group.
MRC

(upstreamonline) -- Higher oil and gas prices sent net profit rising at Russian energy giant Lukoil in the first quarter.
The company also had to deal with rising costs with capital expenditure up 43% year-on-year to USD2.5 billion.

Net profit for the three months to the end of March was USD3.79 billion as against USD3.52 billion in the comparable period a year ago.

Revenues spiked from USD29.63 billion to USD35.26 billion with the price of hydrocarbons climbing from a year ago while the per barrel of oil equivalent lifting cost remained steady at USD4.70.

The amount of hydrocarbons produced for sale rose 0.4% to 200 million boe while gas production was up, helped in large part by a 70.2% increase in gas produced in Uzbekistan.
MRC

(upstreamonline) -- An international arbitration panel has ruled that Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker by sales, is to be awarded USD2.16 billion in damages after a Kuwait company canceled a 2008 agreement to buy a stake in the company’s plastics business.

Midland, Mich.-based Dow put together a USD17.4 billion joint venture with Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC), a subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., to produce plastics for consumer products, automotive parts, and drug processing in 2008.

But as commodity prices plunged and the global economy went into a recession, the so-called K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture was scrapped just days before it was set to close. Two months after the deal collapsed, Dow posted losses of USD1.55 billion for the fourth-quarter of 2008 and cut about 11 per cent of its global work force.

The International Court of Arbitration in Paris ruled that PIC will pay Dow for backing out of the deal. The court is part of the International Chamber of Commerce.

“This outcome brings resolution and closure to the issue,” Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said in a news release. "We remain focused on continuing to move forward with our transformation and profitable business partnerships — both in Kuwait and around the world."
MRC

(chemmonitor) -- Bulk Handling Systems with headquarters in the USA purchased another US-based manufacturer engaged in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) equipment market activity.

The latter one operates under the title of National Recovery Technologies Inc., while the buyer is a renowned supplier of solid waste sorting systems utilized in material recovery units.
MRC