HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Wah Sang Gas Holdings Ltd said its six months to September net profit rose by 92.4% year-on-year to HK$131.4 million from HK$68.3 million, due to the rise in gas piped-line connection fees. (US$1=HK$7.78). For the period, the company’s sales rose to HK$358.2 million from HK$191.3 million a year earlier. Income from...
AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory government continues push for bringing Timor Sea gas onshore
Australia’s Northern Territory state government is determined to jumpstart its economy by pushing for bringing onshore gas from the Timor Sea. Chief Minister Clare Martin said landing the gas from the Sunrise field as opposed to building a floating liquefied natural gas terminal would maximise jobs and business opportunities in the state. “The floating LNG...
THAILAND: Ratchaburi Electricity Q3 net profit lower vs Q2 due to 26-day plant closure
BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc’s third quarter net profit was lower against the previous three months due to a 26-day closure at one of its plants for inspection, managing director Boonchoo Direksathapon said. The company reported that its third quarter net profit fell to 1.09 billion baht from 1.25 billion in the...
TANKERS: Fortum orders two tankers worth about 50 million euro from China’s Jinling Shipyard
HELSINKI (AFX) – Fortum Corp said it has ordered two super ice class tankers in an order worth about 50 million euro from Jinling Shipyard in China. (US$1=1.01 euro) Fortum’s spokesman, Markus Karjalainen, declined to reveal any details, but said the price of such a tanker is “in the mid-20 million euro area.” The two...
PHILIPPINES: Unocal Corp Philippine unit considering Palawan oil/gas exploration
MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Unocal Corp’s Philippine subsidiary Unocal Sulu Ltd said it is considering oil and gas exploration prospects off Palawan island. Unocal Sulu said it had signed an agreement with a Filipino exploration consortium and Nido Petroleum to conduct a phased study, which intends to develop Palawan’s Galoc field if results show it is...
CHINA: Yokogawa wins US$50m fieldbus project
Japan’s Yokogawa Electric Corporation said it has been selected by the joint venture company, CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Limited (CSPC), to provide the main automation contract for its petrochemical project in Nanhai in Guangdong province in China. Yokogawa’s contract is worth around US$50 million. CSPC is a joint venture between Shell Nanhai Limited (50%),...
AUSTRALIA: High LPG prices may kill off automotive conversions
Soaring prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Australia are threatening the viability of LPG taxis and cars and are driving the once-thriving automotive gas conversions business out of the market, according to local media reports. LPG prices have soared to A$0.50/litre (U$1= A$1.77) this month, up from Aus$ 0.28/litre in 1999, the reports said....
INDONESIA: PLN to issue 900 billion rupiah in bonds in H1 to fund new plant
JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – State power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will issue 900 billion rupiah in bonds in the first half of next year to help fund construction of a 600 megawatt power plant, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing PLN finance director Parno Isworo. The plant will cost 1.8 trillion rupiah to build. Mr Isworo...
AUSTRALIA: CSIRO says big greenhouse savings possible locally
Australian local government and industry can make major inroads into the nation’s greenhouse gas output and energy efficiency by generating electricity on-site, say researchers from CSIRO Energy Technology. The use of microturbines will enable offices, factories and workplaces to generate their own electricity from natural gas and cut losses and greenhouse emissions significantly, the researchers...
JAPAN: Nippon Oil, Teikoku Oil venture to start retail gas operations
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – NexT Energy Co, a joint gas venture of Nippon Oil Corp and Teikoku Oil Co, will begin retailing gas in May, taking advantage of deregulation in the market, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing company sources. The firm, which has approval from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to supply gas...
AUSTRALIA: Santos says Mutineer field likely oil reserves 80 million barrels
SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Santos Ltd said preliminary reserve estimates for the Mutineer oil field in Western Australia’s North West Shelf are for 80 million barrels of oil. In a statement, Santos said: “Results released today from the Mutineer 3 appraisal well in WA-191-P have resulted in the reserves range for the Mutineer field increasing to...
MALAYSIA: Esso Malaysia reports 3Q loss of RM15 million
Downstream company Esso Malaysia Berhad has reported an after-tax loss of RM15 million for the third quarter compared with a profit of RM59 million over the same period last year. (US$1=RM3.8). For the nine months year-to-date, the loss amounted to RM2 million, compared to an after tax profit of RM86 million for the same period...
