(EnergyAsia, May 30 2014, Friday) — Australia has started channelling its inner Hamlet as it prepares to become the next global king of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The thrill over its rapid ascension to hydrocarbon wealth and power is increasingly giving way to doubts and guilt over the uncertain long-term impacts of LNG exports...
AUSTRALIA: Singapore’s Puma Energy starts up fuel terminal in Queensland state
(EnergyAsia, May 29 2014, Thursday) — Australia’s largest independent fuel operator has started up a new A$70 million storage and distribution terminal in Mackay in Queensland state, adding to its global network of more than 62 bulk fuel terminals. (US$1=A$1.05). Singapore-based Puma Energy said the facility, Australia’s first greenfield fuel terminal, comprises six tanks with...
IRAN: Oil trade and investment with China continues to grow
(EnergyAsia, May 29 2014, Thursday) — The collapse of US-led economic sanctions against Iran is all but complete with China increasing its oil trade and investment with the Middle Eastern powerhouse. Following on last week’s landmark US$400-billion deal to import natural gas from Russia, China is said to be planning to invest more than US$2...
RUSSIA: Ruble and yuan to be used in US$400 billion gas deal with China
(EnergyAsia, May 28 2014, Wednesday) — In a move to reduce trade dependence on the US dollar, Russia and China have agreed to use their currencies to settle payment for their breakthrough US$400 billion natural gas deal signed last week. At the same time that Gazprom signed the 30-year deal to supply China National Petroleum...
MARKETS: IEA raised forecasts for 2014 global oil demand to 92.8 million b/d, expressed supply concern
(EnergyAsia, May 28 2014, Wednesday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised its latest forecast for 2014’s global oil demand to 92.8 million b/d, up significantly from the previous month’s prediction of 92.68 million b/d. This implies a rise of more than 1.5% over last year’s consumption of 91.4 million b/d, putting pressure on...
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: ExxonMobil-led consortium exports first LNG cargo
(EnergyAsia, May 27 2014, Tuesday) — An ExxonMobil-led consortium has exported the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its newly launched 6.9 million tonnes/year project in Papua New Guinea. The US$19 billion PNG LNG project started up several months ahead of schedule to ship out the cargo to Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc...
RUSSIA: Gazprom to help market Yamal LNG, plans listing in Singapore
(EnergyAsia, May 27 2014, Tuesday) — Russian gas giant Gazprom has agreed to help market liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region to India and other parts of Asia through its soon-to-be-listed Singapore subsidiary. Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer, last week signed an agreement to supply Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore up...
SINGAPORE: Temasek’s Pavilion Energy, BW Group jointly set up LNG shipping firm
(EnergyAsia, May 26 2014, Monday) — Singapore’s Pavilion Energy and commodities shipper BW Group said they will form a joint venture to manage, acquire and charter liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping assets. BW Pavilion LNG Pte Ltd will start by operating one existing and two new LNG carriers. Pavilion Energy, a unit of Temasek Holdings...
AUSTRALIA: Policy mistakes, cost over-runs that Canada must avoid in building LNG projects
(EnergyAsia, May 26 2014, Monday) — The builder of Canada’s largest proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project has told the country’s regulators to avoid repeating Australia’s mistakes in making policies that have led to cost over-runs and start-up delays. Malaysia’s state-owned energy firm Petronas is drawing on its costly experience as a minority partner in...
AUSTRALIA: Petroleum association urges Western Australia state to “embrace” floating LNG (FLNG) opportunities
(EnergyAsia, May 23 2014, Friday) — Western Australia state must embrace the economic and employment opportunities provided by the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) industry to build international competitiveness and attract the next wave of resource investment, said a senior official of the country’s petroleum association. The fast developing FLNG sector and its technology have (more…)
RUSSIA: Gazprom and CNPC sign record US$400 billion deal for natural gas supply to China
(EnergyAsia, May 22 2014, Thursday) — After a decade of negotiations, Russia’s Gazprom and state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) have signed a 30-year agreement for the annual supply of 38 billion cubic metres of natural gas to China worth a record total of US$400 billion for both companies. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and CNPC...
ASIA: Australia leads region as major shale developer, says GlobalData
(EnergyAsia, May 21 2014, Wednesday) — Research and consulting firm GlobalData has identified two large Asian countries as the next hotspots for the development of unconventional oil and gas resources, with Australia having the edge over China. According to the UK firm, China has approximately 643 billion barrels of prospective shale oil and 4,746 trillion...
AUSTRALIA: Chevron affirms US$54 billion Gorgon LNG is on track for mid-2015 start-up
(EnergyAsia, May 20 2014, Tuesday) — US major Chevron has affirmed that it is on course to start up its massive Gorgon gas development and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off the coast of West Australia state by mid-2015. In a conference call, CFO Pat Yarrington assured investors that the US$54 billion project, which had...
