CHINA: Energy demand boom could endanger economic growth — CERA

China’s energy shortages, bottlenecks and absence of pricing signals have helped oil prices soar — and may endanger the country’s economic growth, said US consultants Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) in a new report released at the recent CLSA China Forum in Qingdao city. “Blistering economic growth in China, and its surge effect on demand...

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CHINA: Sinopec foils CNOOC plan to be sole LNG supplier to coastal areas -co official

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petroleum & Chemical Corp’s (Sinopec) (SHA 600028; HK 0386; NYSE SNP) LNG deal with Shandong province has foiled China National Offshore Oil Corp’s (CNOOC) ambitions to be the sole LNG supplier to the country’s coastal regions, a CNOOC official told AFX-Asia. Sinopec, the country’s top oil refiner, has just inked a...

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SINGAPORE: BP to provide hydrogen at existing filling station

BP has started offering hydrogen Ð the clean transport fuel Ð on a trial basis at one of its retail filling stations in Singapore. The company said the move makes it the first company in the world to provide the environmentally friendly fuel at an existing retail site, alongside conventional fuels. The pilot project, with...

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AUSTRALIA: Partners approve A$1.1 billion Otway gas project

The partners of the offshore Otway gas project in Australia have approved plans to develop the first phase of a A$1.1 billion three-phase development programme. (US$1=A$1.45). It will include the development of the Thylacine and Geographe gas fields in the Otway Basin, said Origin Energy, a partner in the project. Origin’s partners include operator Woodside...

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OMAN: New technology to boost oil output

Oman is using new technology to arrest a decline in oil output and boost production, the government said. “Although Oman’s total oil production in 2004 is expected to fall by at least five per cent compared to the previous year, the government has already started to correct the shortfall,” the official Oman News Agency (ONA)...

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CHINA: Brazil’s Lula seeks strategic alliance with on Beijing, Shanghai visit

BRASILIA (AFX) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has started a visit to China in a bid to forge an alliance that will lead developing nations to international economic prominence. The Brazilian leader will visit Beijing and Shanghai from May 23-27, 30 years after the two countries established diplomatic ties. He will travel...

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PHILIPPINES: Energy dept says total oil inventory to last beyond July

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Department of Energy said the Philippines has an ample oil inventory to last beyond July as global crude oil prices continue to rise. In an oil situation report, the department said the country’s existing oil inventory as of May 10 will last for 50 days. It added that an additional 6...

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QATAR: Construction of 100,000 tons/year benzene plant launched

Qatar has launched the construction of a 100,000 metric tons/year Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) complex that will also produce 80,000 metric tons/year of normal paraffin extracted from kerosene supplied by state QP Refinery. The US$235 million complex in Mesaieed Industrial City includes a plant that will produce about 36,000 metric tons/year of benzene to be...

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CHINA: CNOOC’s board authorised share buyback

CNOOC Limited’s board of directors has approved a management proposal to repurchase company shares listed in the stock exchange of Hongkong. The general mandate for the proposal was approved by shareholders on May 29 last year. The board’s authorisation permits the purchase of up to 10% of the issued share capital on the HKSE in...

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CHINA: Law soon to promote renewable energy

China has established renewable energy as a basic national policy and is looking to pass a new law to ensure its development, according to the China Daily. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has completed the draft and will soon submit it to the Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of National People’s Congress...

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INDONESIA: Government to pay part of power company KBC’s US$294 million claim

The Indonesian government will soon pay US$250 million of US$294 million as compensation to private electricity project developer Karaha Bodas Company (KBC) which sued Pertamina over a failed project in the 1990s. Jakarta will make the payment from its funds deposited in Bank of New York and Bank of America. Pertamina Finance Director Alfred H....

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MARKETS: G7 Ministers to fret over oil but price reflects strong growth

PARIS (AFX) – G7 finance ministers may voice concerns about high oil prices when they meet in New York this weekend, but they have no real grounds for complaint because the surge in oil prices is a result of the strong global economic recovery for which they will undoubtedly congratulate themselves. “Part of the reason...

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COMPANY: Broeders appointed to the board for 4 years

Dutch logistics company Royal Vopak has appointed John Paul Broeders, the former president of its Asia division, to the executive board for four years. At last week’s annual general meeting, the company also re-appointed vice chairman M.van der Vorm and F.J.G.M. Cremers to the supervisory board. The company also approved for distribution a dividend for...

