HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Shenzhen Energy Group head Lao Derang is under official investigation, the South China Morning Post quoted sources in the mainland power and securities sectors as saying. Mr Lao has been detained since last month under the ‘shuanggui’ rules, which require her to cooperate with internal investigations by party officials that can...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc unit Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Co Ltd will acquire the Ratchaburi Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) Block 3 plant from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) on Nov 1, the company said in a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The company earlier said it projects...

With just four weeks to go until Emissions Trading Asia Pacific 2002 (November 18-20, Sydney), the event has added two key speakers to the main program. The President of Natsource Japan, Mr Araki, will deliver what is sure to be a very interesting presentation on what is happening in Japan, and Fiona Wain, CEO of...

After months of industry and government negotiations, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) last week began trading an electricity futures contract. Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has welcomed the move saying it should serve as a further notice that Canberra is committed to reforming the National Electricity Market (NEM). “The electricity market is a very sophisticated...

In one of Singapore’s worst chemical incidents, three workers have died and another five injured after being exposed to toxic vapour at a chemical waste and disposal business. The workers were exposed to the vapour while working at the Chem-Solv Technologies factory in Tuas between September 29 and October 4. “The workers had fever, headache,...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Energy Secretary Vicente Perez said the government may seek Congressional approval to defer the 2003 implementation of new gasoline specifications restricting content of aromatics and benzene under the Clean Air Act. Mr Perez said in a news briefing the deferment is being sought to ease pressure on fuel prices, with a possible...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Nippon Oil Corp plans to double natural gas production in Myanmar by fiscal 2004 and boost oil output in Vietnam by about 40% from this month, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing company sources. The company aims to triple its output of gas and crude by fiscal 2004 for sale to other...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – PT TotalFinaElf E&P Indonesie said it is heightening security for expatriate workers based in Indonesia as it awaits further information from the government regarding threats to oil and gas plants around the country. The company has a 30% share in the production sharing contract with the government for the Bontang liquefied natural...

MILAN (AFX) – ENI SpA said it has signed heads of agreement with Qatar’s RAS Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co Ltd (RasGas) for long-term purchase of liquefied natural gas for the Spanish market. RasGas will supply ENI with 1 billion cubic metres of gas per year, starting in the second quarter of 2004, and for...

Wang Jun, chairman of China International Trust & Investment Corporation (CITIC), and Robert Friedland, deputy chairman of Ivanhoe Energy Inc. said their companies have formed a strategic alliance to cooperate with each other in the oil and gas industry within China and worldwide. The new alliance will see CITIC Energy, a CITIC subsidiary based in...

With the recent launch of electricity futures by the SFE, and the launch of ASX Electricity Futures contracts on October 14, their success and that of the development of an active, efficient electricity trading market is crucially dependent on participation from the electricity generators and retailers themselves, according to consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. Trading in electricity futures...

ChevronTexaco Worldwide Power and Gasification, a unit of the US major, has signed an agreement licensing its proprietary gasification technology for use at Sinopec’s naphtha steam reformer plant in Jinling in China. A ChevronTexaco statement said that revamping the Jinling plant with the technology will allow the plant to replace its current naphtha feedstock with...

Australia and China have reached a milestone in their trade and diplomatic relationship with last week’s signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement to supply liquefied natural gas from the North West Shelf. “It’s most fitting that in this our 30th anniversary year of diplomatic relations Australia and China can formalise the contract worth up...

A US$774.9 million pumped storage power plant will be constructed in China’s Hebei province, helped by a $144 million loan approved last week by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ADB said the Hebei Zhanghewan Pumped Storage Project will reduce power shortages and inefficiencies as well as promote economic growth. It will build a 1,000...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Thiess Pty Ltd and Bos Australia Pty Ltd have won contracts from North West Shelf’s A$800 million second trunkline project, North West Shelf operator Woodside Petroleum Ltd said. (US$1=A$1.82). It said Thiess was awarded a contract worth over A$10 million to supply gravity anchors to secure the trunkline to the seabed, and...

Australia’s Northern Territory state government has responded to security issues arising out of the Bali bombings and the killing of a senior public servant in Adelaide. Chief Minister Clare Martin said emergency services and police are reviewing security levels and the risk assessment for the state as a result of the October 12 tragedy. A...

PARIS (AFX) – The International Energy Agency lowered its assessment of worldwide growth in demand for oil this year and next in the face of persistent economic weakness in the US and other industrialised nations. The IEA, a Paris-based body promoting energy cooperation and research, lowered its 2002 demand-growth evaluation by 50,000 barrels a day...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Teikoku Oil Co Ltd, Tokyo Gas Co Ltd and Shizuoka Gas Co Ltd said they have agreed to jointly build a 33-kilometre natural gas pipeline in Shizuoka prefecture. Construction of the pipeline will start in 2004, with completion scheduled for 2006. A joint venture firm, in which each of the three firms...

A McKinsey report has proposed that contracts for using gas pipelines in India should be fixed on a ‘take or pay’ basis, and that oil companies and their lenders should decide on the terms of the contracts. The report prepared by the consultant for the ministry of petroleum and natural gas adds that the current...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd plans to restructure its 80%-owned unit TNB Sabah, which will continue to make losses this year, to enable it to return to profits, Bernama news agency quoted chairman Jamaludin Jarjis as saying. “This year we are likely to make losses again due to higher costs to generate energy...

While Japanese refiners have been trimming runs to help control the regional gasoil surplus, they have left themselves poorly prepared for the coming winter heating season, says US-based energy consultant ESAI. In the latest edition of its Pacific Basin Stockwatch, it said: “This year, Japanese kerosene stocks are barely 25 million barrels, while the average...

A consortium of Chinese and international companies said China’s State Council has approved its feasibility study for the Fujian integrated petroleum/petrochemical project. The consortium members include Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited (FPCL, an equal joint venture between Sinopec Corp. and the Fujian Province), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Company Limited and Aramco Overseas Company B.V. An...

LONDON (AFX) – Energy Africa’s board said it has advised shareholders to reject the 2 billion rand offer by Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) to acquire the remaining 35% stake it does not own, claiming the 43.75 rand per share offer “significantly” undervalues its assets. “The Energy Africa directors, excluding Engen Ltd appointees, remain of...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Mirant Philippines Inc, which has interests in power generation, has decided to postpone once more its IPO plan to early 2004 from mid-2003, company president Edgardo Bautista said, citing the need for more time to finalise plans. “It is a long process and we think we can not meet the target next...

US-based FAME Information Services Inc., a leading provider of data management and decision-support solutions for trading and risk management, has affirmed its commitment to the distribution of superior energy market data and related analytical solutions. Recently, it announced energySCOPE 5.0, which provides access and analysis of energy data from more than 50 vendors worldwide, and...