(EnergyAsia, July 27) — Australian upstream company Antares Energy said it has discovered 16 metres of net gas sand over a gross interval from 1182 metres to 1291 metres its Velimese-2 well in Turkey. Preparations are now underway to perforate and test the well located 120 km west of Istanbul in Turkey’s onshore Thrace Basin....

(EnergyAsia, July 27) — Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state-owned monopoly provider of electricity in Korea, has announced its vision to increase its value to 50 trillion won and to become among the world’s leading 100 companies by 2015. (US$1=1,050 won).   KEPCO president Han Joon-ho set the goal in a recent address to...

(EnergyAsia, July 27) — Indonesia earned around 100 trillion rupiah (US$1=9,600 rupiah) from exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) last year, Antara news agency reported.   According to Antara, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro predicted those earnings will continue to grow in line with rising oil and gas prices caused by strong demand from...

BP has called on the UK government to provide funds to help oil companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.   Lord Browne said BP is developing emissions reduction technology including “carbon capture”, and needed subsidies to make the project work.   Carbon capture describes a method of collecting carbon dioxide gas emanating from power stations...

(EnergyAsia, July 27) — Assar Senari’s RM 300 million palm oil refinery plant in Kuching in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak is set to start up in October 2006, Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported (US$=RM3.80). The total project cost also includes construction of an adjacent independent oil terminal.   The refinery and terminal are...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — South Korea’s state planners are looking to set up a special fund next year to acquire overseas oil fields and oil companies as a part of a long-term plan to ensure energy security, according to Korean news media reports (US$1=1,050 won).   The reports said the fund, initially worth 5 trillion...

  (EnergyAsia, July 26) — US energy consultant ESAI said world crude oil supply will remain tight next year, likely keeping prices above US$55 a barrel.   “As the end of a relatively uneventful gasoline season approaches, rapidly improving distillate stocks should reduce some product support. However, ESAI, in the latest edition of the Global...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — US engineering firm Bechtel has signed a $1.24 billion lump-sum turnkey contract to build a giant gas processing plant for Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco).   The United Arab Emirates-based plant will be designed to treat nearly 23 million cubic meters of natural gas and produce 6,400 tonnes of liquefied natural...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — A consortium of engineering firms, the so-called Kellogg Joint Venture, has signed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract and option for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management contract for the Greater Gorgon downstream LNG project.   The consortium’s members include Kellogg Brown and Root (30%), Clough Engineering (20%), JGC (30%)...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — Ezra Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based offshore support and marine services provider for Southeast Asia’s offshore oil and gas industry, said it will place out 30 million new shares at S$1.26 a piece. (US$1=S$1.68). Managing director Lionel Lee said: “Demand in the offshore services support sector remains firm and we are constantly...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — Taiwan’s economy may not achieve its target of four percent growth this year if world oil prices remain at current high levels, said a local energy expert.   According to the China News Agency, Liang Chi-yuan, a senior researcher at Academia Sinica, said the government should start preparing contingency plans to...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — Dubai-based Sovereign Asset Management Ltd. has confirmed the sale of its entire 14.82% stake in SK Corp, saying it had exhausted legal rights to force corporate governance reform.   According to Korea Herald, the private investment fund sold its 19 million shares to mostly foreign investors for 49,011 won per share....

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — South Korea’s economy is hurting from rising oil prices, making the country’s 4% growth target for 2005 increasingly difficult to achieve, the Korea Herald reported.   The Bank of Korea said that a rise of 1% in international oil prices means a 0.02% drop in Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP). With...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — Businesses and consumers are hurting from a 10-15% hike in gasoline prices imposed earlier this month by the Finance Ministry in response to rising prices on the world markets.   As a result of the increased fuel prices, the price of food, sugar, rice and seafood have risen in recent weeks,...

(EnergyAsia, July 26) — Bids for 15 areas off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory and the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands will close on October 20, with another 14 due next April 20, said Kon Vatskalis, the state’s Minister for Mines and Energy.   Mr Vatskalis had announced these acreages in April as...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — The Singapore public is invited to give their views on the Singapore Green Plan (SGP) 2012 at a public forum at the Environment Building Theatrette, 40 Scotts Road, on July 27 at 7 pm. In a statement, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said the forum is held as...

(EnergyAsia, 21 July) — Canada’s Methanex, the world’s largest methanol producer, is looking to Indonesia’s growing market for gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as an outlet for its methanol.             During his company’s second quarter results conference call, Methanex CEO Bruce Aitken said that Indonesia is becoming an important market as US demand...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) will not raise its all-cash US$18.5 billion or US$67 a share offer to take over Unocal, the ninth largest oil and gas company in the US, reported the China Daily.   Citing the need to protect shareholders’ interests, China’s third largest oil and gas producer...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — Australian upstream company has provided the following update for the second quarter. 1. Production Production volume of 15.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mmboe), which was 11.7% higher than the previous quarter, representing Woodside’s highest level of quarterly production since the third quarter of 2002.   North West Shelf Venture gas...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — The South Korean government is concerned that the country’s oil stockpile levels are lagging those of other industrialised nations, but it may not be able to rectiy the situation immediately amid record high international oil prices.             Government sources told The Korea Times that the country’s oil stock levels are equivalent...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — Thailand’s Bangchak Petroleum Plc has teamed up with TMB Bank and food products firm ASB Corporation to fund a feasibility study for a Baht 2.5 billion complex to produce bio-diesel using the jatropha curcus plant as feedstock, the Bangkok Post reported (US$=Baht41.7).             Bangchak president Anusorn Sangnimnuan said the study would...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — State-owned PetroVietnam plans to maintain production at an average of 48,000 tonnes of crude oil and 16 million cubic metre of gas per day. According to the Vietnam News Service (VNS), PetroVietnam has produced 178 million tonnes of crude oil and 22 billion cubic metres of gas from the country’s offshore...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — Citing tightened government budgets, the Philippine Department of Transportation is having a re-think of planned fuel depots at the existing Iloilo and proposed Silay airports. The Finance Ministry estimates that scrapping the fuel depots could save some P700 million, the Manila Bulletin reported (US$1=P56.2).             The depots at the Iloilo airport...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — Pakistan and Iran have agreed to target next April to begin construction of the controversial US$4.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, reported Pakistan’s PPI news service.             Officials from Pakistan and Iran concluded a two-day talk recently on the matter, with Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh saying that the paperwork...

(EnergyAsia, July 25) — Singapore-based KS Energy Services Limited and Cooper’s Mechanical Oilfield Services Private Limited (CMOS) have established an equal joint venture company, Harta Offshore and Marine Services Pte Ltd. The new company has an authorised share capital of US$10 million comprising 10 million ordinary shares of US$1 each and will have paid-up share...