GE signs $700m deal to supply Saudi gas turbines

General Electric Co said on Tuesday it signed a nearly $700 million deal with Saudi Electricity Co to supply natural gas turbine generators.

The order comes as demand for GE's generators has begun to slowly recover after being weak for more than two years due to slowing global electricity demand.

GE said it currently has more than 500 generators installed in Saudi Arabia, supplying roughly half of the kingdom's power.

GE expects to begin shipping the new turbines, which will be built in South Carolina and New York, to Saudi Arabia in the beginning of 2015

Qatar wins $7bn LNG deal with UK's Centrica

Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, on Wednesday announced it has entered into a £4.4bn ($7.08bn) LNG supply agreement with Qatargas for the purchase of up to 3 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The four-and-a-half year deal builds on Centrica’s existing agreement with Qatargas, signed in February 2011, and could provide gas to meet approximately 13 percent of UK annual residential gas demand, enough to meet the needs of around 3 million households.

The previous contract Centrica signed with Qatargas comes to an end in June 2014.

With increasing global competition from emerging economies for LNG, and declining North Sea production, this transaction secures important gas supplies for Centrica and the UK to December 2018.

Centrica chief executive, Sam Laidlaw, said: "We are delighted that we continue to deepen our relationship with Qatargas and continue to build our LNG business by integrating our positions along the gas value chain. It is vital that the UK has a diverse range of sources of supply to meet its energy requirements.

"In a competitive international market, contracts like this underpin the UK's access to global LNG supplies for the benefit of customers."

Energy Minister, Michael Fallon, who was this week in Qatar, welcomed the news saying: "Long term deals of this kind with reliable suppliers like Qatar are vital for our future energy security."

Britain, which became a net gas importer for the first time in 2004, depends on gas via pipelines from Norway, its biggest supplier, and from mainland Europe countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium.

The country's North Sea reserves saw a peak in output at the turn of the century and have seen sharp declines ever since, boosting dependence on LNG suppliers such as Qatar.

So far this year, 93 percent of Britain's LNG imports have come from Qatar. Qatari gas has so far this year made up 19 percent of Britain's total gas imports.

The volume of Qatari LNG arrivals in Britain has slowed down, with 38 percent fewer cargoes arriving in Britain so far this year compared with the same period last year.

Masdar JV plans MidEast's first wind power project

(Getty Images - for illustrative purposes only)

A company part owned by Abu Dhabi's green energy firm Masdar, has signed a financing agreement to builf the Middle East's first wind power project.

Jordan Wind Project Company, in which Masdar holds a 31 percent interest, said the project will be located in Jordan.

The 117MW Tafila Wind Farm will increase the country's total power capacity by three percent and will cost about $290m to build, a statement said.

JWPC, which is a co-development between InfraMed, Masdar and EP Global Energy, will start power delivery in 2014, building up to full commercial operations in 2015.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said: "Jordan is one of the Middle East's most promising clean energy markets and this project is another milestone in the region's energy evolution.

"Jordan is a prime example of where the cost of renewable energy is lower than conventional sources of power generation. This project is a natural step toward Jordan's energy and economic security.

"Today, countries in the region are increasingly integrating wind and solar power as commercially viable solutions to address long-term energy security. Just like the rest of the world, the Middle East is faced with meeting rising energy demand, while also reducing its carbon footprint."

Samer Judeh, chairman of JWPC, added: "JWPC's 117MW Tafila Wind Farm is... a major step toward getting Jordan on the renewable energy map of the world.

"Our country has suffered from a lack of domestic conventional energy sources and from serious challenges in security of energy imports. Jordan, however, has abundant renewable resources, and this will be the first and a showcase for many such projects to come."

Tafila will produce approximately 400GWh of electricity annually and displace 235,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

With Jordan's electricity demand expected to grow by an estimated 5 percent annually until 2020, the country is rapidly developing new sources of energy generation to avoid future shortfalls.

Tafila is the first wind-power project to be developed under Jordan's Renewable and Energy Efficiency Law passed in 2010.

The law calls for the country to obtain seven percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015, rising to 10 percent by 2020.

When the Tafila project is fully developed, it will account for almost 10 percent of Jordan's 2020 renewable energy target.

Project financing was provided by a group of international financial institutions and banks including the International Finance Corporation, the European Investment Bank, Eksport Kredit Fonden, OPEC Fund for International Development, FMO, Europe Arab Bank and the Capital Bank of Jordan

Inter have the best attack in Italy - Palacio

Amid rumours that the club's new owner is looking to splash out on a striker in the upcoming transfer window, the Argentine says no one else is needed

Inter forward Rodrigo Palacio has branded his side's strikeforce the very best in Italy.

