CHINA: Forecast of 5 million kW electricity shortage this year

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China will have an electricity shortage of 5 million kW this year, despite an expected annual electricity generation of about 21 million kW, the People’s Daily reported, citing the general manager of State Grid Corp, China’s largest power grid firm. Zhao Xizheng said due to the shortage, some provinces, including the northern...

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INDONESIA: Government to save US$5.9 billion over next 20-30 years after renegotiations

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Indonesia’s state electricity company PLN said it will save at least US$5.9 billion over the next 20-30 years after renegotiating contracts with private electricity suppliers. “The US$5.9 billion is the difference between what we would have to pay under the old contracts and under the renegotiated terms,” said deputy director for contract...

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EMISSIONS: World Bank launched Community Development Carbon Fund (CDCF)

Poor communities in developing countries will benefit from the groundbreaking Community Development Carbon Fund (CDCF) which became operational July 15. The World Bank which developed the CDCF in collaboration with the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat and the International Emissions Trading Association, announced commitments of US$35 million from both public and private sector participants, as...

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COMPANIES: DNV and Global Change Associates announce greenhouse gases and green trading services ag

Two US-based companies, Det Norkse Veritas (DNV) Certification, Inc. and Global Change Associates (GCA), announce an agreement to provide verification, certification and related climate change services for North America and Asia for the energy industry. Both companies feel that their expertise complements one another in the green trading space for greenhouse gases (GHG) and renewable...

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TAIWAN: Chinese Petroleum rating affirmed by Standard & Poor’s

TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its “A+” rating with stable outlook on Taiwan-based Chinese Petroleum Corp would not be affected by the company’s announcement that it had secured a contract worth NT$298 billion to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Taiwan Power Co’s new Tatan thermal plant. (US$1=NT$34). The contract...

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PHILIPPINES: Meralco a ‘buy’ on reduced regulatory risk Ð ING

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – ING Financial Markets said it has upgraded its recommendation on Manila Electric Co to ‘buy’ from the previous ‘hold’ on prospects of diminishing regulatory risks confronting the country’s largest power distributor. Meralco B shares, open to foreign investors, has risen by 59% in June on the back of a recently-approved rate increase...

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JAPAN: Oil firms to cut production on falling domestic demand – report

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Japanese oil distributors, such as Nippon Oil Corp, will as of this month reduce production of petroleum products, such as gasoline and fuel oil, due to an anticipated decline in demand, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources. Industry-leading Nippon Oil plans to cut July production to 4.9 million kiloliters, down...

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KOREA: KEPCO’s 4 power generation units outlook upgraded to ‘positive’ – S&P

SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it has revised the outlook on the ‘BBB+’ long-term local and foreign currency ratings of Korea Electric Power’s four thermal power generation units (GENCOs) to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’. The four units are Korea East-West Power Co Ltd (KEWESPO), Korea Southern Power Co Ltd (KOSPO), Korea...

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PHILIPPINES: PSALM plans US$500 million bond issue in Q3 with ADB, OPIC guarantee

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM) said it will proceed with a US$500-million bond offering in the third quarter, with a guarantee cover by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and US-based Overseas Private Investment Corp (OPIC). PSALM, a residual company that will absorb National Power Corp’s liabilities after it...

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PHILIPPINES: Oriental Petroleum exploration stakes divided by consortium

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp’s stakes in two oil and gas exploration projects covered under Service Contract No.6A have been divided among members of the consortium developing the service area, consortium members said. Oriental Petroleum’s 9.5% stake in the north block of SC No.6A and its 10% ownership in the Octon oil...

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PHILIPPINES: Philippine National Oil Co unit in talks with Petronas on Mindoro exploration

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – PNOC Exploration Corp, a unit of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co, said it is holding preliminary talks with Malaysia’s Petronas on an oil exploration project in Mindoro, west of Manila. “PNOC-EC is currently engaged in initial talks with Petronas for the latter’s possible farm-in into our petroleum exploration project in Mindoro,” PNOC-EC...

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INDONESIA: PLN, Unocal unit reach agreement on Sarulla geothermal sale

Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL) said its Unocal North Sumatra Geothermal, Ltd., subsidiary (UNSG) has reached agreement to sell its rights and interests in the Sarulla geothermal project on Sumatra island to PLN, the Indonesian state electricity company. PLN would acquire Unocal North Sumatra’s interest in the Joint Operation Contract (JOC) with Pertamina and Energy Sales...

