PAPUA NEW GUINEA: LNG project starting up ahead of schedule, says ExxonMobil

(EnergyAsia, April 30 2014, Wednesday) — Breaking ranks with an industry notorious for start-up delays, Exxon Mobil Corp said it will begin production at its US$19 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Papua New Guinea ahead of schedule. The plant’s first train is expected to begin production in “the coming weeks” with the first cargo...

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CHINA: Canada secures largest single export deal with Sinopec’s buy-in of 15% stake in Petronas-led LNG project

(EnergyAsia, April 30 2014, Wednesday) — Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas has taken a major step forward in building a US$35 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in western Canada with the sale of a 15% stake to China’s state-owned China Petrochemical Corp or Sinopec. The Chinese firm has also agreed to purchase a total of 4.8...

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THAILAND: PTTEP boosts hydrocarbon reserves and production with US$1 billion acquisition of Hess Corp assets

(EnergyAsia, April 29 2014, Tuesday) — Thailand’s state-owned upstream firm PTTEP said it will boost its hydrocarbon production by 17,000 of oil equivalent (boed) with the US$1 billion acquisition of Hess Corp’s stakes in four active blocks in the country. The US firm owns a 15% stake in block B12/27 comprising the Pailin, Morakot and...

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RUSSIA: France’s Total is buyer of first oil from Arctic’s offshore Prirazlomnoye field, says Greenpeace

(EnergyAsia, April 28 2014, Monday) — Greenpeace has identified French major Total as the buyer of the first cargo of oil produced from Russia’s offshore Prirazlomnoye field. In making the claim, Greenpeace accused Total of hypocrisy, citing a previous pledge by the company’s CEO to avoid Arctic oil drilling due to the consequences of a...

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OMAN: State Orpic to invest US$7 billion in refinery, pipeline and plastics projects

(EnergyAsia, April 28 2014, Monday) — State-owned Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has begun work on US$7 billion worth of investments to develop the sultanate into a major energy hub to serve the Middle East. CEO Musab Al Mahruqi said Orpic is upgrading its Sohar oil refinery, building a 290km pipeline to...

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US: ESAI foresees “tidal wave” of refined product exports over the next two years, but limited global demand for crude

(EnergyAsia, April 25 2014, Friday) — The US will export a “tidal wave” of refined products over the next two years, but will have trouble finding international demand for its light crude, said consultant ESAI Energy. Thanks to low feedstock prices brought on by the surge in North American crude oil output, US Gulf Coast...

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MIDDLE EAST: Railway development to fuel region’s petrochemicals trade, says association

(EnergyAsia, April 24 2014, Thursday) — Boosted by the expansion of rail and transport infrastructure throughout the Middle East, the region’s petrochemicals trade is set for rapid growth in the coming years, predicts the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA). Most of that growth will take place among the more affluent six member states of...

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RUSSIA: Putin supports Shell’s plan to expand Sakhalin LNG plant

(EnergyAsia, April 24 2014, Thursday) — Royal Dutch Shell has secured the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin for its plans to expand oil and gas production around Sakhalin Island to meet rising demand in the Far East. Shell and its partners will likely proceed with a planned 50% expansion of the country’s only liquefied...

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RUSSIA: Putin announces Arctic naval bases as Gazprom names new crude blend ARCO

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2014, Wednesday) — Russia will establish an integrated system of naval bases backed by the latest telecommunications system and infrastructure to defend its interest in the Arctic, President Vladimir Putin announced days after he hailed the shipment of the first cargo of crude oil extracted from the region’s freezing waters. The bases...

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MYANMAR: Local trader to build oil depot to serve port near Yangon

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2014, Wednesday) — A Myanmar trading firm has been approved to build an oil storage depot to serve the Thilawa deepsea port located 25 km south of the country’s commercial city of Yangon. Denko Trading Company will build and operate the depot on a 9.7-hectare site for a limited lease period, according...

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MARKETS: EIA maintains latest forecasts for global oil demand growth for 2014 and 2015

(EnergyAsia, April 22 2014, Tuesday) — Amid signs of slower economic growth in China and Europe, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is keeping unchanged its April forecasts for global oil demand growth from its previous March call. The world will consume 91.61 million this year and b/d 92.97 million b/d in 2015, said the US...

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MIDDLE EAST: South Korean firms continue to secure large orders in refinery projects

(EnergyAsia, April 22 2014, Tuesday) — South Korean engineering firms have secured contracts worth a total of US$7.2 billion to expand and upgrade two refineries in Kuwait to add to an earlier US$6 billion order for work on an Iraqi refinery. Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd said it will be involved in two separate...

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RUSSIA: Gazprom ships first Arctic oil cargo as Putin proclaims start of mass extraction of region’s resources

(EnergyAsia, April 21 2014, Monday) — Russia has gained first-mover advantage in the mass exploitation of the Arctic’s vast oil and gas reserves. Four months after it started production work in the offshore Prirazlomnoye field, the oil subsidiary of gas giant Gazprom has shipped its first crude cargo produced from the platform stormed by 28...

