MARKETS: Analysts see sharp rise in world coal prices for 2008

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — World coal prices are set to rise sharply this year on the back of soaring demand from power plants and steel mills, and tight supply conditions. Analysts at Goldman Sachs are forecasting an almost 100% price increase for thermal coal, to US$110/tonne. Spot prices for thermal coal have soared 37%...

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INDONESIA: Exxon Mobil fails to agree Natuna gas deal

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Despite more than a decade of talks, Indonesia and Exxon Mobil have failed to reach agreement on developing the country’s large Natuna D-Alpha natural gas field. Indonesian upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas claims that Exxon had failed to submit plans on developing the field and commercialising the gas....

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MARKETS: Oil 101 — supply fears drive prices to new all-time high

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — US oil futures surged to a new record well above $101 a barrel on Wednesday as supply fears, rather than talks of a US economic recession, dominated the markets. NYMEX crude had closed above $100 a barrel for the first time the day before, for a $14 gain over the...

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MALAYSIA: Energy prices to be hiked, subsidy cuts likely

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Malaysia is looking to hike electricity, gas and gasoline prices as it attempts to reduce subsidies for these products sold on the domestic market. Malaysia’s power utilities buy natural gas at discounted rates from state oil firm Petronas while on the retail front, motorists pay heavily subsidised gasoline and diesel...

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INDONESIA: Government under pressure to increase food and fuel subsidies

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — As food and fuel prices continue to rise on the world markets, Indonesia’s government is under growing pressure to maintain, if not increase, subsidies to ensure that the majority of its 220 million people are able to survive. Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government was recently forced to shift...

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COMPANY: Fitch on the potential impact of Exxon’s freeze on PDVSA partnered refineries

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Fitch Ratings said it views a British court order to freeze up to US$12 billion of Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s (PDVSA; rated BB- with a Negative Outlook by Fitch) worldwide assets as a potential concern for the PDVSA partnered refineries, HOVENSA and Merey Sweeny Limited Partnership (MSLP). While day-to-day operations...

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SINGAPORE: Specialised logistics services firm BDP sets up global network services

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Singapore has been chosen as the location for a new global alliance of small to mid-sized logistics firms created to challenge the dominance of the large multi-national companies, said US-based BDP International. Believed to be the first alliance of its kind in the world, BDP Global Network Services will be (more…)

JAPAN: Oil supplies not to be diverted to Iraq operations, Tokyo insists

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Japan has insisted that oil and fuels it supplies to other countries as part of global anti-terrorism efforts are not to be used for other purposes. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has approved plans to press for such stipulations in talks with US, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Pakistan. Last year,...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Rotary Engineering ups stake in JV to 51% to build storage tanks

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering Limited said it is increasing its stake in a Saudi Arabia joint venture company, Petrol Steel Co Ltd, to 51%. This follows a move to increase Petrol Steel’s capitalisation from 5 million riyal to 20 million riyal. Rotary also revealed that, through Petrol Steel, it has secured...

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CHINA: Kiu Hung International to own two coal mines through HK$840 million takeover of Lucky Dragon

(EnergyAsia, February 22, Friday) — Hongkong-listed Kiu Hung International Holdings Limited said it has approved the acquisition of the entire equity interest of Lucky Dragon Resources Limited for HK$840 million at an extraordinary general meeting early this week. (US$1=HK7.78). Lucky Dragon owns Tongliao City Heng Yuan Mining Company Limited which in turn owns the mining...

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SINGAPORE: Swiber and Principia in JV to provide services to the offshore and marine industry in Sou

Recherche & Development SA said they have set up a joint venture to supply, study and design offshore and marine facilities as well as provide related services in the offshore and marine industry in Southeast Asia. The proposed joint venture company to be incorporated in Singapore will be 51% owned by Principia, and 49% owned...

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INDIA: Reliance’s gasoline surplus to flood Asia by year-end, says ESAI

(EnergyAsia, February 21, Thursday) — India’s gasoline surplus and Iran’s increasing inability to secure letters of credit will drive Asian gasoline cracks down to below $6 per barrel by the end of 2008, predicts US consultant ESAI. In the February 2008 issue of its Pacific Basin Stockwatch, a six-month outlook on Asia-Pacific product markets, ESAI (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Woodside reports 28% drop in net profit to A$1,030 million for 2007

2007 after-tax net profit fell 28% to A$1,030 million as a result of taking on a net loss on significant items. (US$1=A$1.1). It said underlying net profit was down 15% to A$1,182 millio due to the rise in value of the  Australian dollar against the greenback, higher exploration expenses and increased depreciation and amortisation which...

