INDIA: Kochi LNG terminal cost now pegged at Rs21 billion

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — The project cost of the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Kochi port in India’s Kerala state has been revised upward to Rs21 billion from the earlier estimate of Rs18 billion. (US$=Rs43).   The initial project cost estimate did not include additional cost of non-plant buildings, support facilities, project management...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

SINGAPORE: Ultra low sulphur diesel to be made mandatory from December 1

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — Singapore will further tighten the environmental specifications for diesel from December 1.             The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it will make compulsory the use of ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) to prepare the country to adopt Euro IV emission standards for diesel vehicles in October 2006. This new grade of...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

INDIA: IndianOil to supply Euro III gasoline

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — India’s first motor spirit quality (MSQ) upgrading unit has been commissioned at IndianOil’s Mathura Refinery with the first isomerisation unit starting up recently.   IndianOil said that with the commissioning of the isomerisation unit, the refinery has become the first in the country to produce gasoline of Euro III specifications.  ...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: Co-operation with Myanmar to develop Salween River dams project

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — Thailand and Myanmar are due to soon hammer out an agreement to cooperate on the joint development of electricity generation by damming the Salween River.   The joint development plan will benefit both countries as it would reduce their reliance on increasingly expensive fossil fuels and provide a much cheaper source...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

INDIA: IOC interest boosts SPC share price to record level

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — The share price of Singapore Petroleum Corp has reached record high levels of more than S$5 following reports that Indian Oil Corp is interested to buy a 26.5% stake in the Singapore-listed integrated oil company. (US$1=S$1.67). “A financial investor with about 26.5 per cent equity stake in SPC is keen to...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

SAUDI ARABIA: Foster Wheeler awarded project for Al-Khafji desalination unit

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — Nasdaq-listed engineering firm Foster Wheeler Ltd said its subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Italiana S.p.A, has been awarded a contract to provide process design services in conjunction with the installation of a new seawater desalination unit at the Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) Plant, at Al-Khafji in Saudi Arabia. The contract was awarded by...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: BASF-YPC Co Ltd starts up petrochemical plant in Nanjing

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — BASF-YPC Co. Ltd., an equal joint venture between Germany’s BASF and China’s Sinopec, has started commercial production at a petrochemical steam cracker and nine downstream plants at its Nanjing, China site. In a statement, BASF said the 220-hectare site will produce 1.7 million metric tons of high-quality chemicals and polymers per...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Vopak starts development of sixth terminal

 (EnergyAsia, June 30) — Dutch oil and chemicals logistics firm Royal Vopak said it has reached agreement with the local authorities of Zhangzijagang in China’s Jiangsu province on the long-term lease of around 48 hectares of land to build a state-of-the-art chemicals storage terminal. The 200,000 cubic metres terminal will be sited inside the bonded...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Woodside widens options for US LNG exports

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — Australia’s Woodside Energy Ltd is considering additional options for supplying liquefied natural gas to North America after changing the relationship between a subsidiary company and Crystal Energy LLC over the development of a receiving terminal off California.             Subsidiary Woodside Energy (USA) Inc and Crystal Energy have agreed to end a...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

PEOPLE: Bangladesh’s investment chief named adviser to energy ministry

(EnergyAsia, June 30) — The Bangladeshi government has appointed Mahmudur Rahman as adviser to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in addition to his duties as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI).   Mr Rahman will be promoted from his civil service ranking as secretary to deputy minister.   “Mahmudur Rahman...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

KAZAKHSTAN: PetroKazakhstan confirms it is in discussion to be bought out

(EnergyAsia, June 29) Ð Canada’s PetroKazakhstan Inc has confirmed media reports that it is in discussion with several companies to be taken over.   In a statement, PetroKazakhstan said that it has received approaches from “a number of different parties regarding a potential corporate transaction involving either an acquisition or a merger with the company....

