PHILIPPINES: Manila allows continued operation of Pandacan oil depots

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — In the latest twist involving the court-ordered closure of the Pandacan oil depots in Manila, city authorities have decided to allow oil majors Chevron, Petron and Shell to continue using the depots. The decision by Manila’s city council contradicted an earlier ordinance that had called for the depots’ closure on...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

INDIA: Reliance to merge operations of petroleum and industry units

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to merge its businesses with subsidiary Reliance Petroleum (RPL) by buying over all its shares. To implement the transaction, RIL will issue almost 70 million of its share to RPL shareholders. Following the deal RIL will have 3.7 million shareholders while its equity capital...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Platts says China’s April oil demand rose for the first time in six months

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — China consumed 31.47 million metric tons of oil in April, up a strong 4% from the corresponding month of 2008, said energy media group Platts in an analysis of official data. The data means Chinese demand showed its first year-on-year increase in six months last month. The country’s apparent oil...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Platts says China’s April oil demand rose for the first time in six months

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — China consumed 31.47 million metric tons of oil in April, up a strong 4% from the corresponding month of 2008, said energy media group Platts in an analysis of official data. The data means Chinese demand showed its first year-on-year increase in six months last month. The country’s apparent oil...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MARKETS: Consultant Douglas-Westwood says ‘peak oil’ not speculation responsible for volatility

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — This is an edited version of a commentary by Steven Kopits, managing director of energy consultant Douglas-Westwood in New York. In seeking to explain the run-up in oil prices from 2004 to 2008, commentators often turn to ‘speculation’ as the primary cause. While speculation — or at least a kind...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MALAYSIA: OGA 2009 event to showcase RM100 billion worth of technology and products

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — The ‘12th Asian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Exhibition (OGA) 2009’ will be held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia from June 10 to 12. Organisers Malaysian Exhibition Services said the event – the largest in the OGA series – has attracted more than 1,000 participating companies and will showcase (more…)

SINGAPORE: CWC’s LNG conference to be held on June 29 to July 1

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — CWC Group will be holding the ‘Next Generation LNG – Asia Pacific’ conference at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore from June 29 to July 1. LNG Asia aims to provide a platform for participants to network and develop relationships with key LNG players from the region and around the (more…)

MARKETS: Newedge comments on ‘new twist’ in OPEC politics

(EnergyAsia, May 27, Wednesday) — OPEC is quietly undergoing a shift ahead of the group’s ministerial meeting next week as members move from an outward, big-picture focus on global market conditions and group production targets to internal potentially divisive issues as bean-counting methodology for assessing member country production and the internal allocation of quotas, said...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

SINGAPORE: JTC halts tender to select operator for storage cavern

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — Singapore has called off a much anticipated tender to appoint an operator for its proposed underground oil and petrochemicals storage cavern project on Jurong Island. The decision by state land agency JTC Corp came on the heels of reports that oil and petrochemical firms operating on Jurong Island are delaying...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: PetroChina boosts oil product storage capacity

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — PetroChina said it has increased its storage capacity for refined oil products in the country’s northwest by 360% over the past four years. The company raised its storage capacity in the region to 1.7 million cubic metres at end of 2008, up from less than 380,000 cubic metres in 2005....

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MARKETS: IEA’s latest forecast shows world oil demand to fall by 2.9% this year

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — For the ninth consecutive month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has reduced its forecast for world oil demand this year by 200,000 b/d to 83.2 million b/d. The latest forecast is based on expectations for the world GDP to shrink 1.4% this year, with no recovery seen until well into...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Brazil’s Petrobras obtain $10-billion credit line from China Development Bank (CDB)

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — Petrobras, Brazil’s state oil and gas giant, said it could be in line for more credit from China Development Bank (CDB) after concluding a loan deal with the bank for US$10 billion for 10 years. Petrobras said the loan will be used to finance its massive $174.4 billion plan to...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Sinopec plans refinery in Guangxi

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — The Sinopec Group wants to build a refinery and an associated crude oil storage terminal in China’s southern Guangxi province. The company, which ranks as Asia’s largest refiner, has submitted plans to build the unit at Beihai on the Gulf of Tonkin. The capacity of the refinery was not disclosed...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: PetroChina to issue RMB100 billion in debt to finance key projects

