MALAYSIA: Petronas to acquire Canada’s Progress Energy for US$5.5 billion, build LNG terminal in Prince Rupert?

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2012, Friday) — Malaysia’s state-owned energy company Petronas has agreed to purchase Canadian gas producer Progress Energy Resources Corp for C$5.5-billion, and to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in the coastal town of Prince Rupert. (US$1=C$1.03). The proposed acquisition will build on the companies’ previous announcement to develop a portion (more…)

ASIA: Shah Deniz consortium selects second gas export route option to Europe, says BP

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2012, Friday) — The Shah Deniz consortium, led by UK’s BP and Norway’s Statoil, has concluded its evaluation of potential gas export routes towards Southeastern and Central Europe. In a statement, the consortium operator BP said the Nabucco West project with a route running from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Baumgarten has been (more…)

CHINA: MIE to acquire 51% stake in Sino Gas & Energy, secures exploration contract extension in Kazakhstan

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2012, Friday) — Hong Kong-listed upstream firm MIE Holdings Corporation said it has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Sino Gas & Energy Limited (SGE) as part of a strategic partnership with its Australia-listed parent firm, Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Limited, which is undertaking exploration work in China’s Shanxi province. MIE (more…)

KAZAKHSTAN: Government to pay US$2 billion for 10% stake in Karachaganak oil and gas project

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2012, Friday) — The Kazakhstan government has agreed to pay a Western consortium US$2 billion for an immediate 10% stake in the development of the country’s Karachaganak condensate and gas fields that is shaping up to be one of the largest upstream projects in the world. In a statement, key shareholder UK’s (more…)

MARKETS: IEA slice forecast for 2012 world oil demand to 89.9 million b/d

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2012, Thursday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reduced its June forecast for world oil demand to slightly under 89.9 million b/d for 2012, down from 90 million b/d in its previous forecast last month. In its latest oil market report, the Paris-based agency cited the “muted economic backdrop” for its...

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THAILAND: Oil stockpile to be raised from 60 days to 90 days of consumption

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2012, Thursday) — The Thai government has approved a plan to invest around 200-billion baht to raise the country’s emergency oil stockpile to meet 90 days of consumption, up from the current level of 60 days, said Energy Minister Arak Chonlathanont. (US$1=32 baht). While details including the location and type of storage...

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: NGOs outline challenges facing ExxonMobil’s US$16 billion LNG project

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2012, Thursday) — A coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has issued a report outlining the challenges and negative impacts arising from an increasingly troubled US$16 billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea’s Hela province. ExxonMobil is leading a consortium to extract natural gas from the onshore Hela region (more…)

MARKETS: Harvard study forecasts sharp increase in world oil production capacity, and risk of price collapse

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2012, Thursday) — Oil production capacity is surging in the US and several other countries at such a fast pace that global oil output capacity is likely to grow by nearly 20% by 2020, which could prompt a plunge or even a collapse in oil prices, according to a new study by (more…)

MYANMAR: Thai upstream firm PTTEP eyes expansion after securing another two exploration deals

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2012, Wednesday) — Thai state upstream firm PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) is targeting Myanmar for expansion after securing its another two production sharing contracts with state Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MGOE). PTTEP, which will partner with Myanmar’s Win Precious Resources Pte Ltd (WPR), signed the agreement early (more…)

CHINA: Shell JV building products storage terminal in Tianjin

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2012, Wednesday) —  Shell North China Oil Group, a joint venture between the major and China’s Tianjin State Farms Agribusiness Group, is investing 550-million yuan to build a 200,000-cubic metre (cbm) storage terminal in the northern Chinese city port of Tianjin. (US$1=6.36 yuan). The company is aiming to complete and start up...

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CHINA: Oil demand up only 0.5% in May on further evidence of slowing economy, says Platts

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2012, Wednesday) — In a clear sign of a slowing economy, China’s apparent oil demand rose just 0.5% year-on-year in May to 39.72 million metric tons (mt), or 9.39 million b/d, said US energy media Platts. According to an analysis of Chinese government data, Platts said the country’s May oil demand was...

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CHINA: CNOOC building 60,000 b/d refining unit to produce lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2012, Wednesday) — CNOOC, China’s third-largest oil refiner, is building a 60,000-b/d plant in eastern Jiangsu province to process crude for its production of lubricants and petrochemicals. The 10.2-billion-yuan plant to be built alongside an existing refining unit in Taizhou city is expected to start up in 2015. CNOOC, parent of offshore...

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INDONESIA: State Pertamina takes risky route by acquiring Venezuelan assets

(EnergyAsia, June 26 2012, Tuesday) — In its search for energy security, Indonesia is looking half way across the globe to another oil-producing country that shares its reputation for making unpredictable policies based on a mix of populism and resource nationalism. Last week, Pertamina, the Indonesian state oil and gas monopoly, announced that it has...

