Qatar Petroleum and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) have signed a Heads of Agreement for the development of Qatargas 3, a large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) project located in Qatar aimed at the US natural gas market. The signing ceremony last week took place at the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was attended by Qatar’s Minister of...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Shanghai will face an electricity shortage of around 1 million kW this year despite its efforts to buy electricity from other provinces at higher prices, Xinhua news agency reported, citing unnamed industry experts. The news agency quoted the sources as saying that Shanghai currently maintains an electricity supply capacity of 9.3 million...

Origin Energy Limited has made an off market cash offer of A$4.25 per share to acquire all the ordinary shares in Oil Company of Australia (OCA) Limited that it does not already own. (US$1=A$1.5). Origin currently holds 85.23% of the issued capital of OCA. Under a pre-bid agreement, Santos has agreed to accept the offer...

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 NT298 billion to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Taiwan Power Co’s new Tatan thermal plant. (US$1=NT34.5). The contract...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma has said the No. 4 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is safe, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. His comments indicate the unit may soon be restarted, easing concern that brownouts could occur over the next two month in the Japanese...

China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said China’s jet fuel demand is expected to rise by 48% for the third quarter of 2003. Chen Juilin, CAO’s managing director and CEO: “The increase in China’s demand for jet fuel imports is remarkable. It is becoming apparent that the effects of SARS will prove to have...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – PNOC Exploration Corp, a unit of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co, said it may invest US$70-80 million in a US$100-million natural gas pipeline project stretching from Batangas province to Manila. PNOC-EC president Rufino Bomasang said the PNOC board has allowed the unit to choose its financial advisor from a shortlist of three...

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...

China’s Huaneng Power International, Inc. has reported that it generated 41.08 billion kWh of power in the first half of 2003, an increase of 39.63% over the same period last year. It attributed the increase to the operation of power plants that it had acquired in 2002 including Shanghai Shidongkou First Power Plant, Huaiyin Power...

Korean gasoil exports were considerably lower year-on-year in the first five months of 2003, but ESAI, in the latest edition of Pacific Basin Stockwatch, believes they should recover in the third quarter. “The surging economy helped boost demand by 30,000 b/d in the first five months of 2003 compared to the same period in 2002,”...

LONDON (AFX) – International Power PLC, together with its partners, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, Tokyo Electric Power Company and Mitsui & Co Ltd, said it has successfully completed the US$1.77 billion financing for the acquisition and expansion of the Umm Al Nar power and water desalination plant in Abu Dhabi. “The successful completion...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – Shandong International Power Development Co (HK 1071) said it has raised its stake in Ningxia Yinglite Zhongning Power Co, one of its power generation joint ventures, to 50% from 20%. The company said in a statement that it has acquired the 30% additional stake in the joint venture from Ningxia Power Construction...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s ratings Services said Petronas’s stronger performance in the fiscal year 2003 is within expectations and does not by itself affect the company’s ratings. S&P had earlier assigned a BBB-plus foreign currency and A-plus local currency ratings with a stable outlook for Petronas. In its notes, the rating agency...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Sumitomo Corp and United Energy Systems (UES) have signed a memorandum of understanding to study a possibility of building a thermoelectric power plant in southern Sakhalin, a Sumitomo Corp spokesman said. The spokesman said they plan to construct a natural gas generated power generation plant in southern Sakhalin. They will send the...

Oil prices are likely to remain supported in the week ahead after largely holding onto last week’s sharp gains that took crude well past US$30/barrel in the western markets. Iraq’s continued absence as a significant supplier is underpinning the market, with analysts still unsure when the war-torn country might resume pre-war production. Looting and sabotage...

RIYADH (AFX) – Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has awarded four new power projects worth 1.750 billion riyals to national firms, Water and Electricity Minister Ghazi al-Qussaibi said. The projects are to boost power generation capacity in the capital Riyadh, Jeddah, Tabuk and the oil-rich eastern province, the official SPA agency quoted the minister as saying...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – ExxonMobil Corp unit Esso Highlands Ltd, Oil Search Ltd, MRDC and Japan PNG Petroleum said they have signed a new heads of agreement to market gas from their Papua New Guinea gas project following the expiry of the existing agreement at the end of last month. In a statement, Oil Search said...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc executive chairman Prakit Pradipasen said the company expects total revenue for this year of 100 billion baht and EBITDA of 8-9 billion baht. (US$1=43 baht). At a recent news conference, he said revenue this year will be boosted by an increase in production and by rising petrochemicals prices....

Foreign oil tankers, which do not meet the age criteria defined by the director-general of shipping, will be barred from Indian waters from September 1, according to a Financial Express report. Though this rule will not be applicable to domestic vessels, an increase in freight rate for oil tankers is expected in the short-term. Foreign...

Swift Energy New Zealand (SENZ) has entered into a new agreement to supply Genesis Power up to 8 petajoules of natural gas (approximately 7.2 billion cubic feet) per year over a three-year period beginning July 8. SENZ is a subsidiary of Swift Energy Company (NYSE, PCX: SFY). The latest deal follows an earlier agreement announced...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – PetroChina (857.HK) has been trading lower after Merrill Lynch downgraded its recommendation on the stock to “sell”, dealers said. Early this month, Merrill Lynch said it downgraded its recommendation on PetroChina to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’ due to concerns over declining reserves and production as well as an expected fall in oil...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Toshiba Corp said it aims to boost overseas sales of its power plant division to 150 billion yen in the year to March 2006, from 100 billion forecast for this financial year. (US$1=118 yen). “Our target areas are North America, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East,” said company spokesman Makoto Yasuda....

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Rating Services raised its ratings on two major Japanese oil refiners and retailers, but lowered its ratings on a third. S&P raised its rating of Showa Shell Sekiyu KK to “BBBpi” from “BBB-pi”, and of Nippon Oil Corp to “BBB-pi” from “BB+pi”, citing progress in cost reduction and improved...

1. The 21st ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) was convened on 3 July 2003, preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting on Energy (SOME) on 30 June – 1 July 2003 and the 4th SOME-METI (Japan) Consultations and the 2nd SOME + 3 Consultations on 2 July 2003. 2. H.E. Datuk Amar Leo Moggie, Minister...

SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – CH Offshore Ltd said it is expanding its fleet of anchor handling tug/supply vessels to 25 by end-2004 from 21 currently as its existing fleet capacity is close to fully utilised. CH Offshore executive director Loh Kee Kong said the group’s fleet capacity is about 80-90% utilised. Following the delivery of two...