New York  - Canadian oil companies Suncor Energy Inc and Petro-Canada Monday announced a merger worth about 15.4 billion US dollars that would create the country's largest energy company and provide protection against any foreign buyouts.

Suncor is the world's second-largest oil-sands producer, and Petro-Canada is the country's second-largest refiner. The steep decline in global oil prices last year made the merger inevitable.

Suncor reported its first quarterly loss in its history in January.

State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has proposed a 50:50 partnership to operate 1432 closed petrol pumps of Reliance Industries (RIL), having 15 per cent fuel market share by the closing date of March 2008.

Other firms including Royal Dutch Shell, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) have also shown interest in partnership with Reliance.

The private firm suffered huge losses in early 2008 due to difference in retail price of petrol and diesel sold by public sector oil companies and other private firms leading to closure of RIL's petrol pumps.

London  - The first giant tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar arrived in Britain Friday amid noisy protests from campaigners who oppose the project on environmental and safety grounds.

The consignment, on board the 316,000-ton Tembek, is the first to be delivered to the deep sea port of Milford Haven, on the coast of Wales in south-west Britain, under a long-term contract signed with Qatar.

Brussels  - The European Union and Ukraine on Monday are set to agree on a programme of political reforms and physical repairs to the former-Soviet state's giant gas network, EU officials said.

One fifth of all the natural gas consumed in the EU flows through Ukraine's 13,500-kilometre network of gas pipelines, but experts say that that network will need some 2.5 billion euros (3.4 billion dollars) in investment over the next six years just to keep pipes and pumping stations in running order.

Washington  - US President Barack Obama announced a 2.4- billion-dollar plan Thursday to promote hybrid vehicles and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

The initiative allows companies to apply for grants administrated by the Department of Energy to develop better batteries for hybrid electric vehicles and related technologies and components.

Obama announced the plan while visiting electric power company Southern California Edison's electric vehicle centre in Pomona, just outside downtown Los Angeles.

ICSA India Ltd announced on Wednesday that it has pocketed work orders worth Rs 4.64 billion for a range of electricity and infrastructure projects.

The company, which provides embedded technology solutions for the power sector, said that the fresh orders were received from the Bihar State Electricity Board, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co and M.P. Poorv Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Co Ltd,

The first order for supply and installation of rural electricity infrastructure and household electrification in Katihar District of Bihar is valued at Rs 2.54 billion