PARIS (AFX) – The International Energy Agency has ample capacity to deal with any potential supply crisis, executive director Claude Mandil told Agence France-Presse. “If there is a crisis, we have ample capacity,” he said. Currently, we have 115 days of net imports in the whole of the OECD nations, he said. Under the rules...

Already reeling from oil at US$35/barrel, most Asian economies are bracing for worse to follow once the US starts military action against Iraq. The region imports over 60% of its oil requirements, mostly from the Middle East. Oil import spendings account for 3% to 5% of their GDP, compared to only 1% for the US....

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Renong Bhd said it has secured the Securities Commission’s approval for the proposed sale of its 29.222 million shares in Crest Petroleum Bhd or 38.56% stake, to Sapura Telecommunications Bhd for RM105.199 million or RM3.60 per share. (US$1=RM3.8). In a statement, Renong said the SC has also allowed the company to...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Manila Eletric Co said it will ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve its plan to remove the 10% cap on ownership of shares in the company. Meralco said in an announcement the plan was approved by its board of directors and will be brought before shareholders at the May 27...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Petron Corp, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp and Caltex Philippines Inc will form a joint venture that will oversee the scaled-down operation of their joint oil depot in Manila’s Pandacan district, Shell external affairs general manager Roberto Kanapi said. However, he said the company will not be formed until the first quarter of...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Hong Kong Airport Authority is planning to spend HK$2.7 billion to take over Aviation Fuel Supply Co Ltd, a joint venture of nine oil and aviation companies, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported, citing unnamed sources. (US$1=HK$7.79). Sources said the proposed takeover will help improve the earnings base of the Hong...

DHAKA (AFX) – Unocal Corp said it hoped Bangladesh would soon agree to export natural gas, as sources here said a decision could come this month. Bangladesh has proven recoverable gas reserves of 13 trillion cubic ft — of which some 3 million has already been extracted — but proposals to export energy have long...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – UMW Holdings Bhd said its unit UMW Corp Sdn Bhd on Nov 1 2002 secured approval from the Tianjin Administration for Industry and Commerce to incorporate wholly-owned company UMW Oilfield Services (Tianjin) Co Ltd with a paid-up capital of 2.0 mln usd, and UMW Oilfield is expected to commence operations in...

WASHINGTON (AFX) – US Treasury Secretary John Snow said the administration will spend what it takes to win a war in Iraq but refused to confirm that President Bush is drawing up a 95 bln usd supplemental spending package for Congress to pay for it. In a debate about the economy to be broadcast later...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Petron Corp shares have been trading weaker on concerns that rising oil prices amid continuing tension in the Middle East may eventually weaken its sales, dealers said. Dealers said, however, the stock’s downside appears limited by expectations that the company may be able to meet its projected 2002 net profit of over...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – PTT Plc said its board of directors has approved a dividend payment of 2.85 baht per share for 2002. (US$1=42 baht). The board will hold a meeting in March to consider the date to hold the company’s AGM as well as the closing date for the share registration, it said in a...

Caltex Australia Limited has announced a significantly improved result with net full year profit after tax of A$215.2 million, or 79.7 cents a share, for 2002, compared with a net loss after tax of A$186.1 million or Ð69 cents a share in 2001. (US$1=A$1.7). Caltex Chairman Dick Warburton said that even though rising crude oil...

Asia-Pacific oil products demand for 2002 probably registered one of its slowest growth rates in recent years as a result of shrinking Japanese demand and higher prices as the region grows more sensitive to price changes. (A fuller version of this story appeared in the March issue of EnergyAsia Report). The region’s overall oil products...

Vietnamese motorists rushed to the pumps last month, creating a minor stampede following news that retail gasoline prices would rise sharply to reflect prices on the international markets. Following the government’s announcement, private retail station owners halted operations, causing motorists to panic. Jams quickly developed in the country’s major cities as motorists flooded state-owned fuel...

Intertanko, the association of oil tankers, said its position on not changing the fuel quality in the boilers of vessels was discussed in the European Parliament last week as part of deliberations on the European Commission’s proposal to limit air pollution from shipping. The proposal contains two main elements. Firstly, the Commission aims to limit...

China’s CNOOC Limited has announced that a wildcat strike in BZ 34-1S-1 has hit oil in Bohai Bay. About 3 kilometers southeast of BZ 34-2 producing oil field, the well is drilled on BZ 34-1S structure in southern Bohai Bay. It flowed about 740 barrels of oil per day on a 1/4-inch choke during two...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – CLP Holdings Ltd said the decline in its 2002 total earnings was attributable to the lower contribution from property development. In 2002, CLP recorded HK$7.079 billion in total earnings, down from HK$7.257 billion a year earlier, with the current figure coming in below analyst forecasts of HK$7.333 to 7.445 billion. (US$1=HK$7.78)....

Shares in Cairn Energy PLC have risen after Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” following last month’s encouraging drilling statement. Cairn said it found “high quality oil bearing reservoirs” in the Lakshmi appraisal well offshore Gujarat, Western India. This confirmed its estimates of oil initially in place of 100-300 million barrels with...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Eastern Pacific Industrial Corp Bhd (EPIC) said it had on Feb 21 signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Papua New Guinea to explore the feasibility of setting up logistics services to the country’s oil and gas industry. In a statement, EPIC said the study also includes the possibility...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Oil refiners are seeking an amendment or repeal of a Manila city ordinance that calls for a scaled-down operation of their joint fuel depot in Pandacan, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp external affairs manager Roberto Kanapi said. Shutting down the facility will have dire effects on the economy, he said. Mr Kanapi said...

Japan’s crude oil imports rose — for the third month running — by 13.8% in January from a year earlier to 145.49 million barrels, said the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The increased imports come as no surprise as oil companies build up stockpiles ahead of US-threatened war against Iraq. Imports from the Middle...

SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – Total Automation Ltd said net profit in 2002 rose to S$7.378 million from S$5.988 million the previous year, supported by higher sales and lower tax rates in the regions it operates in. (US$1=S$1.73). Sales improved to S$47.063 million against S$38.116 million a year earlier. The company said it may not attain the...

SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – Korea Gas Corp is considering building an LNG power plant in Incheon City, west of Seoul, as part of efforts to diversify its revenue stream, chairman and CEO Kim Myung-Kyu said. “We’re considering a plan to build an LNG power plant as (part of) a mid-to long-term strategy,” he told reporters. He...

PARIS (AFX) – US Treasury Secretary John Snow said oil producing countries have no economic interest in maintaining current oil prices, which stand near two-year highs. “The major oil producing countries have a strong economic self-interest in oil prices that are not at their current… levels — because it makes their market more unstable,” Snow...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – BP PLC is currently in talks with several firms, including national oil corporation Petronas, on the possible sale of its stakes in its refineries in Singapore, Bernama news agency quoted BP Malaysia chief executive Peter M Wentworth as saying. “However, no decision has been made on the matter yet,” he said,...