http://www.immediapress.it I comunicati stampa di Immediapress en info@immediapress.it (Informazioni) info@immediapress.it (Info tecniche) Economia e Finanza/Economy and Finance, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61823 global@prnewswire.co.uk (ORTEC Consulting Group)
"The signing of the contract symbolizes the continuation of the long-lasting relation between Shell and ORTEC. Increasing global energy demand accelerates the pace of change in the oil and gas industry. Making the right decisions fast and accurate becomes evidently more important to retain a leading position in the industry. We are very proud to support Shell in this process with our modeling and fact-based consultancy services ", says Lambert van der Bruggen, CEO ORTEC Consulting Group.

Paulus Steenkamp, Vice President Manufacturing, Production and Engineering Software, Shell Global Solutions International B.V., adds: "In Shell's drive to help secure a responsible energy future, ORTEC, with their high quality software development and technical consultancy services supports us in underpinning Shell's strategic objective to deliver leading technology solutions. This agreement secures the continuation of our relationship."

About ORTEC Consulting Group

The ORTEC Consulting Group, member of the ORTEC Group, assists companies and organizations to make informed, fact-based decisions based on thorough analysis. This provides decision-making confidence, which is a much-needed requirement especially when optimizing business processes. By analyzing historical data and projected forecasts, our specialist consultants can calculate scenarios that provide a clear view of the facts and figures. This information is vital for balanced decision-making and business processes optimization. For more information, visit http://www.ortec-consulting.com/.

About Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 100 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For more information see: http://www.shell.com/

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.]]> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61823 Politica e PA/Politics and Public Affairs, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61806 global@prnewswire.co.uk (Worldwide News Ukraine)
It was essential to continue the technical revolutions in extracting shale gas as well as implementing clean coal technologies, for the old technologies had lost their economic and ecological sustainability, according to Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko. Currently, Ukraine looks into implement the new environmentally conscious hydro-coal technology, which is claimed to enable utilities, refineries and industrial energy users to produce significantly cheaper and cleaner synthetic fuels from coal through enhance reactivity. Notably, in 2011 Ukraine produced 82 million tons of coal.

Speaking of energy sources diversification for Ukraine, the country is eyeing joint projects with Azerbaijan. After the recent round of negotiations, two protocols between the countries were ready to be signed, and the experts have already started their work on technical parameters of the documents. Moreover, Ukraine is currently negotiating a three-way partnership with Azerbaijan and Turkey. In his interview with journalists Ukrainian leader added that Ukraine would consider creating a gas transportation consortium and make such partnership profitable for all parties. The price of the project (reliable gas transportation to Europe and modernization of the pipelines) was estimated at USD 5-7 billions.]]> Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:45:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61806 Economia e Finanza/Economy and Finance, Politica e PA/Politics and Public Affairs, Altro/Miscellaneous, architettura e edilizia/Architecture and Building Ind., energia / Energy and Power, trasporti e logistica / Transportation and Logistics, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61767 global@prnewswire.co.uk (Worldwide News Ukraine)
Top Ukrainian officials (First Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of Ukraine Iryna Akimova, and Chairman of the Committee on European Integration Borys Tarasiuk) together with the Chairman of the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Program Antonio Somme, and the Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine Stefan Gullgren heard the report on Ukraine's sectoral competitiveness. Presenting the report, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Volodymyr Pavlenko announced yet another collaboration between the country and the organization - Investment Committee.

Even without being a member, Ukraine bears the status of the permanent observer in the committees for steel and governance. The country is also a part of the SME working group. In addition, Ukraine participates in the International Transport Forum and International Energy Agency of the organization. Now that Ukraine has acquired a status of an observer in the Investment Committee along with Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, the country nears its goal. Currently, the organization is also considering Ukraine's participation at the OECD Declaration and Decisions on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises.Since gaining its independence in 1991, Ukraine has been closely collaborating with the OECD. Becoming a full-fledged member of the organization will help Ukraine adapt its legislation to that of most developed countries. The program of economic reforms for 2010-2014 stipulates for the country to become a member of the OECD in the near future. As of today, Ukrainian officials together with the representatives of the organization work on developing an agenda for Ukraine to join the organization.

OECD dates back to 1960, when it started with 20 members (18 European countries, USA and Canada). Nowadays, the organization counts 34 member countries around the globe. The organization, however, is constantly working on its enlargement and enhancement. OECD also maintains close relations with its more than 70 global partners.  ]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:50:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61767 Politica e PA/Politics and Public Affairs, Altro/Miscellaneous, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61746 global@prnewswire.co.uk (Soka Gakkai International)
Holding this summit on the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of these cities, and in the year of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, would bring home to world leaders the terrible destructive capacity of nuclear weapons and help ensure the necessary action toward their abolition, thereby marking the effective end of the nuclear weapons era.

