Technip has been awarded by The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract, as well as preparation of the corresponding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposal, for a new ammonia plant under consideration by the global crop nutrient company. Mosaic’s preference is to locate the proposed plant adjacent to the company’s existing Faustina fertilizer manufacturing operations in St. James Parish, Louisiana. It would have a capacity of 2,200 metric tons per day.

Mosaic is the world’s largest producer of finished phosphate products, with annual production capacity greater than the next two largest producers combined. The company’s plan is to backward integrate more fully into ammonia production by expanding its present capacity at Faustina. Ammonia is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of phosphate-based crop nutrients.

The proposed design of the plant would feature Haldor Topsøe’ proprietary ammonia process technology that Technip has successfully engineered and constructed in projects for more than 40 years. Technip will also perform the preliminary design work for the plant offsites, utilities, interconnections, and other supporting units for the facility.

Technip’s operating center in Houston, Texas will execute the FEED contract in collaboration with its engineering center in Rome, Italy. The development of the FEED and corresponding EPC proposal began in November 2012; both are targeted for completion by mid-2013.

SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC), in joint venture with Skanska, has been awarded a contract for the Newark Energy Center, a 655-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in New Jersey. SNC-Lavalin is providing engineering, procurement, start-up and commissioning services, while Skanska is responsible for construction and site management.

The Newark Energy Center is being developed by a joint venture of Hess Newark Plant Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Hess Corporation and EIF-NEC, LLC, a subsidiary of private equity funds managed by Energy Investors Funds.

The plant will use the latest General Electric (GE) F class 5 series combustion gas turbines to generate power in a reliable and energy efficient manner. The facility, scheduled to be operational in 2015, will also be one of the cleanest of its kind in the United States thanks to its use of natural gas and sophisticated emissions control technology.

“We are proud to support a project that will provide clean, efficient and dependable electricity to the northern New Jersey grid, while bringing new jobs and revenue to Newark,” said Patrick Lamarre, Executive Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

SNC-Lavalin has a long history of working with GE F class gas turbines, having successfully installed 70 such units at power plants around the world.

Technip has been awarded by the Discovery System*a lump sum pipeline installation contract for Discovery’s South Timbalier Block 283 Junction Platform project. The pipelines will be installed between existing facilities in South Timbalier 280 and Ewing Bank 873 and the new platform in Block 283,at water depths ranging from 83 to 244 meters.

The contract covers project management, engineering, transport, installation and pre-commissioning:

• 15.8 kilometers of 12” pipeline,

• 13.9kilometersof 30” pipeline.

Technip's operating center in Houston, Texas will perform the overall project management and engineering. Offshore installation will be performed in 2013 with the G1200as the primary installation vessel for all pipelay. Pre-commissioning will be completed by one of the Technip diving support vessels.

David Dickson, Technip’s Senior Vice President, North America Region, has declared: “This award is the largest-diameter pipelay contract for Technip in the Gulf of Mexico,thanks to the acquisition of Global Industries. This 30”pipeline will also be the largest diameter lines installed by the G1200 vessel to date.”

National Instruments today announced its acquisition of Dresden, Germany-based Signalion GmbH. The acquisition delivers strong wireless communications talent and technologies to the NI platform, which are critical to NI’s goal to continue to drive long term growth in the communications test industry. Signalion founders, Dr. Tim Hentschel and Dr. Thorsten Dräger, will remain with the company as co-managing directors, and work closely with NI R&D to evolve the capabilities of NI LabVIEW system design software and modular PXI hardware for wireless test applications. Signalion will continue to operate as a wholly owned NI subsidiary and to sell and support its products through its direct, distributor and OEM channels.

“NI continues to invest in the strategic areas of RF research, design and test,” said Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO and co-founder of National Instruments. “Signalion has assembled a top team of researchers and developers through its close relationship with Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) working on the latest standards such as LTE, LTE-advanced and even fifth-generation wireless research. This expertise combined with a strong product portfolio strengthens our market position while laying the foundation for continued innovation using the NI PXI RF platform and LabVIEW for mobile communications and infrastructure test.”