LNG

May 9 (LNGJ) - Aker Solutions, the Norwegian subsea and offshore oil and gas service company, said the sector remained challenging, though there were signs of a re-launch in the industry. “Industry cost cuts are bringing down break-even costs on developments, which is expected to spur new investments and project sanctions this year,” said the company as gross earnings dropped 30 percent to 355 million Norwegian crowns ($41M) in the first quarter compared with 508M crowns a year earlier. “Increased demand for front-end engineering services is also an early indication of a pickup in activity ahead. Tendering activity is healthy and Aker Solutions is currently bidding for contracts totalling about 50 billion crowns,” it added.