INDONESIA: Herbert Smith advised Banpu on US$400m sale of stake in coal mining unit

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — Law firm Herbert Smith LLP said it and Indonesia’s Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung (HBT) jointly advised Thailand’s largest coal miner, Banpu, on the recent sale of its 8.7% stake in its listed Indonesian subsidiary, PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk (ITMG), for US$400 million.  (US$1=8,970 rupiah). The transaction is...

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INDIA: US-based Hydrovolts receives order and investment to deploy hydropower solution

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — Hydrovolts Inc, a Seattle, US-based hydropower company, said it has received a US$250,000 investment to develop a 25kW hydrokinetic canal turbine for US-based civil engineering firm DLZ Corp for hydropower projects in India. According to Hydrovolts, DLZ Corp has obtained permits and a power purchase agreement to develop...

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MARKETS: Smart grid pilots require regulatory change, consumer focus, says Accenture and WEF report

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — For smart grid investments to pay off, policy makers must introduce regulatory incentives and utilities must improve their engagement with consumers, according to a joint report by Accenture and the World Economic Forum. The report, “What makes a successful smart grid pilot?” assesses some of the world’s 90...

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MARKETS: OPEC maintains world oil demand to grow by 1.2% to 85.5 mb/d in 2010, 86.5 mb/d in 2011

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — OPEC is maintaining its forecast for world oil demand to grow by around 1.05 million b/d or more than 1.2% to 85.5 million b/d in 2010, and by around the same rate next year. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said that stimulus packages in key consuming countries...

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INDONESIA: Lack of coal supplies may threaten Sasol’s proposed investment

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — Without guarantee of coal supplies, South Africa’s Sasol Corp may be forced to cancel plans to invest in a US$10 billion coal liquefaction plant in Indonesia. Indonesian state coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, a prospective partner for the project, said the government has yet to respond...

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JAPAN: Trading house Itochu to expand coal exports

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — Buoyed by rising demand from China and India, Japanese trading house Itochu Corp expects exports to account for half its coal sales in the next five years. Exports now account for only 10% of the company’s total sales. Itochu said it expects annual shipments to hit 22-24 million...

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CHINA: Yitai Coal, Mongolia Mining aim to raise billions of dollars from share listings in Hong Kong

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — Two coal mining firms are planning to launch initial public offerings of their shares in Hong Kong in the coming months. Between them, Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co and Mongolian Mining Corp are aiming to raise as much as US$2.7 billion to fund their expansion to help meet...

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ASIA: Singapore to lose competitive edge in manufacturing, says study

  (EnergyAsia, October 1 2010, Friday) — Asia’s power houses China and India, along with South Korea, are expected to continue dominating the global manufacturing sector in the coming years, while Singapore and developed nations may lose their competitive edge, according to a joint research report by Deloitte and the US Council on Competitiveness. Japan, ...

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RUSSIA: China hosted President Medvedev to celebrate start-up of first cross border oil pipeline

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — China and Russia raised their ties to a new level this week with the completion of their first cross-border pipeline delivering crude oil from the world’s largest oil producer to the world’s largest energy user. They have also begun work on building a US$5 billion oil refinery in the...

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AUSTRALIA: China approves firm’s A$30 million investment in coal project with MetroCoal

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — The Chinese government has approved China Coal Import & Export Company (CCIEC)’s application to transfer A$30 million to its Australian subsidiary for the establishment of a joint venture with Australia’s MetroCoal to develop the Columboola coal reserves in Queensland’s Surat Basin. (US$1=A$1.05). Australia-based MetroCoal Limited made the announcement on...

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MARKETS: IEA maintains forecast for world oil demand to rise 1.5% to 87.9 million b/d next year

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — Sticking with its forecast from last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global oil demand to grow by 1.5% to 87.9 million b/d in 2011. The agency also kept unchanged its forecast for world oil demand to grow by 2.2% to reach 86.6 million b/d in 2010. While...

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MALAYSIA: Fluor awarded Shell’s refinery upgrade project

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — US engineering giant Fluor Corporation said it has been awarded a contract by Shell Refining Company to build a 6,000 tonnes-per-day diesel processing unit at its refinery in Port Dickson in Malaysia. Fluor said it will perform engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services as a follow-on scope of...