In this year's proposal, titled "Human Security and Sustainability: Sharing Reverence for the Dignity of Life," Ikeda points to the possibility of a more hopeful phase in the struggle to realize a nuclear-free world, seeing signs of a tipping point where a "cascade" of governments will support adoption of a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC) to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons.

Ikeda, who has been engaged in the antinuclear movement since the late 1950s, strongly reaffirms his endorsement of the idea of an NWC, stating that we must take "the determination ... that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist, and give it concrete form as a binding legal agreement expressing the shared conscience of humankind."

He calls for formation of an action group for an NWC, comprising supportive governments and NGOs, and urges that if arguments from the perspectives of human rights and sustainability are mustered alongside those from international humanitarian law, this will expand the groundswell of grassroots efforts pushing for nuclear weapons abolition.

Reflecting on the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, Ikeda urges Japan to make a rapid transition to energy policies not reliant on nuclear power generation, and to intensify its involvement in renewable energy technology and research, both domestically and to support efforts in developing countries. He calls for a strengthening of the global role of the IAEA in dealing with the impacts of nuclear power plant accidents and the decommissioning of obsolescent reactors.

Considering the suffering caused by an increasing prevalence of natural disasters around the world, Ikeda calls for responses to be centered on a human rights approach and proposes that UNHCR's mandate be officially expanded to include provision of relief for people displaced by such disasters. He also stresses the importance of empowering women to play a greater role in disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery efforts.

Toward the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development being held this year in Rio de Janeiro, Ikeda calls for a broader debate on the concept of Sustainable Development Goals to follow the Millennium Development Goals from 2015. He urges a comprehensive approach that will address the full range of sustainability and human security concerns in both developing and developed countries.

Read a synopsis of the proposal at: http://www.sgi.org/sgipresident/proposals/peace/2012.html

Daisaku Ikeda, 84, has issued proposals analyzing the key issues facing humankind on January 26 every year since 1983, commemorating SGI's founding on that date in 1975. He offers insight from a Buddhist perspective and makes concrete suggestions in a spirit of contribution to the global dialogue centered around the United Nations. Many of his proposals have borne fruit.

Soka Gakkai International is a socially engaged Buddhist association with over 12 million members around the world.]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61746 Economia e Finanza/Economy and Finance, ICT / ICT, Altro/Miscellaneous, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61733 global@prnewswire.co.uk (Pacific Controls Systems)
"One of our goals at Pacific Controls is to play a significant role in the growing market for Smart Grid solutions, including managed demand response services, by enabling large portfolios of smart buildings to interface seamlessly into the grid," said Dilip Rahulan, Executive Chairman of Pacific Controls. "With the acquisition of Infotility, Pacific Controls adds the ability to expand our leadership in managed energy services and combine the power of Gbots with Infotility's GridAgents software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Combining these solutions strengthens our pioneering work in using intelligent agents for energy management and brings us greater depth of experience in using bots to create Smart Grids."

"Pacific Controls recognized the benefits of Infotility's leadership in Smart Grid and intelligent grid agent technology," said David A. Cohen, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Infotility.

He added: "Over the last ten years, we have pioneered the development and launch of GridAgents, the industry's first Smart Grid software platform, and applications to support automated demand response and distributed energy management.  We demonstrated the first Multi-Building Automated Demand Response program in California in 2004.  Through the Pacific Controls acquisition, we are now positioned to reach a global customer base and can accelerate our ability to offer large-scale demand response and distributed energy-based smart grid offerings.  This allows us to respond to the sustainability and energy efficiency goals of commercial and industrial building owners as well as the reliability goals of utility operators."

Cohen will continue to lead the team as Chief Operations Officer for Pacific Controls Smart Grid Services globally.  This acquisition opens the way to transform the Smart Grid industry by creating the 'operating system of the smart grid'. It will enable services that include next-generation demand response, as well as making it possible to integrate distributed energy and renewable into the grid using intelligent grid monitoring and control solutions.

About Pacific Controls

Pacific Controls is a company providing ICT enabled managed services and converged engineering solutions for buildings and infrastructure projects globally. PCS has pioneered the technology for Smart Cities in which buildings and infrastructure are managed centrally to increase sustainability, leveraging the ICT infrastructure of telecom operators around the world.  http://www.pacificcontrols.net/

About Infotility

Infotility is the leading provider of intelligent agent software that enables utilities to dramatically increase the efficiency and utilization of grid assets. Its GridAgents' software has specific applications on SmartGrid based energy networks, and is used for integration of communities of renewable and distributed energy resources, Microgrid management, intelligent load control and coordinating smart charging applications, including photovoltaic & storage, and future assets such as plug-in hybrid cars.  http://gridagents.infotility.com/]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61733 energia / Energy and Power, trasporti e logistica / Transportation and Logistics, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61715 global@prnewswire.co.uk (DeepOcean Group)
CTC Marine Projects, Ltd. ("CTC" or the Company), part of DeepOcean Group Holding AS, has announced the completion of its trenching work for the Kipper Tuna Turrum Project in the KTT Field located 45 kilometres offshore Victoria, Australia.

