Need to Know: Petrofac's Algerian deal

OIL services group Petrofac has been awarded a dollars 600 million (GBP 290m) contract to develop and market gas from a region in Algeria.

The company, which has extensive operations in Aberdeen, said it had been awarded the contract by In Salah Gas, an association between Sonatrach, BP and Statoil.

Maroun Semaan, chief executive of Petrofac's engineering and construction arm, said: "This is Petrofac's first project in the south-western region of Algeria where significant future work will be undertaken by Sonatrach and its various foreign partner associations."

Market move

Energy regulator Ofgem has appointed Dr Andrew Wright as its new managing director of markets.

Wright replaces Steve Smith, who becomes MD, networks, following the retirement of David Gray. Wright was executive director of European utilities research at UBS from 2000 to date.

Web site

Bank of Scotland Corporate's Growth Equity team has bought a 13.33 per cent stake in Aberdeen-based Red Spider Technology for an undisclosed sum.

Red Spider, which has been named the sixth-fastest growing venture-backed company in the UK by Library House, supplies the oil and gas industry.

Fund growth

Despite the turbulence and reduced liquidity in credit markets during the summer, the GBP 375 million Standard Life European Private Equity investment trust saw a 32.5 per cent increase in its net asset value in the year to September. For the five years to September, the NAV comfortably out-performed the FTSE All-Share index.

Plan rejected

The government has rejected European Commission plans to give banks and insurance companies the right to charge VAT to their customers if they wish. The response came as the Commission unveiled plans to bring the financial services sector within the VAT net across the EU.

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