KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Rating Agency Malaysia Bhd (RAM) said it has reaffirmed the short-term rating of P1 for Esso Malaysia Bhd’s RM250 million 5-year commercial papers that mature in 2004. The rating reflects Esso’s strong position in the downstream petroleum industry and efficient operations and the financial flexibility derived from parent firm Exxon Mobil...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Australian Gas Light Co Ltd (AGL) said it has appointed Greg Hayes as its new chief financial officer, with current CFO John Fletcher moving to the role of group manager investments. In a statement, AGL said Hayes will take up his new posting on March 3, joining AGL from the Westfield group...

SYDNEY (AFX) – Caltex Australia has filed suit with the federal court here to challenge the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s right to seek further information in connection with allegations of price-fixing against the company, court records showed. The ACCC carried out a raid on Caltex offices earlier this year, claiming it had information from...

Nepal has been hit by shortages of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other petroleum products following rumours of alleged government plans to increase prices, according to local newspapers. The government took immediate action against dozens of outlets, but many are still reluctant to sell their products, the reports said. Nepal is in the middle of...

Moody’s has put the debt rating of Qatar’s Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) company under review for a downgrade, citing the possibility of war in the region and an increase in global terrorist activity. Ras Laffan currently has insurance to cover terrorism, but there is no insurance in place to cover war, New York...

The following is the speech by Raymond Lim, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs & Trade and Industry, at the official opening of PowerSeraya’s combined cycle power plant on November 27 2002. “I am delighted to join all of you here this morning for the official opening of PowerSeraya’s new Combined Cycle Power Plant. “Competition...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – PTT PLC said net profit in the third quarter fell by 19.4% from the previous year to 4.39 billion baht due to foreign exchange losses and losses from subsidiaries. (US$1=43 baht) The company posted a 730 million baht net loss from its investments in subsidiaries. It also recorded a foreign exchange loss...

NEW YORK (AFX-ASIA) – The US and its European and Asian allies said they will suspend heavy fuel-oil shipments to North Korea from December to press the Stalinist state to freeze its nuclear weapons programme. Executive board members of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation (KEDO), which implements a 1994 anti-nuclear deal with the North,...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Petron Corp said it signed two new loan agreements totalling 4 billion pesos. (US$1=53 peso). In a statement released by the stock exchange, Petron said it signed a five-year loan deal for 2 billion pesos with Citibank NA on April 11 and another 2 billion peso loan agreement with the Land Bank...

Australia’s BHP Billiton has appointed John Buchanan to its board as senior independent director from February 1, 2003. Dr Buchanan was formerly BP Executive Director and group Chief Financial Officer. BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus said: “The board is pleased to have secured the services of John Buchanan with his wide international business career, depth...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – CLP Holdings Ltd said its has agreed to acquire PowerGen PLC’s remaining stakes in three Asia-Pacific based joint ventures for US$115 million. In a statement, CLP said it will, through its unit CLP Power International Ltd, acquire all PowerGen’s remaining interest in India-based Gujarat Paguthan Energy Corp Private Ltd, Yallourn Energy...

Rick Haythornthwaite, CEO of UK’s engineering firm Invensys PLC, gave this speech at the official opening of the company’s new building on November 27 at the Changi Business Park. “The new Invensys approach is to look for, to find and to celebrate personal impacts, whether it’s the impact on one of our customers, or a...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The National Iranian Oil Co is considering setting up a storage facility in Nonoc Island in the southern Philippine province of Surigao, Energy Secretary Vicente Perez said. “NIOC has a representative in Singapore who will (visit) the Philippines to take a look at Nonoc facilities,” he said. He added the state-owned Iranian...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services Plc said its third quarter to September net profit fell to 77.96 million baht from the year-earlier’s 90.69 million, with EPS down to 0.23 baht from 0.36. (US$1=43 baht)....

Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Sasol Synfuels International (Pty) Ltd. (SSI) have jointly appointed 15 banks as lead arrangers in the US$700 million non-recourse debt financing of their gas-to-liquid (GTL) project at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City. The Royal Bank of Scotland is acting as financial adviser and Linklaters as international legal counsel. The other banks...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said it has raised an additional US$950 million through the re-opening of its 10-and-20-year global bond offering, bringing the total amount raised to date to US$3.65 billion. In a statement, Petronas said this is the largest issue concluded by an Asian corporation on the international market. It...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Department of National Defense will rebid a fuel supply contract it entered into with Petron Corp, the Manila Standard cited Defence Secretary Angelo Reyes as saying. He said the contract would be rebid during a recent House budget hearing when Tarlac congressman Benigno Aquino III charged that the supply deal was...

Gas Authority of India (GAIL) is still studying the viability of using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to help feed the proposed Reliance Assam Petrochemical Limited (RAPL) cracker in Assam, India’s Assam Tribune reported. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India were originally expected to supply the gas feedstock for the cracker, which will...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – The Papua New Guinean government is considering selling its 18% stake in Oil Search Ltd as the government looks to sell some of its assets, particularly oil, the Australian Financial Review reported citing PNG energy minister Moi Avei. The report comes as Oil Search and its partners race to meet next month’s...

DARWIN, Australia (AFX-ASIA) Ð Australia’s Northern Territory has given official authorisation for Phillips Petroleum Co to build a A$1.5 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Darwin Harbor to supply the Japanese market, officials said. (US$1=A$1.8). But the deal depends on ratification by Australia and East Timor of the Timor Sea treaty regulating exploitation of...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Secretary for Economic Development and Manpower Stephen Ip Shu-kwan is proposing that deflation be included as a factor in determining electricity tariff levels for next year, the South China Morning Post reported. Mr Ip said the government will consider several factors, including the demand for electricity, operating costs, investments made, return...

A joint venture between the Australian National University and Origin Energy has developed a new type of solar cell. Andrew Blakers, the director of the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, recently unveiled the Sliver CellTM, which uses just one tenth of the costly silicon used in conventional solar panels while matching power, performance and...

Australia’s Northern Territory government said its campaign to bring Timor Sea gas onshore was progressing well and would deliver results for the state. The government is pushing for the gas to be processed in a terminal near Darwin port, pitting it against a group of companies that want to build a floating terminal to export...

India’s government has rejected SHV Energy India’s proposals to restructure its loss-making liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) operations in India, the country’s local media has reported. SHV Energy is seeking to streamline and reduce the number of its operating businesses through a series of amalgamations and de-mergers. It also aims to have 100% control over its...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Dong Fang Gas Holdings Ltd said it is indirectly investing HK$120 million in the mainland gas business via a stake buy in WIT International. (US$1=HK$7.78). The stake acquisition will be made by its indirectly-owned unit China Crystal Investment Ltd, which has agreed to buy a 63% stake in WIT International from...