The work was undertaken on contract for McDermott Industries (Aust) Pty Ltd. The Company performed trenching of the recently installed hydraulic and electrical umbilicals located in 100 metres of water.

Prior to going offshore in late December 2011, CTC pre-assembled the A-Frame and CMR3 remotely operated trenching vehicle in Bell Bay, Tasmania, following its transportation from the UK. The trenching spread, which when transported weighed 112 tonnes over 10 units, was then mobilised onboard the client-operated vessel DSV Emerald Sea.

Following the completion of this project, the spread has been demobilised and is ready to commence further work in the APAC region.

"This project was another well planned and executed trenching job by CTC", says Pierre Boyde, Commercial and Business Development Director. "We currently have another trenching spread, the world's premier ROV trencher UT-1 on our Volantis subsea construction vessel working in South Korea, and we expect to remain active in this important APAC region."

About DeepOcean Group

DeepOcean Group is an integrated provider of comprehensive subsea engineering solutions and has a demonstrated track-record in highly-engineered, complex subsea construction projects for the oil & gas, offshore wind and telecommunication industries. The company has a capable fleet of subsea vessels, ROVs, and trenching assets.  DeepOcean Group strives to be among the safest subsea operators in the industry and its relentless commitment to safety for its employees without sacrificing quality service for its customers, distinguishes the company from its peers.  The company is a leading IMR contractor and trenching operator in Norway and the North Sea, with an unparalleled track record in engineering and project management, and has a global presence with offices in Norway, the Netherlands, UK, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore.


For further information, please contact:
Lotte Glad - JKL Group, Communications
Mobile phone: +47 9959 0093
Email: lotte.glad@jklgroup.com]]> Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:25:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61715 Economia e Finanza/Economy and Finance, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61706 global@prnewswire.co.uk (FDS Group)
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120122/CL39254LOGO )

"AGS offers great synergies to further our mission of improving industrial processes and safety of operations in diverse industrial sectors," says Remi Toledano, Global CEO of the FDS Group (http://www.fdsgroup.net).  AGS joins the strategically positioned FDS Group of industrial sealing companies; Flexitallic®, SIEM, Novus, Induseal, and Sealex.  FDS Group is a global leader in specialized sealing solutions and products serving oil and gas industries, power generation, chemical and petrochemical industries in emerging and developed markets throughout the world. The FDS group has owned manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Germany and China and an extensive network of licensed manufacturers throughout the world.

AGS has been the exclusive manufacturing licensee and distributor for Flexitallic in Canada since 2002, providing advanced manufacturing, sales and engineering support to the oil and gas market.  AGS' unique state-of-the-art manufacturing and specialized laser fabrication facilities provide gasket solutions for some of the most demanding environments and applications. "Bringing AGS into the FDS family of companies is really a natural fit," says Jerry Lastovica, CEO of Flexitallic LP. "AGS has a successful history and is a trusted partner to Flexitallic (http://www.flexitallic.com/). We look to build upon AGS's expertise and customer service reputation to upstream oil and gas operations and supporting markets and customers." Lastovica will have responsibility for the new acquisition to ensure a seamless transition.

"We are excited to add AGS to our portfolio," adds Toledano. "This acquisition offers significant growth and value that will benefit the FDS Group family of customers around the world."The acquisition of AGS, now renamed AGS Flexitallic, is the next step in FDS Group's expansion strategy, following the acquisition of Sealex in the United Kingdom in August 2011. Within AGS Flexitallic, FDS Group employs over 900 employees and targets a total sales in 2012 of $190 million USD (euro 150 M).

About FDS GroupThe FDS Group is made up of industrial sealing companies, Flexitallic, SIEM, Novus, Induseal and Sealex. All members of the FDS Group take part on a daily basis in the improvement of industrial processes and safety of operations in diverse sectors such as oil production, oil refining, petrochemical and energy.

Established in 2004. For more information, visit http://www.fdsgroup.net/.


About Flexitallic

The Flexitallic Group is an international market leader in the manufacture and global supplier of high quality, high value industrial static sealing products. Formed in 1912, Flexitallic maintains a major market positions in sealing devices used throughout the world, most notably in the oil and gas industry's upstream and downstream operations. Flexitallic has manufacturing locations in 15 countries and over 600-stocking distributors worldwide.

For more information, visit china.flexitallic.com.