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PEOPLE: ChevronTexaco announces downstream restructuring and new management team

ChevronTexaco Corp has announced plans to restructure its global refining and marketing organisation in order to lower costs, improve efficiency and achieve sustained improvements in its financial performance. The company will shift from a geographical to a functional structure with four operating divisions. The new organisation will be fully operational by early 2004. The company...

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AUSTRALIA: AGL ratings on CreditWatch negative on Loy Yang plans – S&P

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it has placed its ‘A’ long-term and ‘A-1’ short-term ratings on Australian Gas Light Co Ltd on CreditWatch with negative implications after the company announced its plans to buy the Loy Yang A power plant as part of a consortium. Earlier, AGL said its consortium of...

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AUSTRALIA: BHP Billiton gains after UBS upgrades to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’

LONDON (AFX) – Shares in Australia’s BHP Billiton PLC has traded higher recently, lifted by positive broker comments, dealers said. In a note published early this month, UBS upgraded the shares to ‘Buy’ from Neutral’, arguing that a number of previously negative factors appear to be abating and have been replaced with a more optimistic...

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AUSTRALIA: Metcash close to finalising petrol alliance deal – report

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Grocery wholesaler Metcash Trading Co Ltd is close to finalising a strategic alliance with one or more major oil companies to set up a discount gasoline offer for its affiliated IGA supermarket network, The Australian newspaper reported. Without citing sources, the report said Metcash is in “fluid” negotiations with Mobil, Catlex and...

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PHILIPPINES: Oriental Petroleum exploration stakes divided by consortium

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp’s stakes in two oil and gas exploration projects covered under Service Contract No.6A have been divided among members of the consortium developing the service area, consortium members said. Oriental Petroleum’s 9.5% stake in the north block of SC No.6A and its 10% ownership in the Octon oil...

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CHINA: COSL coverage initiated with ‘outperform’ rating Ð GS

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – Goldman Sachs said it has initiated coverage of China Oilfield Services Ltd (HK 2883) (COSL) with an “outperform” rating, with a price target of HK$2 in view of COSL’s steady earnings growth, dominant position in the market and bright outlook of the oilfield services industry. (US$1=HK$7.78). “We expect COSL to remain dominant...

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MALAYSIA: Work resumed on controversial Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline Ð Petronas

LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA (AFX-ASIA) – Work is now progressing smoothly on the controversial Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline and it is expected to be completed in two years time after a long delay, Hassan Merican, president of Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas said. “There is now progress in the gas pipeline project. We are grateful for the Thai...

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CHINA: PetroChina reports meeting second quarter targets

PetroChina Company Limited (SEHK 0857, NYSEl PTR) said it met all its production and operational targets for the second quarter. Despite the SARS epidemic, PetroChina said it maintained normal production and undertook additional marketing activities under adverse conditions in the three months ended 30 June 2003. Its total oil and gas output amounted to 222.9...

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CHINA: Beijing Datang Power generates 29% more electricity for first half of 2003

China’s Beijing Datang Power Generation Company Limited (HKEx: 991; LSE:DAT; ADR:BJDHY) said its plants generated 18.056 billion kWh of electricity, an increase of 28.68% over the same period last year. The company’s total on-grid power generation rose 29.8% to 16.942 billion kWh. It said that demand for electricity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region increased by 15.49%...

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ASEAN: Group to work with China, Japan, South Korea for energy security

LANGKAWI (AFX-ASIA) – ASEAN energy ministers have pledged to intensify efforts to diversify energy sources and cooperate with China, Japan and South Korea to boost energy security in the region. ASEAN stands for the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations. Due to East Asia’s growing demand and depletion of fossil fuels, ASEAN will forge a...

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MALAYSIA: Technip-Coflexip’s KL office to undertake engineering work for Nigeria project

The Malaysian office of Technip-Coflexip will undertake the engineering work for a major oil recovery project in Nigeria. The French engineering group was awarded the “East Area Ð Additional Oil Recovery project” in Nigeria by a joint venture comprising state NNPC and ExxonMobil. The contract covers engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, hook-up, commissioning, and start-up assistance...

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IRAQ: Power sector needs over US$1 billion/year investment for next 5 years Ð Bremer

BAGHDAD (AFX-ASIA) – Iraq’s electricity sector needs investment of over a billion dollars a year for the next five years to meet the current demand, Paul Bremer, the country’s US civilian administrator, said. “The strategic problem is there is not enough power generation in the entire country to meet the current needs, let alone the...

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