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SINGAPORE: Brightoil signs up three-year oil storage lease

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum said a wholly-owned subsidiary has signed a three-year lease to store oil products at a storage terminal in Singapore. The marine bunker supply and oil trading firm said that it plans to continue expanding its business in China and globally, and will likely expand its...

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PHILIPPINES: Cheap imported fuel may force one refinery to close

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — Under pressure from cheaper imported fuel, the Philippines may be forced to shut down the operation of one of its only two oil refineries. At a recent Congressional hearing, Energy Secretary Rene Almendras said that China’s moves to boost its refining capacity may make it more viable for the...

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MALAYSIA: Oil and gas sector to play major role in 2011-2015 national economic plan

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — The oil and gas sector has been given a key role in driving Malaysia’s economic growth under its new five-year plan to 2015. The Malaysian government is targeting the economy to switch to using imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) in place of oil by 2012, thus reducing its substantial...

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CHINA: August oil demand up 7.6% from year ago at 8.4 million b/d, says Platts

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — China consumed an estimated 35.54 million metric tons (mt) of oil in August, 7.6% higher than the corresponding month of last year, but still down from June’s all-time peak, according to a just-released Platts analysis of official Chinese data. The August apparent oil demand equates to an average 8.4...

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ASIA: Singapore aims for role as comprehensive regional LNG hub, says energy official

(EnergyAsia, September 30 2010, Thursday) — The following is an edited version of the speech delivered by Lawrence Wong, chief executive of Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA), at the World LNG Series (Asia-Pacific Summit) in Singapore on September 21. As countries worldwide strive to decarbonise their energy mix, natural gas will be an important part (more…)

SINGAPORE: DBS calls oil storage builder PEC an “undervalued cash cow”

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — DBS Vickers has maintained its ‘buy’ rating on the stock of Singapore-listed engineering and oil storage builder PEC Ltd, with a price target of S$1.31 a share for a 31% gain. (US$1=S$1.32). DBS Vickers reiterated its stance in light of what it calls PEC Ltd’s strong cash position and...

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CHINA: Russia to supply the bulk of crude oil to Tianjin refinery

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Russia’s Rosneft have agreed that their new 51/49 joint venture refinery in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin will process mostly Russian crude oil. Under the agreement, Russia will supply 70% of the refinery’s feedstock while the remainder will be sourced from suppliers...

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INDONESIA: Singapore’s Marco Polo Marine secured US$15.5 million coal shipment contract

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — Marco Polo Marine Ltd, a Singapore-based integrated marine logistics group, said its wholly-owned subsidiary, MP Shipping Co Pte Ltd (MPS), has secured a two-year coal shipment contract worth US$15.5 million. (US$ 1= S$1.33). The group said the contract with an unidentified Indonesian coal miner will begin this month with...

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INDIA: IOC to expand refining capacity to more than 80 million tons by 2012

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest refiner, is expanding its refining capacity by upgrading its Haldia and Panipat plants. Upon completion, IOC will have a total refining capacity of 64.7 million tons by the end of this year, up from 60.2 million tons now. That will rise to...

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CHINA: Longwei Petroleum reports 119% rise in FY2009 profit to US$31.3 million

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — China-based oil and gas storage and distributing company Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Limited said its gross profits for the fiscal year ended June 30 rose by 119% from US$31.3 million to US$68.5 million. Its total revenues jumped 72% to US$339.4 million over the same period. Longwei Petroleum president and...

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CHINA: Pipeline to start delivering gas from Kazakhstan later this year

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — Kazakhstan expects to soon start up the first of a five-phase 10,000-km long pipeline to deliver more than 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Central Asia to China. Connecting Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the pipeline will spur the development of economies in Central Asia, the Caspian Sea...

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AUSTRALIA: Record LNG production in 2009-10 due to growing world demand, says consultant

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — Rising global demand boosted Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production to levels in the last financial year to June 2010, said Australian energy economics group EnergyQuest. In a new report, the company said Australian LNG production grew by 7.5% from 17.4 million tonnes per year (mt/y) in FY2008 to...

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KAZAKHSTAN: Engineering management firm Mott MacDonald holds one-day oil and gas seminar

(EnergyAsia, September 29 2010, Wednesday) — Mott MacDonald, a UK-based global management, engineering and development consultancy, hosted a one-day seminar at the Grand Park Esil Hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan on September 21. More than 40 representatives from oil and gas, government and investment organisations attended the seminar, which helped raised Mott MacDonald’s profile in the (more…)