BP and its Shah Deniz partners have awarded Technip-Coflexip (NYSE: TKP and Euronext FR0000131708) a contract worth about US $300 million for the stage 1 development of the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. In a statement, Technip-Coflexip said the contract includes the design, engineering, procurement, assembly, installation, hook-up...

Australia’s engineering firm Clough Limited (ASX: CLO) has appointed David Singleton as its new CEO and managing director. A UK citizen, Mr Singleton, 43, is a mechanical engineer by training. He comes with 20 years of international business experience in senior executive roles, primarily in Europe and the USA. His core strengths being in the...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp external affairs manager Roberto Kanapi said it has no plans at the moment to increase pump prices of petroleum products. “While crude prices have gone up, we have no plans as of yet to increase local pump prices. The decision of whether to pursue a price hike is...

HANOI (AFX-ASIA) – State-owned PetroVietnam produced more than 8.8 million tonnes of crude oil in the first six months of the year, an increase of 4.6% compared with the same period last year, officials said. The company exported nearly 8.6 million tonnes of crude during the period, making an increase of 3% year-on-year as a...

For the week ending July 4, US oil inventories improved slightly relative to the latest 5-year averages, but they are still a long way from reaching those average levels, said the US Department of Energy. Inventories of all major petroleum products, along with crude oil, remain significantly below average, and although there was some improvement...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) -The House committee on government enterprises and privatisation has approved a resolution seeking to prevent the government from selling its 40% stake in oil refiner Petron Corp, BusinessWorld newspaper reported. House Resolution 1068 was unanimously approved by the 40-member House panel, the report said. The report quoted Pampanga congressman Francis Nepomuceno as saying...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – The 6 bln aud development of the Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia (WA), operated by ChevronTexaco, has suffered a setback after two out of three state government agencies recommended against it, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing government officials. The report said ChevronTexaco is seeking WA government approval to build a...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the proposed alliance between Coles Myer Ltd and Shell, ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said. Coles Myer proposes to take over the management of Shell’s core retail service station network in order to launch a fuel deal for its customers. Some 584 sites across...

NEW DELHI (AFX) – The government is hoping to resume oil imports from Iraq and has urged the interim US administration to look into the matter, Petroleum Secretary BK Chaturvedi told reporters. “We bought 3 million tonnes of Iraqi crude last fiscal. We are looking at slightly larger quantity this year when Baghdad resumes full-fledged...

SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s said it has raised its long-term rating on LG-Caltex Oil Corp to “BBB” from “BBB-,” based on the company’s strong operating performance, improved debt position, and overall financial profile. The outlook on the rating is stable, it said. “Despite industry deregulation and increasing penetration from imported oil, LG-Caltex has...

Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) announced yesterday that the Qatargas II LNG Expansion Project has agreed to award the main Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase contracts to Chiyoda Corporation for the onshore facilities and M. W. Kellogg for a receiving terminal. The offshore FEED contract will be awarded later this year,...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Tokyo Gas Co and two affiliate firms of Royal Dutch/Shell Group said they have agreed to form a joint venture to develop natural gas power generation operations. The companies said the new firm, to be set up in August 1, 2003, will be capitalised at 150 million yen. (US$1=118 yen). Tokyo Gas...

The prequalification process for the ADB-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project (TAP project) has been put on hold while studies are carried out, a recent meeting of a steering committee decided. The studies will include a route survey for the southern route through Herat, Kandahar, Quetta and Multan, an estimation of reserves in Dauletabad gas fields...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – CLP Holdings Ltd (2.HK) said its power businesses on the mainland and in Asia-Pacific, undertaken through CLP Power China and CLP Power International, will be merged into a new subsidiary, CLP Power Asia Ltd, effective July 1. “We have made significant strides in our investments outside Hong Kong in recent years...

(XFN) – 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 provinces...

IndianOil is planning to sell its 4.8% stake in Gas Authority of India (Gail) during the year, if it gets clearance from the government, reported the Economic Times. In a presentation to analysts in Mumbai last week, the company’s finance director, P Sugavanam, said IOC will actively pursue its plans to offload the stake. The...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – The government implemented its third quarterly increase in electricity tariffs today but maintained fuel prices steady for July, Kompas reported, citing Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro. The government had previously decided to raise the electricity tariff by 6% on a quarterly basis this year as part of its efforts to...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s dispute with Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) over a bond sale is expected to be resolved soon as both parties are in the financial stage of negotiations for an out-of-court settlement, New Straits Times reported, quoting chairman Awang Adek Hussin. UBS is suing Tenaga for US$86.94 million for...

LONDON (AFX) – Fortune Oil PLC said profits for the period ended April 30 were ahead of last year’s and in line with the budget for the year. However, the results for the second quarter will be affected by the outbreak of SARS in China, but they should improve in the second half as the...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Hong Kong and China Gas Company (3.HK) said it has received formal approval from the Chinese Government to establish a 1.2 billion yuan 50-50 piped gas joint venture with Nanjing Gas General Company. (US$1=8.28 yuan). The company said in a statement the Nanjing-based joint-venture has a registered capital of 600 million....

BAGHDAD (AFX) – State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) could meet with some of the international oil companies with which it hopes to renew commercial relations, a SOMO director who requested anonymity said. “We’ve decided to invite our former clients to participate in a round of informal meetings, so we can talk face to face about...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Maersk-Sealand said the Port of Tanjung Pelepas allows the company to have a say in the running of the port, and it was for this reason that it chose to shift its operations to Malaysia from Singapore in August 2000. “You don’t actually have to be a (majority) shareholder but it’s...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Integrated oil and gas service provider Petra Perdana Bhd is planning to expand its Asia-Pacific operations following its maiden entry into Sudan, Africa, to provide operations and maintenance services for Greater Nile Petroleum, chairman Ibrahim Petra Indra Petra said. Bernama news agency quoted Mr Ibrahim as saying that Petra Perdana plans...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Agni Inc, which is involved in fuel-cell technology, has been awarded onshore oil and gas exploration rights in East Timor and is seeking partners for the exploration operations, the New Straits Times reported, quoting chief executive Sri M. Lingham. Agni was awarded the exploration rights as part of an agreement to...

Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd (GOC), a Hinduja Group-owned leading lubricant major, and Oil Bangladesh Ltd (OBL) have formed a 51/49 joint venture company called Gulf Oil Bangladesh Ltd (GOBL). The new company will start up a lube blending operation in Bangladesh, according to India’s Financial Express. GOC executive director V Ramesh Rao was quoted as...