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CLIMATE CHANGE: $200 oil will curb fossil fuels use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions

small car designed to give poor Indians the chance to own and use gasoline-powered vehicles — environmentalists proclaimed the end of the world had just begun. The birth of the ‘Nano’ last month adds to environmentalists’ fear that they have lost the fight to stop climate change. Defeat will be confirmed in the coming months...

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China Nuvo Solar Energy Announces Staffing for Its Collaboration Development Agreement in China

collaboration development agreement partner, Pioneer Materials Inc, has completed staffing for Nuovo’s pilot production project in Chengdu in China. The project will be headed by Leon Chiu, President and CEO of PMI, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the UCLA. The principal investigator and solar engineer for work at the Chengdu facility...

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MARKETS: IEA forecasts world oil demand to reach 87.6 million b/d in 2008

world oil product demand to reach 87.6 million b/d, down 200,000 b/d from an earlier prediction. The Paris-based agency said weaker economic growth in the developed economies will offset continued robust growth in China and the Middle East, the key oil demand growth centres. In its most recent oil market report, the IEA said world...

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BANGLADESH: Saudi investor said to be planning refinery investment

to set up a large integrated refinery-petrochemicals complex in Bangladesh. The proposed 300,000 b/d refinery is expected to cost up to $7 billion and could start up by 2012. It will use crude oil imported from Saudi Arabia, said partners Hitch International of Saudi Arabia, and Cosmopolitan Oil Refinery Management Limited of Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s only...

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INDIA: Foreign stake in oil refining firms raised to 49%

refineries, up from a previous cap of 26% on foreign direct investment (FDI).   At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Indian government last month decided to raise the cap to encourage more foreign interest in the country’s oil refining sector. As an example, Kuwait Petroleum is interested to jointly invest...

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INDIA: LPG shortages hit several states

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is mainly used as a cooking fuel by much of the population. The government has told oil firms to step up production of LPG to help avert a full-fledged crisis. But the oil firms said the shortages are not a production issue, but have resuted from the growing use of...

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MARKETS: US government to track refinery outages

monitor outages at the country’s refineries in a move to improve oil product supplies and contain price spikes. The US already operates a similar system for electricity outages. The system would help businesses and government agencies better prepare for product supply disruptions and distribution problems....

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SINGAPORE: Federal International’s Banyan Utilities seeking UN carbon credits accreditation

SINGAPORE: Federal International’s Banyan Utilities seeking UN carbon credits accreditation  (EnergyAsia, February 20, Wednesday) —Singapore-listed Federal International (2000) Ltd said its 60%-owned subsidiary, Banyan Utilities Pte Ltd, is seeking accreditation under the Clean Development Mechanism of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (CDM-UNFCCC).As part of the accreditation process, Banyan Utilities is organising a stakeholder (more…)

THAILAND: “BioEnergy Forum 2008” in Bangkok from April 28 to 30

(EnergyAsia, February 20, Wednesday) — “BioEnergy Forum 2008”, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from April 28 to 30, will address issues pertaining to the economics and sustainability of biofuels.More than 30 key speakers will focus on the latest bioenergy trends and issues facing on the entire biofuels value chain over eight sessions. There will (more…)

INDONESIA: Transocean awarded $351 million contract to drill deepwater exploration wells

(EnergyAsia, February 20, Tuesday) — US-based Transocean Inc said it has been awarded a large contract by a Marathon Oil Corp-led consortium to drill exploration wells in a deepwater location in Indonesia.NYSE-listed TransOcean said the 689-day contract, to start in the fourth quarter of 2009, is expected to generate revenue of about $351 million. The (more…)

CHINA: President Hu urges improved coal logistics, higher production

(EnergyAsia, February 20, Wednesday) — Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for the logistics and transport of coal supplies for power generation to be upgraded and also appealed to miners to boost output to alleviate the severe shortages that have hit the country in past months.China’s power plants have been running short of coal with...

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MARKETS: CERA predicts LNG to become new global energy commodity

(EnergyAsia, February 20, Wednesday) — US consulting group CERA said liquefied natural gas (LNG) will soon become a freely traded flexible worldwide commodity as a result of “momentous” investment decisions taken several years ago.Those decisions will reshape the global market’s traditional pricing and contracting practices, said CERA senior director for global gas Michael Stoppard in...

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