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MARKETS: RBC poll says a third of executives see oil prices rising to US$100/barrel by 2010

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — While oil prices are expected to remain high for the balance of the year – peaking at US$62/barrel — many North American executives and institutional investors believe that oil prices will fall back to US$35/barrel by 2010, according to a poll by investment bank RBC Capital Markets.   Canada-based RBC said...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: PEARL Energy provides update on its Gulf of Thailand exploration drilling programme

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — Singapore’s PEARL Energy Limited said it has completed its third delineation well in the Bussabong Production Area Application in the Block B 12/32 contract area in the Gulf of Thailand.   The Bussabong 8B delineation well was drilled to a total depth of 8,285 feet from a surface location approximately nine...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

INDIA: France’s Total to set up lubricants plant

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — French energy major Total plans to establish a new lubricants facility in Mumbai on India’s east coast.   Indian media reports quoted Total CEO and managing director Thierrry Gautier as saying that his company wants to export lubricants to Sri Lanka from its Indian operations as part of its business strategy...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: CNOOC calls for US review of Unocal takeover bid

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — CNOOC Limited said it welcomes a US security review of its unsolicited US$18.5 billion bid for Unocal in response to growing political tensions generated by the Chinese company’s attempt to buy over one of America’s largest independent oil and gas companies. Forty-one members of Congress supported by influential politicians in Washington...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

KAZAKHSTAN: Malaysia’s Kazmirak in venture to build oil refineries

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — Malaysian oil and gas contractor Kazmirak Oil Sdn Bhd and Kazakhstan’s Nord-Oil have teamed up to build two 20,000 b/d oil refineries in Kazakhstan. The refineries, costing a total of US$300 million, will be located in Petropavlovsk and Kokshetau, according to the Malaysian Business Times (US$1 = RM3.80).   “This is...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Sinopec building oil refinery, storage facility in Qingdao port

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — Sinopec and its joint venture partners have begun building a 10-million-ton oil refinery in Qingdao port city in East China’s Shandong province. Sinopec’s partners are state agencies Shandong Guotou and Qingdao Guoxin, reported the DZ Daily.   A Sinopec official told the news agency that the refinery will comprise 13 processing...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

PHILIPPINES: Shell opens CNG station in Tabanago

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — Pilipinas Shell Petroleum has opened the Philippine’s first compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling station.   The station, located in Tabangao, Batangas comes in response to rising demand for cheaper and cleaner fuels. It also marks the first non-power use of natural gas from the country’s Malampaya gas field.   The station...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: US Vice President Cheney ‘vehemently’ opposed to CNOOC’s bid for Unocal

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — The New York-based Eurasia consulting group said that US conservatives led by Vice President Dick Cheney is working to thwart China’s CNOOC in its attempt to buy over US independent energy company Unocal.   In a brief comment, Eurasia said: “Hawks in President George W. Bush’s administration Ð particularly in Vice...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Devon, Teikoku, Santos JV awarded Egyptian acreage

(EnergyAsia, June 29) — Australian upstream company Santos Limited said it has been awarded an exploration block in Egypt as part of a joint venture with the affiliates of Devon Energy Corporation and Teikoku Oil Company.   The joint venture, in which Santos has a 25% interest, has been awarded the onshore North Qarun Block...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MALAYSIA: MayBan puts Tenaga Nasional Bhd on ‘hold’

(EnergyAsia, June 28) — MayBan Securities has placed a ‘hold’ rating on the stock of Malaysia’s power company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), which recently agreed to buy a 22.5% stake in TNB Coal International (TCIL) equivalent to 26.6 million shares. Upon completion of the deal, TNB will hold 92.5% interest in TCIL while individual Nik...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: Bangkok to hike subsidies for ethanol-blended gasoline

(EnergyAsia, June 28) — The Thai government is proposing an increase in the subsidy for ethanol-blended gasoline, or gasohol, to promote the use of alternative fuel, the Bangkok Post reported.   Metta Banturngsuk, director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), said the subsidy will make gasohol more attractive to motorists. The Committee on...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

OMAN: JV agreements on oil tankers signed with Japan’s Mitsui OSK

(EnergyAsia, June 28) — Oman Shipping Company and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd have entered into an equal joint venture agreement to own two carriers of refined and crude oil products, according to the Oman News Agency (ONA).   Ahmed bin Abdul-Nabi Macki, chairman of Oman Shipping Company, signed the agreement while on an official...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

BIOFUELS: UN unit launched BioFuels Initiative in Paris

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched the BioFuels Initiative in Paris on 21 June. The aim of the initiative is to help developing countries make the most of their renewable energy potential. It was presented at a press conference organised during a seminar of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

SINGAPORE: Keppel Energy to buy S$3 billion worth of natural gas from Malaysia’s Petronas

(EnergyAsia, June 28) — Keppel Energy Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Corporation, said it has signed a long-term supply of natural gas worth more than S$3 billion based on current gas price from Petronas, the national oil and gas company of Malaysia. Keppel Energy will be the first company in Singapore...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register