Nuclear power will provide the kind of economic stimulus to the UK economy not seen since the advent of the North Sea oil and gas industry, says John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Groveley Detection is the UK distributor for Simtronics and has added the GD1 to its growing range of fire and gas detection products.

Parker Instrumentation has launched its ball and needle instrumentation valves optimised for high pressure fluid control applications operating at up to 20,000PSI/1379 bar.

International providers of qualified manpower, V.People, has won two new contracts worth $1.8 million.

ABB has released the newest version of its Industrial ECS Enterprise Connectivity Solutions; this release includes enhancements for quicker integration of systems, improved performance, and simplified user interface.

Asset integrity management is becoming a top priority in the energy industry, says leading engineering, safety and risk consultancy ESR Technology.

Due to high demand, Aker Solutions has decided to double the size of its RapidSolution well set programme.

Two associates of Cheshire-based engineering consultancy, ASTEC Services, have pooled their expertise to produce a successful safety case and verify the integrity of pipework at Magnox North's Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey.

Peter Brotherhood's world leading expertise in the design and manufacture of steam turbine driven generator sets for use on floating production, storage and offloading vessels has led to the company securing another multi-million pound order from Single Buoy Moorings (SBM).

Head-quartered in Stromness in the Orkney Islands, Combustion, Energy and Steam Specialists Ltd (CESS) have recently been instrumental in the sale of an unused 5MW Peter Brotherhood condensing steam turbine from a cancelled project in Australia to Green Frog Fuel in UK.

AMEC Plc, the international engineering and project management company, has announced that it is to acquire Bower Damberger Rolseth Engineering Limited (BDR), a specialist in-situ oil sands business, from its owner-managers for £22 million.

BJ Process and Pipeline Services has successfully completed a commissioning contract for Technip Oceania Pty Ltd. BJ PPS supplies nitrogen-helium leak detection services on process piping and vessels associated with the Otway gas processing plant and the remotely-operated platform located offshore Victoria in southern Australia.

KCA DEUTAG, the international drilling contractor, has been awarded in excess of US$100 million worth of land drilling contracts and extensions from oil and gas operators in Europe and Russia.

EV Offshore Ltd, a leading provider of camera inspection systems, has announced that it has carried out a downhole inspection operation for Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd in the North Sea. The successful camera inspection operation was carried out on behalf of Nexen on its Buzzard project, located in the Outer Moray Firth in the central North Sea, 100 kilometres northeast of Aberdeen.

RWE npower has awarded a framework agreement to Rotork Site Services for the supply of Rotork valve actuators and actuation maintenance services throughout all of its UK fossil-fuelled and cogen power stations.

Royal Dutch Shell and the Iraqi oil ministry aim to sign a preliminary agreement this summer to establish a Joint Venture to exploit associated gas and channel it for domestic use and export. Plans include building LNG export facilities.

Sensornet, the global provider of the most advanced monitoring solutions, has successfully installed the world's first distributed fibre optic monitoring system in a Maximum Reservoir Contact (MRC) well for a major operator in the Middle East.

BG Group Plc, the global integrated gas major, has approached Origin Energy Limited, Australia's largest integrated energy company, with a proposal to acquire all of the shares in Origin.

Atlas Copco has introduced its new brand of PRO handheld power tools for industrial users. Available in multiple sizes and all popular configurations, PRO comprises a wide range of pneumatic and battery tools for assembly, drilling, grinding, finishing, shipping, cutting and punching along with a wide range of accessories.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York, acting in his capacity as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade & Investment, visited the Manchester headquarters of Costain, one of the nation’s leading construction/engineering companies.