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IRAN: Jask Island to be site of second crude oil export terminal

(EnergyAsia, April 18 2014, Friday) — Iran is planning to develop Jask Island on the Gulf of Oman as its second crude oil export terminal after Kharg Island which serves the Persian Gulf. State-owned companies are preparing to build the terminal and oil storage facilities, and a 2,200km pipeline linking them to Iran’s oilfields. President...

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MARKETS: IEA holds forecast for 2014 global oil demand, sees non-OPEC supply gains offsetting OPEC decline

(EnergyAsia, April 17 2014, Thursday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has kept its latest forecast for 2014 global oil demand at 92.7 million b/d, unchanged from its March report. Growth in Asian demand will offset a decline in Russia which will experience an economic slowdown from the impact of the Crimea crisis. In its...

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KAZAKHSTAN: Lukoil agrees to sell 50% stake in oil firm to partner Sinopec

(EnergyAsia, April 17 2014, Thursday) — Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, will soon fully own a Kazakhstan crude oil producing firm after agreeing to pay US$1.2 billion to buy out its equal partner, Russia’s Lukoil. The deal, expected to close by end-2014 after clearing regulatory and shareholder approvals, will strengthen the Chinese firm’s plan to...

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SINGAPORE: SGX says value of 26 listed oil firms gained 8.5% over past 12 months

(EnergyAsia, April 16 2014, Wednesday) — Singapore Exchange (SGX) said its 26 listed oil services stocks rewarded investors with an average 8.5% gain through capital appreciation and dividends over the past 12 months. The 26 stocks had a market capitalisation a total of S$9.5 billion on Monday, with 18 distributing dividends at an average indicative...

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AUSTRALIA: An overview of the natural gas industry, and its role in the global LNG trade

(EnergyAsia, April 16 2014, Wednesday) — Australians are concerned that they may end up paying higher prices for domestic natural gas supplies as the country surges ahead of Qatar to become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) later this decade. In a recent survey, the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE)...

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CHINA: Net imports of petroleum and liquid fuels exceeded US last September, says EIA

(EnergyAsia, April 15 2014, Tuesday) — China overtook the US as the world’s largest net importer of petroleum and liquid fuels last September, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Rising by a projected annual rate of just 5% between 2011 and 2014, China’s domestic fuels production is expected to lag behind consumption growth, said...

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JAPAN: Abe Cabinet approves plan to expand coal’s role in energy mix, deals major setback to UN IPCC’s climate goals

(EnergyAsia, April 15 2014, Tuesday) — Days after the UN published a major report warning of further climate catastrophe from the world’s growing fossil fuels production and consumption, Japan announced it plans to develop coal as a major energy source. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week approved a new national energy plan...

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MALAYSIA: Oil storage terminal starts up in Pengerang

(EnergyAsia, April 14 2014, Monday) — Malaysia has started up its largest commercial oil storage terminal with an initial capacity to hold 432,000 cubic metres (cbm) of clean products to compete against as well as complement the trading role of neighbouring Singapore. The US$600 million terminal at Pengerang in southern Johor state took in a...

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JAPAN: Support for coal-fired power plants in Indonesia and Turkey

(EnergyAsia, April 14 2014, Monday) — Japanese companies are helping efforts to develop coal-fired power plants in Indonesia and Turkey. They are working with Indonesia’s state-owned power producer PT PLN to build energy-efficient plants equipped with ultra supercritical coal (USC) technology, and conducting feasibility studies for two plants in southern Turkey. PLN and a group...

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CHINA: Singapore’s Keppel Corp to manage Titan Petrochemicals’ shipyard in Quanzhou

(EnergyAsia, April 11 2014, Friday) — Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd said its wholly owned subsidiary, FELS Offshore Pte Ltd, has signed an agreement to manage Titan Petrochemicals Group Limited’s shipyard in Quanzhou, China for 30 years. The shipyard is owned by main shareholder Chinese commodities trader Guangdong Zhenrong Energy Co Ltd (GDZR) and...

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JAPAN: IEEJ analyst criticises Abenomics for nation’s record trade losses on rising energy import cost

(EnergyAsia, April 11 2014, Friday) — Japan’s trading losses will continue to rise after reaching a record 20.7-trillion yen last year on the back of soaring energy import costs caused partly by the government’s misplaced economic policy, said a senior economist at the Tokyo-based Institute of Energy Economics of Japan (IEEJ). (US$1=102 yen). In a...

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VIETNAM: Foster Wheeler awarded contract to supply two pulverised coal steam generators

(EnergyAsia, April 10 2014, Thursday) — Switzerland-based engineering giant Foster Wheeler AG said a subsidiary of its global power group has been awarded a contract to design and supply two pulverised coal arch fired steam generators for use at a power plant in Vietnam. Japan’s Marubeni Corp awarded the contract for the two generators to...

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