US: Refiners profiting from lower crude feedstock costs, outperform rivals in Europe says EIA
(EnergyAsia, May 19 2014, Monday) — While many refiners in Europe and Asia are struggling to stay afloat, their North American counterparts are profiting from sustained high margins brought on by an unexpected prolonged period of low domestic crude feedstock cost, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency said 2013 was the third...
MARKETS: BofA Merrill Lynch sees oil price weakness ahead, with risk of WTI plunging to US$50 by 2016
(EnergyAsia, May 19 2014, Monday)— US WTI benchmark crude could plunge by half to US$50 a barrel within the next 12 to 24 months as rising global supplies outweigh geopolitical risks and demand growth, said BofA Merrill Lynch. “We forecast average WTI crude oil prices of US$94 per barrel in 2014 and US$91 in 2015,...
MARKETS: GlobalData predicts Asia-Pacific LNG prices to “erode in the near future” on rising production
(EnergyAsia, May 16 2014, Friday) — Liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices across the Asia-Pacific region will come under pressure in the near term on rising production in the region and likely exports from the US, said consultant GlobalData. Its analyst James Hand cites the impending start-up of the ExxonMobil-led US$19 billion project in Papua New...
AUSTRALIA: Queensland LNG projects on course for start-up in 2014 and 2015 as state government re-affirms support
(EnergyAsia, May 16 2014, Friday) — Australia’s Queensland state government has rejected the concerns of environmental groups and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in affirming its support for two liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects worth a total of US$40 billion that are due to start up near Gladstone in 2014 and 2015....
ASIA: Wartsila focusing on small-to-mid-scale LNG projects with integrated terminal-power plant concept
(EnergyAsia, May 15 2014, Thursday) — Finland’s Wartsila is focusing on building small-to-mid scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and re-gasification terminals that can be integrated with power-generation plants. An integrated gas terminal-power plant complex is “especially suitable for feeding natural gas to local industries and, in some cases, to a single consumer such as...
RUSSIA: IMF sees major downside risks as economy slows sharply amid worsening geopolitical tension with the West
(EnergyAsia, May 15 2014, Thursday) — Russia’s economic growth will slow sharply to a miserly 0.2% this year from last year’s 1.3% as rising political tensions with the West accelerate capital flight, reduce in-bound investment flows and stoke inflation, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Already hobbled by what the IMF has described as “pre-existing...
US: Analysts warn of self-inflicted damage from release of strategic petroleum reserve to punish Russia over Ukraine crisis
(EnergyAsia, May 14 2014, Wednesday) — Analysts said US should brace for self-inflicted damages if it proceeds with a plan to release crude oil from its 700-million barrel strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) to punish Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Media reports have suggested the Obama administration plans to sell anything from five million barrels of...
ASIA: Region’s LNG policies still evolving, China to remain coal-dependent, says consultant
(EnergyAsia, May 13 2014, Tuesday) — Amid continued uncertainties over energy demand-supply outlook, Asian governments are still evolving their policies toward liquefied natural gas (LNG) while China will remain addicted to coal, said UK consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. In recent separate comments, the company said uncertainty over Asian governments’ energy policies is limiting the development...
AUSTRALIA: LNG export volume to more than triple between FY2012 and 2018
(EnergyAsia, May 12 2014, Monday) — Australia’s export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will more than triple from 24 million tonnes in financial year 2012 to 79 million tonnes six years later, said the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE). With several major projects due to start up over the next few years in...
ASIA: South Korea and Japan building up storage infrastructure to serve growing oil trade, says IEA
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2014, Friday) — South Korea and Japan are positioning to become northern Asia’s hub to serve the region’s growing oil traffic by expanding their storage facilities and adopting trade-friendly policies and regulations, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). In its April market report, the IEA said South Korea has made it a...
ASIA: Natural gas market to become world’s second largest next year, predicts Germany-based analyst
(EnergyAsia, May 9 2014, Friday) — Building on a decade of rapid growth, Asia’s annual natural gas consumption will rise to 790 billion cubic metres (bcm) next year, making it the world’s second largest after the US, an analyst from Germany’s Centre for European Security Strategies has predicted. Asia’s surging appetite for natural gas has...
RUSSIA: G7 ministers admit Europe will depend on Moscow for natural gas supply “for years” as Ukraine civil war looms
(EnergyAsia, May 8 2014, Thursday) — Europe’s inability to intervene in Ukraine’s crisis has been laid bare with the G7 industrial nations admitting this week that the continent will remain dependent on Russia for natural gas supplies “for years”. Meeting in Rome, the energy ministers of the seven industrialised nations could only state that they...