There have been rumours that new Nerazzurri owner Erick Thohir is keen to bolster Walter Mazzarri's attacking options, with the club chief himself confirming that he and the coach are set to have talks ahead of the January transfer window.

The Milan-based club sit fourth in Serie A but they have scored more goals than any of the 19 other teams, and Palacio believes that Inter have suggested that the current attackers can handle the pressure without extra players added in 2014.

"I do not ask about anything [transfer related] - these are decisions for the coach and the club," the 31-year-old told Sky Sport 24.

"Certainly we are strong up front, though, and it is not a problem. I'd say that currently we have the best attack in Serie A."

Scudetto holders Juventus sit top of Serie A, with Roma and Napoli not far behind them, but the Argentine attacker is certain that Inter can propel themselves up the table from fourth if they stick with their current mindset.

"We are not thinking about the standings right now, we're taking things game-by-game," Palacio added. "But, if we continue in this manner, we can reach the top of the table."

Inter host Sampdoria at San Siro on Sunday

Lukaku considering Chelsea exit

The striker, on loan at Everton, says he has not heard from anyone at Stamford Bridge in a couple of months and has to do what is best for his career

Romelu Lukaku has indicated he would consider leaving Chelsea for Everton permanently, if the Goodison Park club earn a place in the Champions League this season.

The Belgian, on loan for the second season in a row after spending the 2011-12 campaign at West Brom, made the move to Everton on transfer deadline day.

Lukaku has gone on to score seven goals in the Premier League as the club sit just three points behind second-placed Liverpool after 12 games.

Asked on BBC Sport if he would stay at Goodison Park, Lukaku said: "It's not a bad idea. If we play Champions League, yeah, why not?

"I was watching the games this week and I miss European football a lot.

"I would like to be successful at Chelsea but I have to work and grow and be a better player and then at the end of the season see what is the best decision for my career."

Lukaku also revealed he has not been in regular contact with anyone at Chelsea since moving to Everton.

He added: "It's a bit strange at the minute, the last time I heard from [Chelsea] was a couple of months ago.

"But I think they are watching my performances

US restaurant chain Applebee's eyes MidEast growth

Applebee's, the world's largest casual dining restaurant chain, has announced plans to open at least five new restaurants a year in the Middle East.

Recently opened restaurants include Jazan in Saudi Arabia, Sahara Centre in Sharjah, as well as the first Applebee's in Egypt.

Gary Moore, regional general manager, Applebee's, Europe & MENA, said: "As the restaurant business continues to boom in the region, Applebee's sees more opportunities and growth here.

"We place a great amount of emphasis on the associations we develop in neighbourhoods. With that in mind, we plan to establish a strong presence within communities with the new openings, while our outlets in the malls will continue to showcase what our brand can do."

Presently, Applebee's operates 34 restaurants in the Middle East including outlets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Egypt, and employs over 2,000 people.

The new proposed outlets will also result in creating over 500 job opportunities, the company said in a statement.

In addition to the expansion, Applebee's also recently embarked on a re-branding exercise across all outlets in the region. Its interiors now represent a culturally rich canvas with the amalgamation of Middle East and American icons, it said

Founded over three decades ago, Applebee's operates as the largest casual-dining chain in the world with approximately 2,000 locations in 50 US states and 15 countries

CFO said to leave Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the owner of Kingdom Holding.

The chief financial officer of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's investment vehicle, Kingdom Holding , is to leave the firm, two banking sources aware of the matter said.

Shadi Sadeek Sanbar, who has worked with the firm for more than eight years and is seen as a close aide of the Saudi billionaire, will leave the firm at the end of the year, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter has not been formally announced.

Kingdom Holding in Riyadh declined to comment on Sanbar's departure.

Alwaleed is a closely-watched figure in international markets because of investments through Kingdom Holding in companies such as Citigroup Inc and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

The prince, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, invested $300 million in social media giant Twitter in late 2011.

Sanbar is leaving to spend more time with his family, one Saudi-based banking source said, adding deputy chief financial officer Mohammed Fahmy Soliman was seen as the most likely candidate to replace him.

Sanbar will be the second senior executive to leave Kingdom in recent months. In June, Ahmed Reda Halawani, the company's executive director of private equity, resigned for personal reasons, Kingdom had said in a statement at the time.

Kingdom said last month that its third-quarter net profit had risen 1 percent.. The investment firm's shares have risen 7 percent on the Riyadh bourse year-to-date.