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MALAYSIA: Moody’s puts energy shipping group MISC on review for possible upgrade

Moody’s Investors Service has placed the Baa2 foreign and local currency issuer ratings of Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad (MISC) on review for possible upgrade. MISC is the energy shipping subsidiary of Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petronas. Moody’s said: “The rating action reflects increasing integration between the company and Petronas at strategic and...

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CHINA: Joint oil and gas exploration with Yemen discussed

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – A Yemeni delegation is meeting with China’s four largest oil companies last week to discuss the development of joint oil and gas exploration projects in the Middle Eastern country, the China Daily reported. The delegation, led by Yemen’s Minister of Oil and Minerals Rasheed S Baraba, will also hold talks with the...

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CHINA: Hong Kong-listed Huaneng Power shareholders approve bonus issue plan

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Huaneng Power International (902.HK) said its shareholders have approved a plan to distribute new bonus shares. The plan involves the issue of 3.013 million new shares, based on the capitalisation of a credit of 3.013 billion yuan on the reserve fund, it added. (US$1=8.27 yuan). Huaneng Power said, at its recent...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Aramco President unveils 5-year business plan, addresses oil reserves issue

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco recently unveiled an ambitious five-year business plan to about 200 top managers in Dhahran, the company said. Aramco President and CEO Abdallah S. Jum’ah also briefed the managers about his recent trip to Washington D.C. to take part in the US-Saudi Relations and Global Energy Security Conference with Minister...

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DUBAI: Local firm to have 40% stake in Turkmenistan-India gas pipeline project

Dubai-based TransAsia Gas, a sister company of Al Ghurair Group, established last year, will have a 40% stake in the new $1.3 billion joint venture project to build a gas pipeline bringing gas from Turkmenistan and Iran to Pakistan and India. The Khaleej Times reported that the gas import project is scheduled to be completed...

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THAILAND: PTT expects high net profit with oil prices

PTT Plc, Thailand’s largest oil and gas conglomerate, said it expects its net profit this year to be higher than the 39.4 billion baht posted last year due to growth of its petrochemical and oil refinery businesses, and the higher oil prices. (US$1=40 baht). “We believe profit will grow further than last year as the...

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AUSTRALIA: Fuel sales helps retailer Coles’s performance

Australian supermarket and retail chain operator Coles Myer has made gains against rival Woolworths on the back of strong fuel sales which exceeded A$1 billion last quarter. (US$1=A$1.45). According to The Courier-Mail, Coles estimates that gasoline sales at its outlets could reach a whopping A$5 billion this year. The company said fuel provided a powerful...

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PAKISTAN: Domestic oil prices kept unchanged for now

Pakistan will keep its domestic oil prices unchanged despite the product hitting world record levels in recent weeks. The Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) and the oil companies met recently and decided to keep the gasoline price at 36.92 rupees a litre and diesel at 24.37 rupees a litre. (US$1=57 rupees). The country’s two main...

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COMPANY: Allegro Development opens Singapore office to serve Asia – Pacific energy markets

Energy software developer Allegro Development Corporation has opened an office in Singapore to meet growing demand for its products in the Asia Pacific markets. Many of the region’s oil, gas, and energy companies are seeking to replace inflexible and costly legacy software in the face of rapid industry growth and changing regulations. The US company...

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COMPANY: China Aviation Oil expects better second quarter after reporting weaker net profits in firs

Singapore-listed China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) has reported a drop in first quarter net profit of S$16.2 million compared with S$18.1 million for the same period last year. The company attributed the decline to the fact that in 2003, a dividend received from Spain’s Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos (CLH) in which CAO holds...

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COMPANY: Vopak reports slight drop in operating profit; construction of new tanks in Singapore to s

Dutch logistics group Royal Vopak said operating profit fell slightly to EUR 35.8 million for the first quarter of 2004 compared with EUR 38.2 million for the same period last year. Group operating profit from core business excluding extraordinary income and expense amounted to EUR 34.1 million for the first quarter of 2004, an increase...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Dammam joins ‘elite group’ of Energy Cities

Saudi Arabia’s Greater Dammam Municipality – which encompasses Dammam, al-Khobar and Dhahran Ð has joined an elite group of cities with special links to the oil and gas industry at a recent meeting of the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP) in Houston, Texas. Dammam’s deputy mayor, Jamal N. Al-Mulhim, said state oil company Aramco played...

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