INDONESIA: Karaha Bodas legal case against Pertamina makes progress in Singapore

Power company Karaha Bodas Company’s (KBC) legal effort in Singapore advanced this week after Pertamina, Indonesia’s state oil and gas company, dropped a procedural objection to the proceedings. KBC is attempting to secure payment on a US$261 million arbitral award granted to the company as the result of a failed joint venture with Pertamina. To...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: Banpu cuts FY sales forecast to 12 billion baht vs 13-14 billion baht

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Banpu Plc chief executive Chanin Vongkusolkit said the company has cut its sales forecast for this year to 12 billion baht from 13-14 billion baht as it puts on hold the acquisition of Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc’s power plant. (US$1=40 baht). The revised forecast figure is still 60% higher than last year’s...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Cheung Kong Infra – H1 fall reflects last year’s one-off gain from Powercor sale

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd said its six months to June net profit fell to HK$1.491 billion from HK$1.509 billion a year earlier, mainly due to lower extraordinary income compared with last year’s one-off gains from the sale of the retail business of Powercor Australia Ltd. (US$1=HK$7.87). Analysts polled by AFX-ASIA...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Gas supplies from Eastern Australian gas may not be sufficient to meet demand

There is growing concern that Australia’s natural gas supplies will not be able to keep pace with growing demand over the medium to longer term, particularly in eastern Australia, said the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE). Its executive director, Brian Fisher, said made the comment earlier when releasing the ABARE’s report on...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Sinopec to build US$1 b refinery complex in Qingdao, 10 million ton/yr capacity

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is planning to build a refinery in the port city of Qingdao costing nearly US$1 billion, the China Daily reported citing company officials. The company has signed an agreement with the provincial government to build a 10-million ton a year refinery, a gas-fired power plant, two...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

TANKERS: Key conferences in Hongkong and Singapore

Intertanko, the international association of tanker owners, will be participating in two major tanker events in Hongkong and Singapore in November and next January. On November 6, Intertanko will be organising a seminar entitled “Tanker Safety, Pollution Prevention, Spill Response and Compensation” in conjunction with the autumn meetings of its executive committee and council. The...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MALAYSIA: Tenggara Oil builds lubricant plant in Pelepas port

Tenggara Oil Berhad has completed the construction of a 35-million-litre/year lubricant blending plant in Tanjung Pelepas port in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor. Executive chairman Datuk Kamal Mat Salih said Tenggara has invested RM7 million in the plant which will enable it to undertake third-party blending work. (US$1=RM3.8). He expects the plant to help the...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

EMISSIONS: Australia says Greenhouse Inventory proves the benefits of using natural gas

A report on Australia’s greenhouse gas inventory has proved once again that natural gas is environmentally friendly by helping to reduce harmful emissions. “Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2000 has once again demonstrated that increasing the use of natural gas is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the stationary energy sector,” said Bill Nagle,...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Woodside to supply natural gas to TXU Electricity

Australia’s upstream company Woodside Energy Ltd said it has signed an agreement to supply natural gas to TXU Electricity Ltd., a subsidiary of TXU Australia. Woodside will source the gas from its share of the Geographe and Thylacine fields which were discovered off Victoria state 14 months ago. Woodside’s managing director, John Akehurst, welcomed the...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

JAPAN: Mitsubishi to develop oil, gas fields in Mexico

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Mitsubishi Corp said it and Tarpon Operating and Development LLC have gained the rights to develop and pump oil and natural gas from four fields in US waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Mitsubishi and Tarpon plan to pump oil and gas at a rate of about 10,000 barrels a day from...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Beijing Datang considering acquisitions in 2003; may issue A-shares

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Beijing Datang Power Generation Co Ltd will consider making acquisitions in 2003, with the restructuring in the power industry in China scheduled to be completed by that time, chief operating officer Yang Hongming said. “We will consider making acquisitions next year when the restructuring finishes,” he told reporters after releasing the...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: PTTEP ‘buy’ rating reaffirmed after improved results

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – KGI Securities (Thailand) Plc and Kim Eng Securities Co Ltd said it reaffirms its “buy” rating on PTT Exploration and Production Plc and forecasts better results in the second half for the company after the firm reported improved second quarter and first half earnings. PTTEP announced earlier its three months to June...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MALAYSIA: S&P raised ratings, calls outlook stable

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its ratings on Malaysia by one notch, including the long-term foreign currency sovereign rating to triple-‘B’-plus, to reflect the lower risk to the public purse from government support for ailing private-sector companies; a tendency that has eroded the government’s financial position and created moral hazard for private business....

