• US$5bn Texas LNG terminal expansion to go ahead – CB&I and joint venture Zachry Industrial, Inc. has been awarded two contracts, each valued at approximately US$2.5 billion for a two-train liquefaction project in Freeport, Texas.
• Sasol to build first GTL plant of its kind in the US.
• Calumet acquires US lubricants company Bel-Ray.
• Shell backs out of US Gulf coast GTL project.
• TOBS/SN 70 Base Oil FOB USA price down in December 2013.
• U.S. domest ic base oil market remains slack.
• Kluber Lubrication specialty lubricants have been recognised for meeting environmental standards set by the U.S. EPA.

• Egypt and Saudi Arabia to tender power network deal – Cross-border line will have capacity to transport 3,000MW a day.
• Egypt seeks bids for new housing project – A total of 2,453 housing units to be built in Hurghada in Egypt.
• Egypt hits highest rate of inflation in four years – Consumer prices rose 13 per cent year-on-year in November.

• Bids for Iraq Jordan pipeline due in May – Oil Ministry sets out schedule for estimated $7bn crude oil export pipeline.
• SNC Lavalin award engineering contract on Iraq export pipeline – Canadian group to handle front-end engineering and design on 680-kilometre Basra-Haditha scheme.
• Iraq invites interest in water plant consultancy deal – Project involves completing a partly-built water treatment plant.
• Foster Wheeler joint venture wins Iraq engineering deal – Shell awarded design deal to Kentz Overseas and Foster Wheeler.
• Mott MacDonald wins Halfaya oilfield service contract – Mott MacDonald oil & gas has been awarded a US$9.5 million contract by CPE (China Petroleum Engineering) to provide technical support services for Phase 2 and 3 of the Halfaya oilfield in Iraq.
• Oryx makes promising north Kurdistan discovery.

• Bahrain invites firms to prequalify for wastewater project – Work will involve building sewage treatment plant and sea outfall project.
• Bids submitted for Bahrain refinery design and licences – Chevron Lummus Global and Axens bid for Sitra refinery expansion deal in Bahrain.
• Bahrain Bay to float tender for JW Marriott soon – Construction contract for 50-storey hotel to be tendered in 4-8 weeks.
• Bahrain invites prequalification for Tubli sewage plant expansion – Sewage treatment plant project is being funded by governments of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
• Deadline extended for Bahrain public transport operator tender – Role involves managing public bus network.

• Majid al-Futtaim to build $467m shopping mall in Oman – New mall to be the largest in the sultanate.
• CGG renews PDO contract to provide seismic services – Geosciences Company CGG announced that it has been awarded a further contract by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to provide seismic imaging services at its dedicated center in Muscat, Oman.
• BP finally signs $16 billion Khazzan field deal in Oman –
• BP and Oman reach final agreement on Khazzan tight gas development – BP and the Omani government have finally signed a gas sales and 30-year gas production sharing agreement for the US$16 billion development of the Khazzan field in Oman.
• Total wins major offshore block in Oman – Total has signed an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement for offshore Block 41 with Oman. The awarded follows the exploration round launched by the Omani government in November 2012.
• Oman Oil concludes Oxea acquisition deal.

• Qatar invites companies to prequalify for interchange contract – Work will involve upgrading 10 interchanges
• Qatar invites bids for sewerage contract – Work will involve building new pumping station and interceptor sewers in Doha.
• Larsen & Toubro win Qatar electricity contract – Contract is part of Kahramaa’s phase 11 transmissions and distribution programme.
• QInvest advises on $3.5bn-worth of sukuk.
• Algeria committed to developing $3.2bn steel plant – Minister of industrial development says steel plant at Jijel will be done “with or without” Qatari involvement.
• Qatar invites bids for operation of sewage infrastructure.
• Qatar launches new bridges project – Work on Sharq Crossing to be completed prior to 2022 World Cup.
• New deal signal’s Qatar’s latest downstream venture – Qatar Petroleum, Zeon Corporation and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan have signed a MoU to develop an integrated butadiene extraction and elastomer complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.

• Low bidders emerge for Kuwait’s $14bn Clean Fuels Project.
• Kuwait invites bids for electricity cables contract.
• Kuwait invites interest in Al-Khiran independent power and water project.
• Kuwait seeks bids for airport terminal construction.
• Kuwait prequalifies 16 companies on $242m petroleum products warehouse.
• World’s first coal seam gas sent to Aussie LNG project – BG Group has announced that the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project has received first gas from the Surat Basin coal seam gas fields in Australia – the world’s first coal seam gas to LNG project.
• Hyundai wins $1.4bn power & water project in Kuwait – Hyundai Heavy Industries and Sidem, announced a US$1.4 billion EPC contract to build phase one of the Az-Zour North Independent Water and Power Project.
• Technip wins $400m PMC contract from KOC – Technip has won a consultancy, project management and engineering contract worth over US$400 million from Kuwait Oil Company.
• WorleyParsons wins $400m KOC management contract – Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded WorleyParsons Kuwait a 5-year US$400 million contract for the supply of programme management services.
• AMEC wins $260m Kuwait refineries management job.

Includes SATORP Special

• Saudi Arabia invites interest in next independent power project – Power plant will run on a mix of solar power and natural gas.
• Saudi Aramco awards FEED for Fadhili gas project – Saudi Aramco has awarded engineering and project management service contracts to subsidiaries of Foster Wheeler’s Global Engineering and Construction Group to develop its Fadhili Gas Program.
• Saudi’s Dabbagh plans stake sale in lubricants arm ahead of IPO – Dabbagh Group is planning to sell a 19 per cent stake in its lubricant business.
• Saudi’s Satorp expected to ship first PX from its Jubail facility.
• Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemicals Co, or Satorp, will likely start paraxylene shipments from the new 400,000 b/d Jubail refinery in Saudi Arabia early next year, sources close to the company said Wednesday.
• The new refinery has downstream units with capacity to make 700,000 mt/year of paraxylene, 140,000 mt/year of benzene and 200,000 mt/year of polymer grade propylene.
• The PX plant will start in December, the sources said.
• “It seems all the downstream units will be started up by the end of December,” one of the sources said. “Considering this, the company will start first PX shipments early next year.”
• The Jubail refinery is currently operating at a 50% run rate and is expected to be fully operational by December.
• Saudi Aramco has a 62.5% stake in Satorp, with Total holding the remaining 37.5% interest.
• GCC Oil and gas consumption set to rise 50 per cent by 2030 – Mena needs more than $1 trillion investment to meet 2030 gas and electricity demand.