(EnergyAsia, March 6, 2024, Wednesday) — Chinese state firms have joined the bandwagon predicting an impeding end to growth in the world’s demand for oil….
CHINA: Rongsheng, Aramco in mutual buy-in talks amid closer China-Saudi ties
(EnergyAsia, March 3, 2024, Sunday) — China’s Rongsheng Petrochemicals and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco are in talks to buy into each other’s units as ties between the two countries continue to tighten….
SRI LANKA: Sinopec to add US$4.5 billion refinery to Hambantota operations
(EnergyAsia, February 29, 2024, Thursday) — Chinese state firm Sinopec is becoming Sri Lanka’s most important investor as it plans to add a US$4.5-billion oil refinery to its growing portfolio in the South Asian nation.
INDIA: The rise of the world’s next global oil player
(EnergyAsia, February 26, 2024, Monday) — India has emerged as a global oil trading and supply hub. Add to that its position as the world’s fastest-growing major oil consumer, it now has a pivotal role in the global energy markets….
PAKISTAN: Saudi Aramco eyeing bigger downstream investment, including oil refining
(EnergyAsia, February 21, 2024, Wednesday) — Saudi Arabia’s energy giant Aramco is laying the foundation for business expansion in Pakistan with its planned acquisition of a 40% stake in a local downstream fuels, lubricants and convenience stores firm….
CHINA: Economy to grow at slower rate in 2024, oil risk is contained say analysts
(EnergyAsia, February 11, 2024, Sunday) — Analysts expect China’s economy to grow at a slower rate in 2024 after expanding by 5% last year….
MARKETS: Oil steady as Middle East wars escalate, but for how long?
(EnergyAsia, February 5, 2024, Monday) — Oil continues to confound with another out-of-sync laidback response to the widening escalation of conflict in the Middle East….
MALAYSIA: Fitch affirms Petronas’s credit rating at ‘BBB+’ with a warning
(EnergyAsia, January 27, 2024, Saturday) — Malaysia’s state-owned energy firm Petronas has been given a BBB+ credit rating of “adequate” with low expectations for a default risk by US agency Fitch Ratings….
SINGAPORE: Finland’s Neste buys stake in jet fuel storage and supply company
(EnergyAsia, May 24, 2023, Wednesday) — Finland’s leading energy firm Neste Corporation has bought a minority stake in a firm specialising in the storage and distribution of aviation jet fuel at Singapore’s Changi international airport....
ASIA: Refiners gain from cheap Russian crude, renewed Chinese demand
(EnergyAsia, February 14, 2023, Tuesday) — Asia’s oil refiners and traders are looking forward to another year of hefty gains on the back of heavily discounted Russian crude and renewed Chinese demand....
CHINA: Hong Kong courts oil giant Saudi Aramco listing on stock exchange
(EnergyAsia, February 10, 2023, Friday) — Hong Kong is on a mission to secure Saudi Aramco’s listing on its stock exchange as part of the Chinese city’s plan to expand financial, business, and energy ties with the Middle East....
CHINA: Will Saudi Arabia buy Xi Jinping’s petroyuan pitch?
(EnergyAsia, February 5, 2023, Sunday) — Emerging from nearly three years of a self-imposed COVID lockdown, China is widely expected to lead the surge in the world’s oil consumption growth in 2023....
CHINA: Beijing targeted by new U.S. laws to “protect” oil reserves
(EnergyAsia, January 29, 2023, Sunday) — With China in mind, the United States House of Representatives has passed two new laws this month that limit the President’s ability to release stockpiles from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR)....
CHINA: Crude oil imports from Russia rising despite reduced refinery operations
(EnergyAsia, September 22, 2022, Thursday) — This commentary is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The resurgence of COVID-19 cases since March 2022 and China’s policy of localized mobility restrictions has recently reduced refinery activity in China. China’s refineries have been processing less crude oil so far this year than last year, and China has also...
ASIA: China, India to lead global liquids storage capacity expansion, says GlobalData
(EnergyAsia, July 20, 2022, Wednesday) — Driven by growing fears of a new energy crisis, the world will add more than a million barrels in liquid fuels storage capacity by 2026, said research firm Global Data....
CHINA: US President under fire for helping Beijing build up oil stockpile
(EnergyAsia, July 12, 2022, Tuesday) — The normally mundane act of oil stockpiling has become the latest point of irritation in the increasingly troubled ties between the United States and China....
INDIA: IndianOil to expand crude oil storage capacity at Gujarat’s Mundra port
EnergyAsia, June 8, 2022, Wednesday) — Indian Oil Corp Limited (IOC) will build nine crude oil tanks with a combined storage capacity of 540 million litres (3.4 million barrels) at Mundra Port in India’s northwestern state of Gujarat....
INDIA: Vopak joint venture as country’s largest independent tank storage operator
(EnergyAsia, June 6, 2022, Monday) — Dutch storage giant Royal Vopak has completed its joint venture with logistics provider Aegis Group to become a major independent fuel and chemicals terminal operator in India....
AUSTRALIA: Insufficient oil stockpile adds to energy price shock
(EnergyAsia, June 6, 2022, Monday) — Australia is reeling from a double whammy of record fuel and electricity prices made worse by years of official neglect of the country’s oil refining industry and stockpiling mandate....
PHILIPPINES: Shell constructing oil products terminal in Mindanao
(EnergyAsia, June 2, 2022, Thursday) — Following the closure of its only refinery in the Philippines, the local subsidiary of Anglo Dutch Shell has been expanding its oil import, storage and distribution business….
RUSSIA: India and Kazakhstan in Putin’s strategy to counter the West
(EnergyAsia, February 16, 2022, Wednesday) — The China-Russia strategy to confront the West includes a play on the energy vulnerabilities of India and Kazakhstan….
CHINA: CNPC secures more oil and gas from Russia as Ukraine war threat grows
(EnergyAsia, February 14, 2022, Monday) — Russia took the gold medal for deal-making at the Beijing Winter Olympics when it secured more than US$110 billion worth of oil and gas contracts with the games’ host last week….
CHINA: Product exports fall on rising domestic oil demand, refining sector’s consolidation
(EnergyAsia, February 12, 2022, Saturday) — China’s oil products exports will likely decline in the medium term owing to an on-going consolidation of its refining sector and Beijing’s focus on meeting the needs of domestic consumers. There is also environmental pressure to curb the country’s carbon emissions….
THAILAND: PTT’s downstream unit to invest nearly US$400 million in Asia
(EnergyAsia, January 27, 2022, Thursday) — One of Thailand’s leading downstream oil companies has announced plans to expand its retail business in Asia….
SINGAPORE: Bunker sales topped 50 million tonnes in 2021
(EnergyAsia, January 16, 2022, Sunday) — Underlining the formidable competitiveness of its port, Singapore sold 50 million tonnes of bunker shipping fuel and retained its crown as the world’s busiest transhipment hub in 2021….