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Middle East

IEA urges fix of renewable energy subsidies

Governments offering financial incentives to renewable energy generation technologies must do more work to make this support more cost effective, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. Problems can be avoided by quickly adapting subsidy policies as technologies evolve and their costs fall, said the agency.

Emir of Qatar inaugurates Pearl GTL Project

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani today officially inaugurated the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) Project, the largest GTL plant in the world and the largest energy project in the state of Qatar.

SABIC helps Hyundai's QarmaQ crossover go green

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) will take part in the 10th International Plastics and Petrochemicals Trade Fair to showcase its range of polymer solutions. A highlight of the SABIC pavilion will be Hyundai's QarmaQ crossover utility vehicle.

ABB starts up lube oil blending plant for Petromin

ABB Cellier, a segment of ABB France's Process Automation division, recently launched operations at a new lube oil blending plant for Petromin Corp. in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Foster Wheeler inks engineering, construction pact for Qatargas LNG

Foster Wheeler and joint venture partner Qatar Kentz have signed an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) framework agreement with Qatargas Operating Co. (Qatargas). The agreement will be for three years with an option to extend for a further two years.

Iraq cabinet OKs $17.2 billion Shell gas deal

The Iraqi cabinet Tuesday approved a deal worth up to $17.2 billion for Shell to capture and process gas from three giant southern oil fields - Rumaila, West Qurna phase 1, and Zubair in the southern governorate of Basra, a government spokesman said. The Iraqi Oil Ministry initialed the Iraq South Gas agreements last July with Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp.

Compounder A Schulman opens UAE sales office

US-based plastics compounder A Schulman has opened a sales office in Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), part of what the company says is a global expansion effort to serve growing markets for value-added niche products.

Cristal, Outotec to partner on TiO2 feedstock plant in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia-based titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Cristal Global announced what it called a groundbreaking partnership with Outotec, a leading provider of metals processing solutions. Outotec has been selected to build a new fully scalable ilmenite-processing plant for Cristal in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, estimated to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Dow, Saudi Aramco select Jacobs for engineering, construction of chemicals venture

Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the Chemicals 1 Envelope of Sadara Chemical Co., the joint venture between Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco. Construction work on the project has already started and is scheduled to be completed by early 2015.

Fluor wins maintenance deal for RasGas in Qatar

Fluor Corp. announced today that Qatar National Facilities Services (QNFS), a Qatari-based company partly owned by Fluor, signed a five-year comprehensive maintenance services contract with RasGas Co. Ltd.