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...

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AUSTRALIA: Clough Engineering says BassGas JV has drawn down remaining A$12 million performance bond

(EnergyAsia, June 28) — The BassGas Joint Venture has drawn down the remaining A$12 million of the performance bond provided by Clough Engineering over the development of a troubled natural gas project in Australia’s Bass Straits. (US$1=A$1.27).   Following this action by Origin Energy which leads the joint venture, Clough said there are no outstanding...

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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...

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MALAYSIA: UMW targets 15% growth in ’05, cites China investments

(EnergyAsia, June 28) Ð Malaysia’s UMW Oil and Gas Division is aiming to grow revenue by over 15% this year following its heavy investments in China over the past three years.   The company has invested more than RM200 million in China’s oil and gas sector and has successfully penetrated its pipe manufacturing, pipe coating,...

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INDIA: France’s Total said keen on refining investment

(EnergyAsia, June 28) — French energy major Total is considering investing in refinery projects in India and also wants to enter the country’s retail oil sector, India’s Financial Express reported.   Total would prefer investing in projects together with Indian oil firms, said Gary Jones, Total senior vice president for refining and marketing in Asia....

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INDIA: ONGC, IOC to expand refining capacities

(EnergyAsia, June 27) — India’s two largest oil and gas companies have announced plans to expand their refining capacities.   Upstream major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is preparing to invest Rs30 billion to raise the capacity of its Mangalore refinery from 9.69 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes, said chairman and managing director...

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INDONESIA: Pertamina gets Rp4 trillion in fuel subsidies

(EnergyAsia, June 27) Ð The Indonesian government has disbursed Rp4 trillion (US$1=Rp9,700) to state oil and gas firm Pertamina as part of its fuel subsidy to help it pay for much-needed imports and secure domestic supplies, The Jakarta Post reported.   Pertamina’s vice president Mustiko Saleh was quoted as saying that the payment is aimed...

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THAILAND: Oil, petrochemicals operations at Rayong threatened by water shortage problems

(EnergyAsia, June 27) — Thailand’s oil and petrochemical hub in Rayong province is facing a new threat — water shortage.   Despite heavy rains last week, manufacturers remain wary of a possible disruption to water supplies after local authorities had warned of impending supply cuts following a prolonged spell of drought.   Early this month,...

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CHINA: Unocal given waiver to discuss with CNOOC over proposed takeover

(EnergyAsia, June 27) — US independent company Unocal Corp said it has received a waiver from Chevron Corp enabling it to discuss a proposed takeover by China’s CNOOC Limited. California-based Unocal is also the target of takeover by Chevron.   CNOOC Limited has tabled a better offer of US$18.5 billion or a cash pay-out of...

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CHINA: Storage company starting up in Hainan province

(EnergyAsia, June 27) Ð China’s Changliu Oil and Gas Storage & Transportation Base has started up full operations in the country’s southernmost province of Hainan.   With an annual throughput capacity of 250,000 tonne and a total holding capacity of 26,000 cubic metre, the base will help meet the province’s winter peak season oil and...

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INDIA: New Delhi plans to build up export refining capacity

(EnergyAsia, June 27) Ð India’s Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said he favours expanding the country’s oil refining capacity with emphasis on exports, Indian newswire Infraline reported.   Mr Aiyar’s support for export-oriented refineries comes on the heels of reports that leading industrialised countries, including the US, are considering tax breaks for large oil companies...

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BRUNEI: Shell unit completes engineering design of firewater and oil product pipelines

(EnergyAsia, June 27) —Bunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) said its fully established local engineering consultant, Petrokon Utama Sdn Bhd (PUSB) recently completed the engineering design of onshore pipelines to deliver gasoline, diesel and firewater. These projects are the 20km gasoline pipeline from Brunei LNG to a crude oil terminal in Seria port, a 71km pipeline linking...

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MALAYSIA: Petronas agrees to supply natgas to Indon’s PLN

(EnergyAsia, June 27) — Malaysian state energy major Petronas said it has agreed to supply natural gas to Indonesia’s state owned electricity company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). Petronas will do the deal through its subsidiary PC Muriah Ltd.   Under the terms of the gas sales agreement, Petronas will supply up to 145 million standard...

