Israel Active

Amdocs Ltd. will supply its network inventory management systems to UK quad-play provider Virgin Media Ltd. The company did not disclose the size of the deal, but market sources estimate it at $10-20 million.

316,000 tourists arrived in Israel in November 2011, 2% up from the corresponding month of 2010, and the highest ever number of tourists for any November. The Ministry of Tourism is to invest NIS 50 million of a NIS 270 million project to build and renovate hotels in the country.

Jerusalem hotels Inbal (4th) and David Citadel (7th) were voted into the top 10 best hotels in the Middle East by Conde Nast Traveller and described as being among the ”pinnacles of luxury” – for those who can afford it. Both hotels won most praise for location, design and food.

An important milestone was reached in Israel’s economic plans when Nobel Energy informed its partners that exploratory drilling of the well had been completed and natural gas had been discovered. The expectations are for reserves of 19-20 TCF, compared with a current estimate of 16 TCF.

International law firm Greenberg Traurig will open an office in Tel Aviv next month. The office is the first international full-time legal office of its kind in Israel.

Israel’s Evogene and Brazil’s SLC Agricola are focused on developing advanced castor seed displaying high oil yield under rain-fed conditions and suitable for sustainable and commercial production in Brazil. Bio-diesel produced from the Evogene's castor varieties will cost around $50 per barrel and is expected to substantially reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by over 75%

Israel’s Shikun u'Binui subsidiary Solel Boneh International Ltd. has won a $210 million contract to build a 2.1-kilometer bridge over Nigeria’s Benue River and build 22 km access roads for the four-lane dual carriageway in eastern Nigeria. Construction will take three years.

The Israeli engineering and energy company, Ludan, is sharing with a Dutch company, the build of a two-megawatt biogas power plant in the Netherlands. Construction will take eight months. Ludan Energy then has a 12-year franchise to operate the plant at guaranteed and subsidized rates.

Israel Corporation has bought 75% of Chilean power company Central Tierra Amarilla SA including its 155 MW power station. IC Power already owns power stations producing 3,000 megawatts in seven countries: Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, El Salvador, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

Experts estimate that the offshore Yam Hadera field has a best estimate of gross recoverable reserves of 133 million barrels of oil and 1.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas. The license owner held an exceptional news conference “since the results from Yam Hadera are very significant.”