JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said PT Medco Energi Internasional’s six months to June results are within its expectations and do not affect the company’s ratings. S&P has assigned a B+ corporate credit rating to Medco Energi with a stable outlook. For the first six months, Medco’s sales and net profit rose...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Energy Secretary Vicente Perez Jr said the government is favouring leasing out its power transmission assets instead of an outright sale, to allow the state to maximise the funds raised from its assets while keeping ownership. Mr Perez said in a statement that the government is now planning to lease out the...

Singapore refining margins could turn bullish on a combination of factors, said US-based energy consultants ESAI. It cites the following developments: “Large run cuts and lighter crude slates are combining to dramatically reduce Korean fuel oil production this year. At the same time, the Russian government has announced a 100% tax hike on fuel oil...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Novus Petroleum Ltd said first half earnings were impacted by a fall in revenues on lower production levels and oil prices, while the company also incurred A$61.4 million in significant items primarily related to the write-off of exploration costs. (US$1=A$1.8). Earlier Novus reported a first half net loss of A$.6 million, compared...

Singapore’s Keppel Corporation Limited (KCL) said it has successfully penetrated the Middle East offshore market as a result of the integration of its offshore and marine businesses under its wholly owned subsidiary Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M). For the first time, Keppel O&M’s shipyard, Arab Heavy Industries PJSC (AHI) in Ajman, UAE, carried out...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petroleum & Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) is proceeding with plans to build a 420 mln usd 1,600-km oil pipeline across southern China and has rejected reports that the project has been abandoned because of opposition from the government, the China Daily reported, citing an unnamed Sinopec official responsible for the programme. The...

The US Department of Energy said the country’s gasoline demand hit record levels of 9.1 to 9.2 million barrels/day during the summer driving months of June to August. It reported this week: “Motorists took to the highways in large numbers as evidenced by the record level of gasoline demand reported during the peak consumption period....

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – PTT Exploration and Production Plc plans to spend 16 billion baht to bring natural gas from the Arthit field ashore in 2006 to fulfill a gas supply agreement it plans to sign with parent PTT Plc early next year, the Bangkok Post reported, citing president Chitrapongse Kwangsukstith. (US$1=42 baht). The Arthit field,...

THIS COMMENTARY FIRST APPEARED IN THE SEPTEMBER EDITION OF ENERGYASIA REPORT Since talk started early this year about a possible US-led war against Iraq, oil markets have built in a so-called war premium of US$4-5/barrel into prices. With the approach of the first anniversary of September 11, the drums of war have grown louder to...

Transasia Pipeline Company, a joint venture of four companies, has signed a share sale and purchase agreement (SSPA) to acquire a 40% equity stake in PT Transportasi Gas Indonesia (Transgasindo), which owns and operates two Indonesian gas pipelines. Transgasindo was established by Indonesian state PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) (PGN) to own and operate two...

China has approved the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as its contribution to limit its greenhouse gas emissions. Premier Zhu Rongji announced the decision at the recently ended World Summit on Sustainable Development in the South African city of Johannesburg. He said China will take an active role in...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a US$600,000 technical assistance grant to India to promote more efficient use of energy, especially in industry. India’s demand for energy is among the fastest growing in the world, fuelled by rapid industrial growth and a rising population. Investments in power generation, transmission, and distribution have...

JOHANNESBURG (AFX) – European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstroem and environmental campaign groups have criticised the agreement reached last week on renewable energy at the Earth Summit. The text of the agreement calls on countries to “diversify energy supply by developing advanced, cleaner, more efficient, affordable and cost-effective energy technologies, including fossil-fuel technologies as well as...

RIYADH (AFX) – Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi denied that the country has decided to press fellow OPEC members to hike output, saying such talk was “premature” and should be left to the cartel’s next meeting. “Talking now about what decisions OPEC will take during its next meeting is premature,” Mr Nuaimi said in...

In their first joint press conference, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have expressed their interest in seeing stable oil prices. Robert Priddle, IEA’s executive director, and Alvaro Silva-Calderon, OPEC’s secretary general, made their appearance at the at the World Petroleum Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last...

LONDON (AFX) – Arko Energy Holdings PLC said it expects two natural minerals and energy projects in China to eventually become its main source of income after reporting a preliminary pretax loss of £161,874 compared to a loss of £18,136 the previous year. (£1=US$1.5). Its sales rose to £186,602 from £32,718 the previous year. The...

Bangladesh’s domestic gas consumers are unhappy with the latest tariff increases since the start of the month, the second increase in seven months. The government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has defended the revision as necessary to “rationalise” the industry’s price structure for different sectors. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources approved the latest...

The Royal Dutch Shell group has been named the leader of the energy sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the second year running. The companies listed in the index are selected following detailed assessments of their commitment to sustainability by Sustainable Asset Management (SAM). SAM conducts intensive research analysing companies against economic,...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Banpu Plc wants a foreign partner to take close to one-third of its 50% shareholding in BLCP Power Co, one of its power plant subsidiaries in Rayong, to boost the project’s potential, Bangkok Post reported, quoting Banpu chief executive Chanin Vongkusolkit. Mr Chanin was quoted as saying that the 1,347-megawatt coal-fired plant...

Shell Gas & Power, a unit of the energy major, last week announced the naming of its newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier “Galea” at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) shipyard in Japan. The vessel is the first in a series of four – three of which have been secured from MHI – against the...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Exports fell to US$5.01 billion in July from US$5.07 billion in June, while imports rose to US$2.6 billion from US$2.41 billion, Central Bureau of Statistics head Sudarti Soerbakti said. The trade surplus in July fell to US$2.41 billion from US$2.66 billion in June. Non-oil and gas exports fell slightly to US$4.03 billion...

Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd and BHP Billiton Limited has made their first deliveries of Gippsland gas to Duke Energy International for supply to Tasmania. Tasmania will now join Victoria and New South Wales in receiving the benefits of Gippsland gas. “The first flow of Gippsland gas marks a significant new era for Tasmania,” said...

Engineering firm Flowserve has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chemical Process Technology Centre (CPTC) to provide hardware, software, courseware and capability development for its staff on Singapore’s Jurong Island. The agreement, valued at S$1.3 million, marks both parties’ commitment to invest in human capital development for the downstream oil, petrochemical, chemical and...

Japan’s Yokogawa Electric Corporation said it has won a US$30 million contract to install a control system project in a new ethylene complex in Jubail in Saudi Arabia. The project includes installing an integrated control system CENTUM CS3000 R3 and field instruments including pressure, temperature and flow. Jubail United Petrochemical Company (United), a subsidiary of...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – K&N Kenanga said it has raised its estimate on Petronas Gas Bhd’s revised net asset value (RNAV) to RM6.55 per share on the back of the turnaround in the company’s centralised utility facilities (CUF) business, the strength of gas demand from the power sector and the commencement of new raw gas...