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MALAYSIA: Crude oil production rose in 2004

(EnergyAsia, June 27) Ð Malaysia’s crude oil production for 2004 increased to 278.7 million barrels from 269.3 million in 2003, Bernama news agency reported, citing government statistics data.   Last year, Malaysia exported 18.68 million tonnes of crude oil compared with 17.9 million tonne the previous year, according to the Statistics Department. Imports decreased slightly...

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INDIA: HPCL reaches agreement with Punjab state on refinery project

(EnergyAsia, June 27) Ð India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is in the final stages of plans for its 9 million tonne/year tonne Guru Gobind Singh oil refinery project at Bhatinda in Punjab state, newswire Infraline reported.   HPCL has been planning the project for almost a decade and was threatened again two years ago...

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MARKETS: ESAI says US distillate yields to remain high

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — Heating oil’s recent premium over gasoline has encouraged US refiners to remain focused on distillate, and both distillate production and yields are up on year-ago levels, said US-based consultant ESAI.   In the latest edition of its Atlantic Basin Stockwatch, ESAI said it believes rising inventories could ease distillate margins this...

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THAILAND: Central bank wants diesel price floated to cut trade deficit

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — The Bank of Thailand is worried about the country’s increasing trade deficit and urged the government to float diesel prices in a bid to reduce hefty oil-import bills.   Thai Central Bank deputy governor Bandid Nijathaworn said increasing oil-import bills – coupled with record high oil prices – were the main...

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CHINA: Sinopec establishes natural gas subsidiary

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), China’s biggest oil refiner, has opened a new new area of development with the establishment of a natural gas subsidiary.   Sinopec said the new subsidiary will help the energy major to optimise its allocation of gas-related assets, pipeline construction and market access.   The...

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AUSTRALIA: Caltex announce drop in first half profit outlook

 (EnergyAsia, June 24) — Caltex Australia Limited said it expects a decline in its performance for the first half of 2005 compared with the same period last year. The company expects its after tax profit on a replacement cost ofsales operating profit (RCOP) basis to dip to A$135 to A$150 million from last year’s A$180.3 million,...

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TAIWAN: Local companies step up export of solar cells

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — Taiwanese companies are increasingly capitalising on government subsidies for renewable energy sources in countries around the world to boost their exports of solar cells.             According to Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwanese companies have invested US$127 million developing solar cell technology over the past two years. The industry expects the...

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THAILAND: PTTEP inks stock purchase agreement to acquire Pogo’s assets

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — PTTEP Offshore Investment Company Limited or PTTEPO and Mitsui Oil Exploration Company Limited (MOECO) last week entered into a stock purchase agreement with Pogo Overseas Production B.V. and Pogo Producing Company Limited (Pogo Group) to buy all the shares held by the Pogo Group in Thaipo Limited and B8/32 Partners Limited....

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RUSSIA: New tax regime will reduce country’s crude exports

(EnergyAsia, June 24) Ð Russia’s crude exports will slow down despite continuing high global demand because of recent drastic changes in the way the country taxes its oil industry.   US energy consultant ESAI said the tax changes have encouraged Russian producers to maximise domestic throughput at the expense of crude exports.   “Over the...

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BIOFUELS: Thailand’s PTT, TOC launch bio-diesel project

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — Thai Olefins Company (TOC) will supply Thai oil and gas company PTT 80,000 tonne/year or 260,000 litre/day of methyl ester to be blended into PTT’s diesel pool. Methyl ester is produced from vegetable oil.             The two companies said that under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) the methyl ester will be...

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JAPAN: Fears of an energy supply crisis by 2030

(EnergyAsia, June 24) – Japan could face serious energy problems by 2030 and it must work today to secure access to energy amid dramatically rising global demand, in particular from China, according to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency (NREA).   In a special report, the energy agency of the Japanese government said that Japan...

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INDONESIA: Oil trade deficit hits record US$1.37 billion in first quarter

(EnergyAsia, June 24) — Indonesia is well on its way to becoming a net oil importer for 2005, already booking an oil trade deficit of US$1.37 billion in the first quarter, The Jakarta Post reported.             The bleak news comes despite strong natural gas exports which helped keep Indonesia’s overall oil and gas trade account...

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