(EnergyAsia, April 22 2010, Thursday) — The Chinese government will tighten control over oil imports, said officials as the rise in the country’s oil use shows no signs of slowing down. According to figures from the General Administration of Customs, the country’s total oil imports reached 204 million tonnes last year, and are rising at...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s mining giant BHP Billiton said it has signed binding agreements to create a new joint venture with a subsidiary of Indonesia’s PT Adaro Energy TBK for its coal project in Maruwai. BHP Billiton will have a 75% stake while Adaro has agreed to acquire a 25% interest in...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — India’s GMR Energy Limited (GEL) said it has raised $200 million in investment funds for expansion from Claymore Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings. The investment will be made through a structured paper compulsorily convertible into equity. GEL said it plans...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — Competition from Russia is prompting Middle Eastern oil producers to boost onshore crude oil storage capacity in Asia. Cheaper and higher quality crude oil from Russia through the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (EPSO) pipeline is threatening to undercut Middle East producers in key markets such as China, India, South Korea...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — Singapore has not ruled out the use of nuclear energy and will soon embark on a feasibility study to examine the technical, economic and safety aspects of this fuel source. The Foreign Ministry said it has begun preliminary work on the study and will fully cooperate with the IAEA...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — International energy organisations are underestimating future global oil demand by almost one-third, according to two economists. In a research paper, Joyce Dargay of the University of Leeds in the UK and Dermot Gately of New York University in the US, calculate that total oil demand will reach 138 million...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — Article by Dr John CK Daly for Oilprice.com. This month’s events in Kyrgyzstan, which saw the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s administration by a popular uprising and its replacement by a provisional government have been portrayed by many in the “Beltway-istan” (Washington DC) as the latest tussle betwixt Russia...

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2010, Wednesday) — The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said it seized two vessels last month for allegedly illegally transferring fuel at 2.5 nautical miles off South Tanjung Setapa in Kota Tinggi in the southern state of Johor. An MMEA enforcement team on patrol boarded London-registered MT Maple and Singapore-registered MT Sea...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petronas has confirmed that it is preparing to list two of its business entities, bringing the total to six that will be traded on the local stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia. The two businesses to be listed its petrochemicals business and heavy engineering arm,...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — This article was written by Gregory Copley of GIS/ISSA for Oilprice.com. Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has moved decisively and rapidly to unify the government under him, dismissing — on March 17, 2010 — the entire Cabinet which had been appointed by the now-incapacitated President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. This...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Thursday) — Germany’s Marine Training Centre (MTC) said it has been accredited by standards and technical supervisory organisation Germanischer Lloyd (GL) to conduct Tanker Officer Training Standards (TOTS) simulator courses. In a joint statement, Hamburg-based MTS and Intertanko said the programme provides shore and onboard training for tanker officers with the...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia’s resource-rich island of Sumatra earlier this month has not disrupted shipments and production of key commodities including oil and gas. The Arun liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Aceh and the Dumai refinery of state oil and gas firm Petramina have been operating normally...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — Australian oil and gas producer Santos Ltd said it has signed an agreement to supply up to 60 petajoules of natural gas to Wesfarmers Energy (Gas Sales) Ltd over a five-year period starting the second half of 2010. Adelaide-based Santos said it will be supplying the gas from its...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — Indonesia’s 600-million barrel Cepu block, the biggest oil discovery in the country in 30 years, is expected to reach full production by 2014 at the earliest. Operator ExxonMobil expects to complete the construction of a 76-km pipeline linking the field to an offshore storage terminal off the north-eastern Java...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras is expected to start selling crude oil from its new storage and distribution hub in Okinawa, Japan this month as it aims to expand market share in Northeast Asia. It has just delivered a 950,000-barrel cargo of medium heavy Roncador 28 crude oil from...

(EnergyAsia, April 20 2010, Tuesday) — Chinese state-owned firm PetroChina has set aside a budget of at least US$60 billion to acquire overseas oil and gas assets over the next decade, pitting it against international oil majors and other state-owned companies. Jiang Jiemin, PetroChina chairman, has set a long-term goal for the company to become...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — Petron Corp, the Philippines’ top oil refiner, said it plans to invest US$600 million to US$700 million to expand its oil refining operations over the next four to five years. President Eric Recto said the company has budgeted 15 billion pesos for capital spending this year, with four billion...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — J Ray McDermott Far East Inc, subsidiary of marine solutions company J Ray McDermott SA, said it has been awarded its first subsea infrastructure, umbilicals, risers & flowlines (SURF) project in Asia Pacific since its entry into this high growth area. The contract was signed in Ho Chi Minh...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — India’s oil refining capacity is expected to reach 256 million tonnes per year, or 6% more than planned, by the end of FY2012, according to the state Planning Commission. The country now has about 182 million tonnes of refining capacity. Three greenfield refineries are under construction, including one in...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — Russian officials are feuding over whether to end oil export tax exemptions to plug the government’s growing budget gap. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is demanding the withdrawal of Siberian tax breaks granted to oil companies and an increase in taxes on gas producers. Opposing him is Deputy Prime Minister...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — China has constructed 13 oil refineries each with a capacity of more than 10 million tonnes per year in recent years, said the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA). The new refineries account for 50% of the country’s total capacity, statistics from CPCIA showed. The country now has...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — Indian refiners have begun selling cleaner-burning Euro-IV grade gasoline and diesel in 13 cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, since the start of April. They are targeting to start supplying Euro-III grade fuels to retail outlets throughout the country by October. State-owned refiners, led by Indian Oil Corp, are...

(EnergyAsia, April 19 2010, Monday) — A port terminal will be built in Huludao city in China’s Liaoning province to provide Inner Mongolia with access to ships to transport coal to the country’s eastern and southern regions. A city official said the terminal would support an annual throughput of 50 million tonnes of coal when...

(EnergyAsia, April 16 2010, Friday) — Surging coal prices could slow down China’s demand and import of the commodity despite the country’s surging appetite for energy to fuel its fast-growing economy.   According to a report by the China Securities Journal, international prices for term coal supplies for 2010-2011 would rise by 40%, with Japan...