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CHINA: Wison Offshore & Marine awarded contract for construction of floating LNG unit

(EnergyAsia, June 26 2012, Tuesday) — Wison Offshore & Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of China’s Wison Group, said it has secured a contract from the Exmar group to undertake the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of the world’s first floating LNG liquefaction, regasification and storage unit (FLRSU). The unit will be deployed off (more…)

MARKETS: Doubts over data and supply outlook cloud BP’s report that world oil reserves grew by 1.9%

(EnergyAsia, June 26 2012, Tuesday) — The world still has serious energy worries ahead despite a near 1.9% rise in its oil reserves to a record 1,653 billion barrels at the end of 2011 to keep well ahead of consumption growth of only 0.7%, according to BP’s latest annual Statistical Review of World Energy. Exploration (more…)

SRI LANKA: Trincomalee port to get US$4 billion investment

(EnergyAsia, June 26 2012, Tuesday) — A private company is set to become Sri Lanka’s largest private investor if and when it completes its US$4 billion programme to develop a heavy industry zone and infrastructure in Sri Lanka’s north-eastern Trincomalee harbour. According to the state Board of Investment (BOI), Sri Lanka Gateway Industries Pvt Ltd (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Carbon tax to fall on 294 large polluters from July 1

(EnergyAsia, June 25 2012, Monday) — After years of heated domestic debate over how best to combat its high output of greenhouse gases, Australia will impose a groundbreaking carbon tax on 294 of its biggest polluters from July 1. Companies and local governments that produce more than 25,000 metric tons (28,000 tons) of carbon dioxide...

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AUSTRALIA: Coal production, emissions to soar despite July 1 carbon tax, says research firm RepuTex

(EnergyAsia, June 25 2012, Monday) — Australian’s coal production and greenhouse gas emissions will rise to record levels as it continues to attract investments despite increased cost from the imposition of a new carbon tax from July 1 as part of the government’s long-term clean energy plan, said carbon analytics firm RepuTex.According to the company’s (more…)

CHINA: Natural gas consumption to rise from 130 bcm in 2011 to 550 bcm by 2030, says CNPC chief

(EnergyAsia, June 25 2012, Monday) — China’s natural gas consumption will rise from 130.7 billion cubic metres last year to 200 bcm by 2020 and 550 bcm by 2030, said the president of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). Since 2000, it has risen by 5.3 times to make China the world’s fourth largest natural gas (more…)

INDIA: ONGC and China’s CNPC to collaborate in oil and gas projects

(EnergyAsia, June 25 2012, Monday) — Two leading state oil and gas companies of India and China have signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in upstream and downstream projects around the world. India’s ONGC said its chairman and managing director, Sudhir Vasudeva, and China National Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) chairman, Jiang Jiemin, signed (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Coal sector hit by rising cost, slowing demand, environmental concerns

(EnergyAsia, June 22 2012, Friday) — Australia’s coal industry is taking a well-deserved break after years of rapid expansion as it surveys a host of uncertainties brought on by the global economic outlook, rising construction and production costs, and environmental opposition. Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) recently issued a report citing weak...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Oil production seen below 10 million b/d in June

(EnergyAsia, June 22 2012, Friday) — Saudi Arabia is expected to keep its crude oil production well below 10 million b/d after averaging around 9.8 million b/d in May. The world’s leading crude oil exporter has more than achieved its earlier threat to bring down oil prices when it raised production to a 30-year high...

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MARKETS: Further weakness ahead with oil at 18-month low as Brent falls below US$90, WTI under US$80

(EnergyAsia, June 22 2012, Friday) — The oil markets hit an 18-month low with Brent crude futures sinking below US$90 a barrel and US benchmark WTI crashing through US$80 on further evidence of slowing economic activities in the US, Europe and Asia. Both benchmarks lost more than 3% of their overnight value with Brent touching (more…)

SAUDI ARABIA: IMF forecasts economy to grow by 6% after expanding 7.1% in 2011

(EnergyAsia, June 22 2012, Friday) — As a result of weaker oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s economy is expected to grow by 6% this year after expanding 7.1% last year, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a report issued after an IMF team met with Saudi officials last month, the fund praised the government for providing (more…)

SINGAPORE: IEV completes fabrication and load-out of refurbished platform within six months of award

(EnergyAsia, June 21 2012, Thursday) — Singapore-listed IEV Holdings Limited said it has completed on schedule the RM262-million engineering, fabrication and load-out work on a four-legged jacket and refurbished topside of a wellhead platform that is part of a bigger project that started last December. (US$1=RM3.2). The project involved the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of (more…)