COMPANY: OM wins “Excellence in Operations” Energy Business Award
OM, a leading provider of transaction technology to the energy, commodity and financial services markets, has been awarded the Energy Business Award for Excellence in Operations. The award, presented at the Emart Energy Conference in Paris, France, recognises overall excellence in business operations management. The recipient of this award is the company that has done...
CHINA: Nanshan Power unsure if jv with employee-owned firm breaks regulations
SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – Shenzhen Nanshan Power Station Co Ltd is unsure if the government considers its joint venture with a company owned by Nanshan Power staff to be operating in contravention of regulations, an official in Nanshan Power’s planning and production department said. The joint venture, Shenzhen New Power Co Ltd, which is 51% owned...
JAPAN: METI to make utilities charge newcomers less for power-line use Ð report
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to lower the upper ceiling on charges power utilities are allowed to impose on new market entrants for use of their power lines in a drive to promote competition in the retail power market, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing ministry sources. The ministry...
CHINA: CNOOC-Shell venture awards EPC contract for Nanhai petrochemical project
The CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Ltd (CSPC) venture has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for its petrochemicals project in Nanhai in Guangdong province to a consortium comprising France’s Technip-Coflexip, and Japan’s Chiyoda Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation. The venture is building a styrene monomer propylene oxide and MPG-polyols complex. The complex has the...
MARKETS: Forecast of 1 million b/d Iraq oil capacity hike within 1 year unrealistic
WASHINGTON (AFX-ASIA) – Oil industry forecasts that Iraq could raise its crude capacity by 1 million barrels per day within a year are unrealistic given the dilapidated state of its infrastructure and the political complexities of any post-war restructuring, analysts said. Assumptions that Iraqi oil production capacity will surge after a US invasion are based...
INDIA: Bajaj Auto to launch LPG car in January
India’s Bajaj Auto is expected to launch a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) powered car in January. The vehicle will be a three-wheel, four-stroke car, and it will be the first time an LPG engine will be fitted into a factory-delivered car, the reports said. Until now, LPG powered cars in India were retro-fitted, local reports...
SINGAPORE: Exxon Mobil restarts cracker after repairs
ExxonMobil Chemical Asia Pacific (EMCAP) said it has re-started a steam cracker at its chemical complex after completing repairs and inspection. “On-spec production is expected by end-November. The force majeure on ethylene and propylene deliveries in Singapore will be lifted once normal production rates resume,” the company said in a statement. It declared force majeure...
KOREA: Hyundai Engineering & Construction wins US$198 million order from Agip Gas
SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co Ltd said that it has secured a US$198 million order from Italy’s Agip Gas BV as a part of the US700 million Western Libya gas development project. It formed a consortium with Snamprogetti of Italy and ABB, beating competitors led by JGC of Japan and Bouygues, it...
KAZAKHSTAN: Government to resume talks on shipping oil via BTC pipeline – Azeri oil co
BAKU (AFX) – Kazakhstan is to resume stalled talks about shipping some of its crude through the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Azerbaijan’s state oil company said. Shipping Kazakh crude via the BTC line, instead of an alternative pipeline though Russia, is strongly favoured by the US and by several Western oil companies operating in Kazakhstan. Natiq...
PHILIPPINES: Trans-Asia Oil turns around to profit in Q3 as revenues up, expenses down
MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Trans-Asia Oil & Development Corp said it swung to profit in the three months to September on higher revenues and lower costs and expenses. Trans-Asia posted a net profit of 14.47 million pesos in the third quarter compared with a net loss of 3.35 million a year ago. (US$1=52 pesos). This boosted...
INDIA: Oil firms call for higher LPG prices
India’s state oil companies have asked the government to hike prices for domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene. The oil companies are citing sharp rises in international LPG and kerosene prices since March 2002. Last week, the Finance Ministry also demanded a hike in LPG and kerosene prices as a condition for the ministry...
TANKERS: Greenpeace tells tanker, shipping industry to clean up its act
Environmental group Greenpeace has issued a statement calling for tanker and shipping companies to clean up their act in the wake of an oil-laden tanker, Prestige, running aground off Spain last week. It said: “While the shock at the horrible ecological catastrophe off Spain is fresh in our minds, we should focus on solutions to...
CHINA: Wah Sang Gas Holdings upgraded to “strong buy” from “buy” Ð UBS
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – UBS Warburg has upgraded Wah Sang Gas Holdings Ltd to “strong buy” from “buy,” with a 12-month target price of HK$1.40. (US$1=HK$7.78). In a research note, it said the upgrade comes in the wake of a 30% decline in the company’s share price since Oct 1, which was mainly due to...