For more information, please contact:
Nancy Battles
Bush Communications
Tel: USA +1-585-244-0270
For more information, visit http://www.flexitallic.com/.]]> Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:05:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61706 Cultura e Tempo Libero/Culture and Leisure, Altro/Miscellaneous, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61688 global@prnewswire.co.uk (EWEA European Wind Energy Association)
The overall winning photo will also become part of an online professional photography collection, http://www.hardrainproject.com/, and be published in renewable energy newspaper 'http://www.rechargenews.com/' and in the European wind energy industry magazine http://www.ewea.org/wd.

"I can't think of a better subject for a contemporary photo competition than wind energy," said Julian Scola, Communication Director of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), organisers of the Global Wind Day alongside the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). "Wind turbines are an icon: symbols of the fight against climate change, of sustainability, of our modern age. While some people noisily oppose wind turbines there are many others who love them and find them a graceful addition to our landscape".

Lauha Fried, Communications Director at GWEC, highlighted the global nature of the competition:  "Wind power is an essential source of clean energy in over 80 countries today - we'd like to see photos taken from all around the world and encourage everyone to participate by sending us your best shots. A new feature for this year's edition is the continental subcategory where a winner will be chosen for each continent".  The competition is open until 6 May; for more information on the competition, on Global Wind Day, and to submit photos: http://www.globalwindday.org/. ]]> Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:45:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61688 Politica e PA/Politics and Public Affairs, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61676 global@prnewswire.co.uk (Worldwide News Ukraine)
Ukrainian politicians keep making statements about the enormous strain the price is putting on the country's economy. Despite the notable discount Ukraine still overpays some USD 4 to 5 billion for gas annually. Member of Ukrainian parliament Inna Bohoslovska recently claimed Ukraine had lost around USD 12 billion in foregone earnings since signing the gas contract with Russia. Experts estimate that Ukraine could have built 44 hospitals with that money.

Comparably, the UK pays only USD 380 per thousand cubic meters. The Netherlands is charged USD 360, while the U.S. pays USD 99 for gas.

In 2010 Ukraine received a USD 100 discount for letting the Russian Black Sea Fleet stay in Crimea. This does not prevent the country from having to pay almost 27 percent of its estimated budget income in 2012 for Russian gas.

It's not just the high price - the take-or-pay system stipulated by the 2009 contract does now allow Ukraine to save money through buying less gas. Ukraine recently announced the plan to buy 27 billion cubic meters of gas instead of over 50 billion it acquired in 2011. Russia insisted that the unconsumed gas would have to be paid for nonetheless.

Given all of the above, it seems quite sensible that Ukrainian government seeks the reduction of gas price. But while Gazprom agreed to drop prices for Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Slovakia, the Russian state-owned gas managing company won't give in to Ukrainian pleas for lowering the cost of imported gas. Ukraine has been negotiating over a new gas price for over 21 months now - and keeps paying the tab according to the existing contract.

Ukrainian officials were considering international courts as their last resort to establish fair price as overpaying does not seem like a viable option for Ukrainian economy at present. Even the EU expressed their desire to assist in Ukraine-Russia gas transit negotiations.]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61676 Economia e Finanza/Economy and Finance, Altro/Miscellaneous, energia / Energy and Power, http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61646 global@prnewswire.co.uk (DeepOcean AS)
The contract includes management, engineering, maintenance and repair of flexible pipelines and electro-hydraulic umbilicals recovered from PETROBAS subsea installations in Brazilian waters.

The work will be carried out by DeepOcean's Brazilian organisation. The company will provide its own vessel, which will undergo a project upgrade for the contract. Additionally, DeepOcean will provide one ROV-system, the repair spreads system and onshore local engineering expertise.

Preparations for conversion of vessel and start-up of the contract have already started. Offshore operations are due to commence second half 2012.

This contract award demonstrates the global expansion of one of the premier subsea services organisation. President of DeepOcean AS, Mads Bardsen, is excited to win the work for PETROBAS: "We have the unique deepwater experience and expertise needed for Brazilian subsea operations. 90 per cent of PETROBAS reserves are nestled in deep waters which is our speciality. In 2007, DeepOcean was awarded its first long-term subsea services contract with PETROBRAS. With the award of this second contract in Brazil, we are well-positioned to further develop our strong position in this region," said Bardsen.

About Deep Ocean Group

DeepOcean Group is an integrated provider of comprehensive subsea engineering solutions and has a demonstrated track-record in highly-engineered, complex subsea construction projects for the oil & gas, offshore wind and telecommunication industries. The company is a leading IMR contractor and trenching operator in Norway and the North Sea, with an unparalleled track record in engineering and project management, and has a global presence with offices in Norway, UK, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore.

For further information, please contact:

Lotte Glad
JKL Group, Communications
Mobile phone: +47 9959 0093
Email: lotte.glad@jklgroup.com]]> Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:10:00 +0100 http://www.immediapress.it/sito/rss/gira.php?id=61646