His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar, Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, and Yves-Louis Darricarrère, Total’s President, Upstream, signed today a Heads of Agreement on Al Khalij field, offshore Qatar, for a further 25 years.

Located about 130 kilometers east of the Qatari coast, Al Khalij field was discovered by Total in 1991 and commenced production in 1997 pursuant to an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (“EPSA”), which was signed in 1989 and is due for expiry in early 2014.

Under the new HOA, QP and Total will have a 60/40 operating interest in the field following the expiry of the EPSA, and Total will continue to operate the field.

Commenting on the QP/Total partnership on Al Khalij field, His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry said: "We have been working with our long time partner, Total, on Al Khalij field since its discovery. It has been a mutually beneficial and fruitful partnership. We are pleased to sign this new agreement to further develop the field as part of His Highness, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s vision to continue to prudently develop our natural resources and to increase Qatar’s hydrocarbon reserves.”

The HOA is further evidence of Total’s commitment to Qatar. This commitment took a new dimension when the company was one of the first participants in the multi-billion dollar gas projects in Ras Laffan. Total subsequently participated in other large developments in Qatar’s refining and petrochemicals sectors as well.

“This new agreement exemplifies the long-standing partnerships forged with the State of Qatar, as it reflects Total’s commitment to work hand in hand with QP. I am delighted to see Total continuing to be recognized, not only for operational excellence in the energy sector, but also as an active member of Qatar’s community and society at large,” stated Mr Darricarrère.

KBR (NYSE: KBR) has announced today that it has been awarded the Joint Operational Fuel System contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).  KBR will supply the MOD with fuel-handling equipment which will be used on operations and in support of military exercises worldwide. The contract is for an initial two-year period and will involve the supply of equipment and services worth approximately $35 million.

“The award of this contract is key to the strategic development of our UK based support to the MOD,” said Andrew Pringle, President, International Government, Defence and Support Services (IGDSS). “The MOD remains a key client of IGDSS and we look forward to ensuring that the MOD continues to receive outstanding support.”

A joint venture led by SNC-Lavalin International Co. Inc., a member of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (TSX: SNC), and including GyM S.A. and Techint International Construction Corp, has been selected by Minera Panama S.A. (MPSA), a subsidiary of Inmet Mining Corporation of Canada, to proceed with detailed engineering, procurement and construction of the process plant at the Cobre Panama project in Panama.

The engagement will be performed in two phases. Under the first phase, the joint venture has been instructed to proceed with the detailed engineering and procurement of the plant. In the fourth quarter of 2013, upon satisfactory advancement of detailed engineering, the joint venture will be instructed to proceed with the construction of the facility.

The process plant will be designed to treat a nominal throughput of 160,000 tonnes per day using two grinding lines, each with a capacity of 80,000 tonnes per day. The ore feed rate is expected to increase to 240,000 tonnes per day after the ninth year of operation, allowing MPSA to maintain concentrate production levels despite a falling head grade.

“We are very pleased with the confidence that Inmet continues to demonstrate in our commitment to their project,” said Dale Clarke, Executive Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. “SNC-Lavalin has industry leading expertise in the copper sector, and we are proud to put it to work for Inmet at their world-class Cobre Panama mine.”

The detailed engineering and procurement of equipment for the process plant has begun. The Cobre Panama project is scheduled to be operational in 2016 and is expected to have a life of approximately 30 years.

Technip was awarded a lump sum contract for the development of subsea infrastructure for the Cardamom field located in the Gulf of Mexico, Garden Banks block 427. The field is at a water depth of approximately 830 meters.

The project consists of a subsea tie-back to the Auger tension leg platform, wholly owned by Shell Offshore Inc. The contract covers the project management, engineering, fabrication and installation of the East and West Loop 12.8 kilometer pipe-in-pipe flowlines(1) with associated PLETs(2) and steel catenary risers(3).

Technip's operating center in Houston, Texas will perform the overall project management. The flowlines and risers will be welded at Technip’s spoolbase in Mobile, Alabama. The offshore installation is expected to be performed in the second semester of 2013 by the Deep Blue, Technip’s deepwater pipelay vessel, and the Pioneer, recently added to the Technip fleet with the acquisition of Global Industries.