Canada’s Pacific Tiger Energy Inc said it has made a second oil discovery in its three well-drilling programme in the onshore Wichian Buri field in northern Thailand. The well, designated as WB N6, is located approximately 500 meters north of the company’s oil producing WB N2 well. “Log analysis indicates 16 meters in the F...
Australian upstream company Bounty Oil & Gas has reported strong gas flows of about 3.2 million cubic feet/day from a development well about 280 km north of Perth. Bounty managing director Tom Fontaine said the Woodada-19 well had “fulfilled its primary objective to provide additional gas deliverability for the field.” “We’re delighted with the results....
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Chinese power firms have been trading lower in recent days on fears that industry reforms may be delayed, following reports that State Power Corp president Gao Yan is being investigated for alleged corruption, dealers said. They said the reports, which surfaced on mainland websites, while unconfirmed, have raised fears that the...
Gas Authority of India (GAIL) has reported making progress on a number of fronts in expanding its natural gas business. This includes: -ÊÊÊÊÊA consultancy study to promote compressed natural gas (CNG) in Bangladesh       under a technical assistance programme partly funded by the Asian       Development Board (ADB). -ÊÊÊÊÊA joint effort with the Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization...
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Petra Perdana Bhd said its wholly-owned unit Petra Resources Sdn Bhd has secured a RM20 million long-term contract from Nippon Oil Exploration (Malaysia) Ltd to provide a system to help operate and maintain Nippon Oil’s offshore facilities. (US$1=RM3.8). In a statement, Petra said the contract, valued in excess of RM20 million,...
US integrated energy company ConocoPhillips and engineering Bechtel Corp. have agreed to renew their collaboration of pursuing worldwide liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. The collaboration will build upon the recent success of ConocoPhillips as a major owner and participant in the worldwide LNG industry, and Bechtel’s recent awards in the engineering and construction of major...
NEW DELHI (AFX-ASIA) – India’s privatisation process is “on track and irreversible”, said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, adding that he plans measures to raise the country’s growth rate to around 8-9% of GDP. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Vajpayee sought to rebut the impression that India’s economic reforms have been derailed....
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – UBS Warburg has upgraded its rating on Beijing Datang Power Generation Co Ltd (991.HK) to “buy” from “hold”, with a target price of HK$3.20/share, after raising its NAV estimate to 3.20 from 2.90, analyst Alice Hui said. (US$1=HK7.87). In a note to investors, Hui said the brokerage has a bullish view...
BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Electricity Generating Plc said its joint venture, Nam Theun 2 Power Co Ltd (NTPC), yesterday signed a concession agreement with the Government of Lao PDR to develop the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric power project under a build-own-operate-transfer basis. In a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Electricity Generating said NTPC was...
Canada’s upstream company Pacific Tiger Energy Inc. said it has discovered oil in the first of three wells to be drilled in the onshore Wichian Buri field in northern Thailand. The well, designated WB N5, is located some 300 meters northeast of the company’s oil producing WB N2 well. Indications of an oil-bearing reservoir have...
Barely five years old, Singapore-based Continental Chemical Group has achieved profitability this year on projected revenues of US$260 million and has set its sights on becoming a global plasticiser and resins player in the long term. In the medium term, it is planning to expand its total production capacity for intermediate chemicals and resins to...
China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Texaco China B.V., a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco, have agreed to unitise the development of two offshore blocks in the Bohai Bay covering a total 218-sq km. The agreement was reached under the principles of “one development project, one set of producing facilities, one management structure, one operator and one...
The joint statement by Intertanko chairman Lars Carlsson, and managing director Peter Swift, was issued last week shortly after the VLCC Limburg was hit with an explosion off the Yemeni coast on October 6. Intertanko represents the majority of tanker owners around the world. “It is clearly premature to comment on the incident until the...
SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – Hyflux Ltd president and CEO Olivia Lum said she is confident the company will achieve double-digit net profit growth in 2002 despite easier first half margins and delays in the awarding of some contracts the company had bid for. The company provides industrial water solutions, and is targeting oil and petrochemical companies...
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd aims to lower its foreign currency debt exposure level to 20 pct of its total debts within the next 5-7 years from 52% currently, chairman Jamaludin Jarjis said. “In the last few years, Tenaga has looked to the domestic private debt security market for most of its new...
BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Bangchak Petroleum Plc is requesting 6 billion baht worth of state funds to raise its capital and redeem bonds maturing in November and September 2003. Deputy Finance Minister Warathep Ratanakorn said in a Businessday report. (US$1=44 baht). Bangchak was advised to propose a new corporate plan to the Finance Ministry by its...
ALMATY (AFX) – Oil company officials and experts warned Kazakhstan that attempts to revise existing contracts could hinder the flow of billions of dollars of foreign investment to the country’s economy. Kazakhstan has succeeded in attracting some US$13 billion since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Oil officials at an oil and...
SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – The PNG gas project has signed a 20-year contract to supply about 15 petajoules of gas per annum to Queensland government-owned CS Energy, project operator ExxonMobil said. The gas will be supplied initially to CS Energy’s Swanbank E power station near Brisbane. “This sale, together with the 40-50 petajoules per annum already...
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – PetroChina Co Ltd expects to see net profits of up to 300 million yuan next year from petrol stations and other assets it plans to acquire from controlling shareholder China National Petroleum Corp, the South China Morning Post reported. (US$1=8.28 yuan). Citing unnamed analysts who attended a briefing held by the...
JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – The government has revoked 68 bylaws in the energy sector that mostly dealt with taxation imposed by regional governments on companies controlling local mineral and gas resources, the Jakarta Post reported, citing Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry secretary-general Djoko Darmono. He said the move was aimed at creating legal certainty for investors....
Malaysia’s state oil retail company Petronas Dagangan Bhd has appointed Ibrahim Marsidi as chief executive officer and managing director since the start of the month, replacing Anuar Ahmad. Mr Anuar has been redesignated as director from managing director, Petronas said in a statement without giving reason for the change....
RIYADH (AFX) – Saudi Arabia has given foreign oil firms such as Royal Dutch/Shell Group and ExxonMobil Corp until Nov 1 to respond “positively” to a final offer made by Riyadh over three large gas projects, or risk losing the deal, Asharq Al-Awsat daily reported citing Saudi sources. “In case the companies refuse the offer,...
By Graham Hill The South East Asian downstream sector faces an array of challenges over the next decade. Increased competition for investment from other regions, in particular China, will provide all stakeholders with an opportunity to seek new pathways for project and operational delivery. Australia and New Zealand refineries in conjunction with the contracting community...
US energy consultants ESAI says OPEC’s inability to stick even close to its 2002 quota ceiling is gradually creating a problem for the cartel. ESAI predicts things are “likely to come to a head sometime in 2003”. In its latest edition of the Stockwatch Quarterly Review, ESAI said: “OPEC was greedy in 1999 when it...
After October 12’s deadly bomb blast on the resort island of Bali, Indonesia’s leaders have finally acknowledged that terrorists exist in the country and could be next targeting its key oil and gas installations, among other targets. More than 180 people, mostly foreigners, were killed and many others injured in the country’s worst terrorist attacks...