(EnergyAsia, February 9, Tuesday) — FloaTEC Singapore Pte Ltd has secured a US$1 billion contract with Papa-Terra, a joint venture between Chevron and Petrobras, to build and operate a P-61 tension leg wellhead platform (TLWP) in Brazil’s Papa-Terra oilfield. FloaTEC is an equal joint venture between Singapore’s rig builder Keppel FELS Ltd and J. Ray...

(EnergyAsia, February 17 2010, Wednesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that it and the UK government are financing a study to help South Asia analyse the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation actions. ADB is providing a $500,000 technical assistance grant from its concessional funds, and the UK’s Department for International Development...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — Singapore Emulsion Fuel Pte Ltd (SgEF) said it has opened Asia’s first clear nano-emulsion diesel plant in Singapore’s Tuas industrial zone. The 40,000 sq ft facility will cater to the growing demand for clean energy domestically and across the Asia-Pacific region. SgEF, which counts SPRING SEEDS Capital as an...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it has secured a contract from Aramco Overseas Company BV, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest producer and exporter of crude oil and natural gas liquids, to build a customised KFELS Super B Class jackup rig. The contract is subject to a...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) said an EU directive requiring vessels to use low-sulphur fuel in European ports took effect on January 1, and has not been postponed as recently rumoured. IBIA said EU Directive 2005/33/EC prescribes that from January 1, 2010, member states must take necessary steps...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — The South Korean government plans to establish a wind power complex with a power generation capacity of 40 megawatts (MW) on reclaimed land at Saemangeum. The complex will be used to monitor and record the operation of domestically-manufactured wind power generators 2 MW capacity each to ensure that they...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — Foreign companies are being blocked from entering China’s fast growing wind power market, said Thorstan Herdan of the German Engineering Federation. He said German industry representatives have complained to the Chinese government and are asking for better access and reduced barrier to entry into the world’s fastest major wind...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — American Superconductor Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed power technology company, said it has received an initial order for full wind turbine electrical control systems from China’s Shenyang Blower Works (Group) Co Ltd (SBW) worth US$70 million. The systems will be deployed in the 2 megawatt (MW) doubly fed induction wind turbines...

(EnergyAsia, February 12 2010, Friday) — The efforts of Asia Pacific countries to meet their green energy objectives bode well for the smart grid market in the region as governments have issued regulatory mandates requiring utilities to modernise their grids. The utilities, spurred on by government funding and the cost saving benefits of the advanced...

(EnergyAsia, February 11 2010, Thursday) — Rapid industrial growth and urbanisation in China’s Yunnan province have caused serious pollution and environmental problems that are threatening its continued economic expansion. To address the issue, the provincial government will work towards striking a balance between economic development and environmental protection through a project supported by a $400,000...

(EnergyAsia, February 11 2010, Thursday) — Singapore has joined other countries in taking a less urgent stance in the fight to slow down global warming. The global economic recession, the failure of last December’s climate change summit in Copenhagen and the growing scandal implicating scientists for falsifying data to exaggerate the rate of global warming...

(EnergyAsia, February 11 2010, Thursday) — US-based Asia Energy Management Systems Inc has offered to buy a 21.4% stake in Sri Lankan hydro power company Vallibel Power Erathna PLC for 800 million rupees. (US$1=170 rupees). Accuity Partners, the offer manager, said in a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange that Asia Energy has an undertaking...

(EnergyAsia, February 11 2010, Thursday) — Germany’s Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), together with French financier Proparco, said they have granted India’s Bhoruka Power Corporation Ltd (BPCL) a long-term loan of 15.3 million euros for the development of a wind farm. (US$1=0.73 euro). DEG will provide 8.3 million euro while Proparco will lend seven...

(EnergyAsia, Febraury 11 2010, Thursday) — Hawaii-based Hoku Scientific Inc said it has signed a letter of intent with Tianwei New Energy Holdings Co Ltd, a Chinese provider of silicon wafers, photovoltaic (PV) cells, modules and systems, to explore the establishment and capitalisation of an investment fund that would provide dedicated financing for PV power...

(EnergyAsia, February 11 2010, Thursday) —GE Energy Financial Services said it has granted Indonesia’s largest geothermal power producer a US$50 million loan for the construction of a  220-megawatt (MW) emissions-free plant located near the town of Pangalengan, 200 km southeast of Jakarta. The GE subsidiary made the loan to a subsidiary of Star Energy, a...

(EnergyAsia, February 11 2010, Thursday) — US-based Solar EnerTech Corp said it has secured an agreement with Aussie Solar Installations, a division of Carbon Management Solutions Pty Ltd, to distribute its solar panel modules in Australia. Carbon Management Solutions is one of Australia’s leading distributors of solar power equipment. Aussie Solar has specialised in the...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — A senior South Korean minister wants the government to “be cautious” on a proposed plan to cut the nation’s carbon emissions by 4% by 2020 from 2005 levels. Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Kyoung-hwan recently said the government will have to study the plan’s possible negative impact on jobs and...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — Representatives from DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE), the University of Tennessee and Genera Energy have jointly launched one of the world’s first cellulosic ethanol demonstration facilities, located in Vonore in the US state of Tennessee. The 74,000-sq-ft plant has started producing ethanol and will deliver low-cost, fully-integrated technology for...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — A hot spring in Singapore’s Sembawang district could be tapped for geothermal power to potentially support the electricity requirements of 50,000 homes, a geologist has concluded. Grahame Oliver, a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore, revealed his findings last year after studying the geological formation and the...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and US-based Weyerhaeuser Company said they have signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the possibilities of collaborating in the biomass-to-energy business. The companies are specifically interested in assessing the feasibility of jointly investing in and operating a commercial-scale bio-pellet production facility in the...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — Singapore will do its part in curbing greenhouse gas emissions but it will not be at the expense of sacrificing economic growth, Yaacob Ibrahim, the country’s environment and water resources minister, has said. The position of the city-state is similar to that of other countries in the Association of...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — Facing fierce competition from their Chinese rivals and a slump in orders, South Korea’s shipbuilding giants are diversifying into manufacturing wind turbines. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, the country’s leading shipbuilder, has started up a wind facility manufacturing plant last October. Earlier, it signed a contract to provide US-based Wave...

(EnergyAsia, February 10 2010, Wednesday) — The carbon development market is expected to continue growing after achieving US$126 billion worth of transactions in 2008, almost double its value in 2007, said consultant Frost & Sullivan. By the end of the first commitment phase in 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol, the world is expected to have...

(EnergyAsia, February 9 2010, Tuesday) — Shareholders of CNPC (Hong Kong) Limited has approved the company’s proposal to change its name to Kunlun Energy Company Limited.   The company said the new name will enable it to align with its new strategy to diversify into the natural gas downstream distribution and application businesses. “The board...

(EnergyAsia, February 9 2010, Tuesday) — China Wind Power International Corp (CWP), a company listed on Canada’s Toronto Stock Exchange, said it will be focusing its efforts on developing wind farms in China’s Heilongjiang province. The company said the province’s Development and Reform Commission recently approved a new and renewable energy industry development master plan...