Hitachi Energy Japan announced a $528 million investment to build a new power transformer manufacturing plant in Mississippi, USA, expected to create 654 new jobs. Houston-based Caturus announced an expansion of its Commonwealth LNG export facility in Louisiana, adding 7.75 million tons per annum (MTPA) of capacity, bringing its total planned capacity to approximately 17.25 MTPA. Continental Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's PDVSA to develop and operate the Ayacucho 2 block in the Orinoco Belt, which is estimated to hold approximately 30 billion barrels of oil.