(EnergyAsia, September 29 2015, Tuesday) — Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries said a subsidiary will lead a joint venture firm to build a 426MW plant in Bangladesh valued at US$390 million. The Bangladesh government awarded the build-own-operate contract to Sembcorp Utilities to develop the project in the Sirajganj district by 2018. To be fuelled primarily by natural...

(EnergyAsia, September 24 2015, Thursday) — Essay by Simon Mabon, Lecturer in International Relations, Lancaster University, UK, published from www.TheConversation.com. The violent civil war in Syria and rise of Islamic State (IS) has forced millions to flee their homes, cascading across Europe in search of safety. And yet, despite the crisis unfolding on its doorstep,...

(EnergyAsia, September 16 2015, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries said subsidiary Thermal Powertech Corporation India (TPCIL) has begun fully operating its 1,320MW coal-fired power plant in Nellore in India’s Andhra Pradesh state. The company recently started up the second 660-megawatt unit of the US$1.5 billion plant in the coastal town of Krishnapatnam to follow through...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2015, Tuesday) — China’s slowing energy demand is further draining the financial life out of Australia’s thermal coal miners and services companies at a time when they are struggling with low commodity prices, said US ratings agency Moody’s. China’s thermal coal demand is declining amid the country’s slowing industrial production and push...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2015, Monday) — Boosted by a banking deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week, the newly appointed chairman of Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) said he plans to lift the force majeure on the country’s Ras Lanuf and As Sidra oil terminals, according to a briefing note from MAST Security....

(EnergyAsia, August 8 2015, Saturday) — Reflecting the growing strength of the US economy, its refiners have been operating at a record throughput of over 17 million b/d since mid-July, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The rolling four-week average of US gross refinery inputs has been above the five-year range every week so far...

(EnergyAsia, July 30 2015, Thursday) — Singapore’s port has issued a formal request for proposals to promote the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a shipping fuel as part of a long-term plan to remain one of the world’s leading energy hubs. On Tuesday, the Maritime Port Authority (MPA) launched its first request-for-proposal (RFP)...

(EnergyAsia, July 13 2015, Monday) — Crude oil prices are starting the second half of 2015 on the defensive as Greece’s economic crisis, China’s US$3.3-trillion stock market plunge and the West’s likely lifting of trade sanctions against Iran dominate the headlines. The oil markets are hovering at a three-month low with Brent ending last week...

(EnergyAsia, June 22 2015, Monday) — Led by Saudi Arabia in the Middle East and Brazil in Latin America, refiners failed to unleash a much-anticipated new “wave” of petroleum products to meet rising global demand, said a US energy consultant. In the first quarter of 2015 when global oil products demand roared to life, ESAI...

(EnergyAsia, June 18 2015, Thursday) — Following its £3.7b successful bid for oil producer Dragon Oil, Dubai’s state-owned Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) said it has secured a US$1.5 billion term debt facility from a syndicate of local, regional and international banks. The nine-year facility denominated in US dollars and UAE dirhams was fully underwritten...

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2015, Wednesday) — Weeks after divesting its stake in New Zealand’s only refinery, US major Chevron said it is selling its retail and lubricants operations to local company Z Energy for a total of NZ$785 million. (US$1=NZ$1.40). Chevron will sell 150 Caltex service stations together with 70 truck fuelling stations and the...

Comment by Grenatec (EnergyAsia, June 8 2015, Monday) — If US navy ships traverse the South China Sea to demonstrate freedom of navigation, what route might they take? A US Navy flotilla tour of the South China Sea could underscore Reed Bank’s potential as a Joint Development Area. One route could be a broad arc passing...

(EnergyAsia, May 26 2015, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia’s state-owned energy firm Aramco has opened an energy research centre in Beijing to help drive its innovation and technology development programme in China. Saudi petroleum minister Ali I. Al-Naimi officially opened the 4,400-square metre Beijing Research Center (BRC), the 10th in the company’s global research and development...

(EnergyAsia, May 18 2015, Monday) — Having done the hard part of attracting A$250 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) investments, Australia may yet miss out on A$55 billion worth of benefits when the new plants start up over the next few years, said consulting firm Accenture. (US$1=A$1.3). In a new report, the consulting...

(EnergyAsia, April 28 2015, Tuesday) — China faces a long list of risks in its strategy to develop the old Silk Route and a new maritime channel to connect Asia with the Middle East, Africa and Europe, said consultant Wood Mackenzie. Beijing’s ‘One Route One Belt’ strategy holds the promise of creating a new “commodity...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2015, Monday) — Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries said it has been awarded a contract to develop and operate what will be Myanmar’s largest gas-fired independent power plant. In securing its first investment in the country’s fast-growing power sector, Sembcorp said it beat off competition from international rivals for the proposed 225MW project in...

(EnergyAsia, Monday April 14 2015, Tuesday) — Gazprom Neft, the oil subsidiary of Russia’s leading gas producer Gazprom, said it plans to invest in Vietnam’s upstream sector as well as acquire a 49% stake in the country’s only oil refinery at Dung Quat. Gazprom Neft said its venture into the Southeast Asian country will be...

(EnergyAsia, April 9, 2015, Thursday) — Amid sharply reduced budgets and activities, the US shale sector is hoping for the stage to be set for oil prices to stabilise and eventually recover, said UK consultant Douglas-Westwood (DW). Another consultant Wood Mackenzie expects exploration costs to fall by a third, spurring drilling activity for 2016 to...

(EnergyAsia, April 6 2015, Monday) — Royal Dutch Shell said it has raised its Singapore ethylene production capacity to more than one million tonnes per year after recently completing a major expansion and upgrade at its Bukom Island complex. The company said its ethylene plant, which is linked to a 500,000 b/d refinery as part...

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2015, Monday) — US major Chevron has sold off its entire long-held 50% stake in Australia’s largest downstream company for A$4.7 billion to focus on developing its core Gorgon and Wheatstoneliquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. (US$1=A$1.30). Despite the exit, Chevron said in a statement it remains one of Australia’s largest foreign investors and...

(EnergyAsia, March 26 2015, Thursday) — Malaysia’s Johor state has started up Southeast Asia’s first commercial crude oil storage terminal with the receipt of one million barrels of Middle Eastern crude from a supertanker last week. MT Mesdar, a vessel chartered by France’s Total, docked at the Pengerang deepwater terminal jointly owned by Dutch oil...

(EnergyAsia, March 24 2015, Tuesday) — In response to the growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, the world’s largest shipping association said it is working with the industry to develop a new contract to provide for better risk and cost-management of the fuel’s transportation under voyage charter terms. The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO),...

(EnergyAsia, March 19 2015, Thursday) — Asia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices will enjoy a brief rally in the summer that will be quickly cut down by the start-up of new production capacity in Australia, predicts energy consultant Wood Mackenzie. The expected resumption of operations at some nuclear plants in Japan will also pressure Asian...

(EnergyAsia, March 18 2015, Wednesday) — CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives market operator, said it and two US firms expect to launch a physically delivered crude oil storage futures contract on March 29 upong receiving US regulatory approval. The Chicago-based firm said it jointly developed the pioneering contract with LOOP LLC, operator of the...