Here is a round up of some key developments in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) sector from the past week, including a QDVC-led JV winning a large motorway construction project and Wood Group securing retrofit projects in Australia.

Endesa Chile will build its USD661.5 million 150-MW Los Condores hydropower plant, located on the Laguna del Maule reservoir in Chile's Maule VII region. Two vertical-shaft Pelton turbines installed at the end of a 12 km tunnel will generate the power.

Wood Group has won a contract from Esso Australia Proprietary Limited to provide engineering, procurement and construction services to support the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture's retrofit portfolio of projects in Victoria, Australia. See more here.

A joint venture comprising lead company QDVC (a 51 percent Qatari Diar, 49 percent VINCI Construction Grands Projets subsidiary) and Qatari Bin Omran Trading & Contracting has been awarded the EUR850 million (USD1.1 billion) second works phase of the New Orbital Highway on the outskirts of Doha. Read more about it here.

KBR has won a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from Emirates National Oil Company Processing Company LLC (EPCL) for the upgrade of its condensate refinery at Jebel Ali. See more information here.

Praxair, Inc. is building a steam methane reformer to increase the supply of hydrogen for its liquid hydrogen plant in Niagara Falls, New York. Read more here.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of UNS Energy Corporation by a subsidiary of Fortis Inc. The transaction remains subject to the approval of the Arizona Corporation Commission, but is expected to complete by the end of 2014. See more details here.

ABB together with the Xiamen municipal government of Fujian, a southeastern coastal province in China, will invest USD300 million over the next five years in production expansion, as it seeks to further penetrate the Chinese market. See more here.

ABB has also been awarded a USD175 million contract to upgrade the power generation capacity at Zirku oil and gas processing facilities in the Gulf, 135 km northwest of Abu Dhabi. Read more about it here.

Gazprom Neft and Novatek have announced an agreement for 50/50 ownership of SeverEnergia's shares. Vadim Yakovlev, first deputy ceo of Gazprom Neft, said: "The agreement between SeverEnergia's shareholders provides for parity management of this strategically important asset for Gazprom Neft. SeverEnergia will produce over 35 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year by 2020 and Gazprom Neft's 50 percent share of this will contribute significantly to our strategy to increase production to 100 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year by 2020." See more here.

The French Development Agency has agreed a USD84 million credit facility to ensure 740 MW Munda and 35 MW Harpo hydropower plants, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan regions, get the green light.