NEW DELHI (AFX-ASIA) – Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said India is considering creating strategic oil reserves to counter potential disturbances in supplies of crude oil, particularly from the Middle East. “Crude oil prices may shoot up if tensions in West Asia (the Middle East) rise, leading to a prolonged shortage of supplies in the...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Petron Corp, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp and Caltex Philippines Inc are seeking an extension of their compliance with an agreement with the Manila city government to remove their storage tanks at the Pandacan depot to the first quarter of 2004, city administrator Ernesto Dionisio said. He said the city government had expected...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – BP Kangean expects to complete repairs to the pipeline connecting the Pagerungan gas field to the processing plant in Pagerungan, East Java by the end of this month, a BP official said. The official, Amir Hamsah, from the company’s public relations office, said repairs following the detection of a leak on Dec...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – ING Financial Markets has lifted its 2002 net profit forecast for Beijing Datang Power Generation Co Ltd (991.HK) by 3% to 1.512 billion yuan after the company’s stronger-than-expected generation figures, analyst Bill Mok said. (US$1=8.28 yuan). In a note to investors, Mr Mok said ING is maintaining its “buy” rating on...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The government is keen on starting the privatisation process for National Power Corp to solicit fresh investment that could fend off massive power outages in the central and southern Philippines next year, Energy Secretary Vicente Perez said. The privatisation of Napocor’s power generation and transmission assets is mandated by the power sector...

For more than a year, Japan has been complaining openly that it has been paying too much for its imported oil and gas supplies. With its economy in stagnation since the late 1980s, Japan has finally woken to the fact that it may have been too soft in negotiations with suppliers from the Persian Gulf...

US-based energy consulting firm Nexant Inc has appointed Ian Clarke as director of sales and marketing for its Enterprise Risk Management Division. He will be responsible for the company’s Portfolio Risk and Yield Management (PRYM) software, aimed at helping clients maximise profits by giving them greater control over their energy assets and operational environment. Nexant...

Malaysia’s state oil and gas company Petronas has awarded two Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for deepwater Blocks L and M to Murphy Oil Corporation and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd. The PSCs mark the seventh and eighth Malaysian blocks awarded to Murphy, a US-based independent oil and gas exploration company. According to a Petronas statement, Murphy...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Energy Secretary Vincent Perez said the decision of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase crude oil output by 1.5 million barrels per day may trigger cuts in local oil prices. “We welcome OPEC’s decision to raise production…to keep global oil prices at reasonable prices of 25 usd per barrel....

US-based energy consultant ESAI said the global crude oil markets have weathered “the perfect storm” fairly well in December, but could have a tougher time in the coming months. In its latest edition of Atlantic Basin Stockwatch, it said: “Although some data are estimates, we have our first view of global crude oil inventories as...

US-based IMPCO Technologies, a leading source of advanced alternative fuel systems technology for internal combustion engines in the industrial, transportation and power generation markets, said it has formed a joint venture with China Natural Gas Corporation (CNGC), a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation, to market and sell IMPCO gaseous fuel products in western...

China’s PetroChina said its subsidiary in the western province of Tarim produced a record of more than five million tonnes of crude last year. The PetroChina Tarim Oilfield said the output came from its operations in the Takelamagan desert in northwest Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the country’s sixth onshore oilfield. Output from the Tarim field has...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China National Petroleum Corp, the parent company of Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Co Ltd, saw its net profit rise by 0.5 pct to 53.3 billion yuan last year as lower oil prices hit margins, the China Daily reported, citing the company. (US$1=8.28 yuan). The price per barrel of oil in 2002 was on...

VIENNA (AFX) – The 1.5 million barrels a day total increase in production quotas agreed by OPEC oil ministers yesterday does little more than officialise current output levels and may do little to calm oil markets, analysts said. Some OPEC members, notably Saudi Arabia which has the most spare production capacity, have already been producing...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Capital Dynamics said Petronas Dagangan’s 2003 and 2004 earnings are likely to be affected if war breaks out between US and Iraq. It said in a report that Petronas Dagangan’s share price is likely to fall as a knee-jerk reaction at the start of a US attack against Iraq, but it...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The governments of the Philippines and UK have signed a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in research and development and technology transfer in the power sector, the Department of Energy said. It said in a statement the tie-up with the UK government will strengthen partnerships in renewable energy technologies, cleaner fossil fuel...

Indonesian state oil company Pertamina could replace president Baihaki Hakim with former upstream director Gatot Karyoso Wirayuda, according to Jakarta oil sources. Iin Arifin Takyan, the current upstream director, and Roes Aryawijaya, a deputy at the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises, have also been mentioned. Mr Baihaki, a former PT Caltex Pacific...

LONDON (AFX) – Oil giant BP PLC has put three of its young executives at the helm of its operations as the hunt for a successor for chief executive Lord Browne begins. Lord Browne is turning 55 this year and BP has four to five years to train his successor. He has made clear that...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – The government will speed up disbursement of the social compensation fund and seek parliamentary approval for fiscal incentives in response to escalating protests against recent tariff hikes, Information and Communication Minister Syamsul Mu’arif said. Mr Mu’arif told reporters after attending a cabinet meeting that President Megawati Sukarnoputri has ordered cabinet ministers to...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Industrial gas demand has been on the rise since the government announced plans to gradually eliminate subsidies for fuel products in 1999, the Jakarta Post reported, citing state-owned gas company PT Gas Negara spokesman Agus Dihardjo. “Demand for gas is rising fast as manufacturers look for cheaper sources of energy amid the...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Beijing Datang has been trading higher following news last week of its strong power generation data for 2002, dealers said. Beijing Datang announced that its total power generation in 2002 stood at 32.278 billion kWh, up 21.90% from 2001. Its total on-grid power generation was 30.119 billion kWh, an increase of...

US-based Triple Point Technology, a provider of fully integrated, front- to back-office systems for power, natural gas, oil, and other commodities, has announced that its flagship product, Tempest XL, now supports the Japanese and Chinese languages. Tempest XL is the company’s next-generation, multi-commodity risk and trade management enterprise solution. Triple Point’s products with Kanji, Katakana,...

PetroChina Company Limited said it has achieved its main production and operational targets for 2002. Its total oil and gas production last year grew 1.7% to 872.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), that included 5.75 million barrels of overseas equity oil. Its crude oil output rose 1% to 771.4 million barrels while natural gas...

France’s engineering firm Technip-Coflexip has been awarded a lump sum contract by Germany’s BASF to build a new integrated production facility for polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF¨) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) in the newly developed Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) at Caojing, Shanghai, China. The scope of work covers engineering, procurement services and construction management services. Engineering and procurement...

The US Department of Energy has warned that domestic refining operations could be disrupted if the Venezuelan political crisis continues to affect oil flows into the world’s largest oil market. In its latest weekly update, it said that US oil refinery throughput could be reduced if crude oil inventories fall further. “They will be down...