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

Keppel Shipyard sets new benchmark in fast-track FPSO conversions with the delivery of FPSO Brasil

Keppel Shipyard, the marine unit of Keppel Corporation, has set a new benchmark for fast-track conversions of highly complex Floating Production Storage Offloading facilities (FPSO) with the delivery of FPSO Brasil to Single Buoy Moorings (SBM) Inc. Nelson Yeo, Keppel Shipyard’s executive director, said: “Keppel Shipyard completed this urgent and exacting job in 12 months...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: PTT increased domestic oil prices

State PTT of Thailand has raised the domestic prices of its oil products, citing the recent price increase in Singapore’s spot oil markets by almost US$3/barrel. Apisit Rujikeatkamjorn, PTT oil business group’s senior executive vice president, said the company last raised prices on July 10. However, the continued rise in Singapore prices the last few...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

PHILIPPINES: Sterling Energy may invest US$250 million in Philippine methanol project

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Sterling Energy Ltd Partnership chairman Richard O’Tool said the company may invest a US$250 million offshore plant producing methanol if it finds natural gas in commercial quantity in the Philippines. Sterling Energy has been issued a permit – or a geophysical survey and exploration contract – by the Philippine government to explore...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Santos reports exploration boost after solid opening half

Calling this one of its best-ever interim results despite lower oil prices and higher depletion, Australia’s upstream company Santos Limited reported an after-tax profit of A$163 million, or A25 cents per share, for the six months ended 30 June 2002. (US$1=A$1.8). The result compared with the record A$252 million in the previous corresponding period which...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

THAILAND: PTT Q2 performance boosted by non-opg gains amid decline in product prices

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – PTT Public Co Ltd said its three months to June net profit of 7.465 billion baht was boosted by strong gains in non-operating items and a fall in interest costs, amid declining product prices. (US$1=42 baht). In its financial statements the company did not provide official comparative figures but made unofficial comparisons...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

VIETNAM: PetroVietnam to take part in Algeria’s upstream development

Petrovietnam Investment and Development Company, a subsidiary of the Vietnamese state oil and gas company, has won a bid to develop an oil and gas block in the Oued Mya area, north of Hassi Berkine in Algeria. According to Industrialinfo.com, Algerian state oil and gas company Sonatrach recently awarded seven of 10 exploration blocks to...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

AUSTRALIA: Households to count greenhouse gas emissions

Australia has launched a National Kilowatt Count campaign to gain a national ‘picture’ of greenhouse gas emissions produced by its households. The campaign is the the national project for Science Week 2002 organised by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Ogranisation (CSIRO) and the Australian Greenhouse Office. A CISRO statement said: “National Kilowatt Count aims...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

MALAYSIA: Petronas awarded four exploration blocks in Myanmar

The Myanmar government has awarded Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petronas four Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for offshore blocks M-15, M-16, M-17 and M-18. Petronas President and CEO Mohd Hassan Marican and Myanmar’s deputy energy minister U Tin Tun signed the agreement at a ceremony on Monday witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

PHILIPPINES: Manila holds off penalties on oil companies’ delayed IPOs

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Energy Secretary Vicente Perez said he has agreed with Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp and Caltex Philippines Inc to a plan under which the oil firms will no longer be penalised for their delayed IPOs. “Given that they are alarmed by the energy department’s warning that we will slap appropriate penalties for the...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: Beijing Datang H2 results may be hit by higher fuel costs, depreciation

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Beijing Datang Power Generation Co Ltd said its results in the second half may be affected by the rise in fuel costs and depreciation of fixed assets as new power generation units are commissioned. In a statement releasing its six months to June results, president and vice-chairman Yu Hongji said: “2002...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

CHINA: CNOOC reports successful gas appraisal in South China Sea

CNOOC Limited has announced making a successful appraisal well that will add to its gas reserves in the western part of the South China Sea. The well, YCH13-4-2, drilled on the YCH13-4 discovery, is located about 27 km north of YCH13-1 gas field. It produced about 20 million cubic feet of gas per day on...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register

EMISSIONS: Australia announced new agenda

With greenhouse emissions projections now showing that Australia is within striking distance of the target agreed to at Kyoto, Canberra has announced a climate change action agenda to ensure it continues to cut greenhouse emissions even further while building a strong, competitive economy. In a joint statement, Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer and Minister...

This article is for Subscriber members only.
Log In Register