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — PetroChina plans to raise RMB100 billion in new debt to help finance key projects. (US$1=RMB6.82). The money will go towards mostly spending on exploration, refining and infrastructure projects abroad. The company, which just announced a US$1 billion acquisition of a 45.5% stake in Singapore Petroleum Company, is also targeting projects...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MALAYSIA: Petronas, MISC and Mustang form JV to develop and provide floating LNG services

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — Petronas International Corporation Ltd (PICL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s state oil and gas firm Petronas, has signed an agreement with Malaysian shipping giant MISC Bhd and UK’s Mustang Engineering Ltd to form a joint-venture company to provide floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) engineering solutions and services worldwide. The...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Law firm Herbert Smith advised Huaneng Power on power plant acquisitions

(EnergyAsia, May 26, Tuesday) — International law firm Herbert Smith said it advised Huaneng Power International, one of the largest listed power producers in China, on the acquisition of a stake in two power companies from its parent companies at a total cost of RMB2.348 billion. (US$1=RMB6.83). The transfer agreements for Huaneng Group and Huaneng...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: PetroChina to pay S$1.47 billion in cash for 45.51% stake in Singapore Petroleum Company

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — PetroChina is raising its exposure in Singapore with the proposed cash acquisition of a 45.51% stake in Singapore Petroleum Company for S$1.47 billion. (US$1=S$1.45). PetroChina, which already owns a 35% stake in Singapore storage firm Universal Terminal, will acquire the SPC shares from Keppel Oil and Gas Services Pte Ltd, (more…)

SOUTH KOREA: Crude oil storage capacity to rise 30% to 146 million barrels next year

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — The South Korean government and international oil companies could be stockpiling as much as 40 million barrels of crude oil in the country by next year. A national stockpiling programme operated by state Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has attracted the participation of France’s Total, Norway’s Statoil, China’s Unipec and...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MARKETS: IEA warns cancelled projects setting stage for future oil price surges

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — The stage is being set for a sharp rebound in oil prices as energy demand in China and India continues to grow rapidly while oil companies are further reducing investments after having cancelled at least $170 billion worth of projects to boost supply, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). In...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Herbert Smith advised CNOOC on LNG and CBM deal with BG Group

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — International law firm Herbert Smith said it advised China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and its affiliates on a project development agreement with the UK’s BG Group pertaining to the sale of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Queensland Curtis coal bed methane LNG Project in Australia (QCLNG). BG Group...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

WORLD: Financial crisis sinks efforts to stave off threats facing developing world

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — The world will not achieve most of the eight agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) goals to combat hunger, child and maternal mortality, education, and the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases by 2015, said a joint IMF-World Bank study. The global financial crisis has added to the burden...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

SINGAPORE: Chemoil reports 283% rise in net profits for first quarter of 2009

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — Singapore-listed marine fuels trader Chemoil said its first quarter net profit rose 283% year-on-year to US$8.8 million. Amid the global economic slowdown, ship owners have increasingly turned to direct physical suppliers, helping to boost the company’s profitability and retail sales by 16% to 2.17 million metric tons for the quarter....

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MARKETS: IEA expects energy use by new electronic devices to triple by 2030

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — The explosive growth in global energy consumption by new electronic devices such as PCs, laptops, iPods, cell phones and home appliances is offsetting energy efficiency gains, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA’s latest study, , Gadgets and Gigawatts, found that over the next seven months, the number of...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Origin Energy confirms Pangaea CSG acquisition to boost domestic gas supply portfolio

(EnergyAsia, May 25, Monday) — Australia’s Origin Energy Limited said it will acquire the entire exploration permit ATP 788P, boosting its coal seam gas (CSG) reserves by 1,150 peta joules. This follows the announcement by competitor Australia Pacific LNG Pty Ltd that it will not exercise its option to acquire the interest. The permit is...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

COMPANY: Total Lubmarine develops biodegradable lubricants range for shipping

(EnergyAsia, May 22, Friday) — Leading international marine lubricants supplier Total Lubmarine said it has developed a comprehensive range of high-performance biodegradable products which will enable companies in the shipping industry to significantly improve their environmental footprint without compromising either performance or safety. After extensive testing over a period of years at its dedicated research (more…)