MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Energy Secretary Vicente Perez Jr urged Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp, the local unit of Dutch/Shell Group, to pursue its plan to undertake an initial public offering within the year in light of the improving sentiment on the market. “The stock market has bounced back. Shell should really now reconsider and revisit its...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Liaohe Jinma Oilfield Co Ltd (SZ A 000817) said it expects its first-half net profit to rise more than 50% compared to the year earlier, due to increased crude oil prices and lower production costs. The oil and gas exploration company posted a net profit of 178.36 million yuan for the first...

China’s Sinopec and French engineering group Technip-Coflexip have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a strategic partnership to cooperate on the engineering, procurement and construction of oil and gas, refining, petrochemical and chemical projects in the Middle East, India, Africa and the Asia Pacific. Technip-Coflexip said it has performed many projects for Sinopec and...

“The headlines were bullish for both crude and light products,” said SG in describing the latest oil data released by the US Department of Energy. The department reported commercial crude stocks down 2.1 million barrels vs an anticipated 1.5 million barrels build; total gasoline stocks drawing by 3.2 million, double the anticipated draw; and distillate...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Cosmo Oil Co Ltd said it will cut its crude oil refining capacity by 50,000 barrels per day (b/d) to 545,000 in two facilities in Kanagawa and Mie prefecture, from spring 2004 at the earliest. Under the plan, the company said the move is to improve its efficiency in crude oil refining....

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Manila Electric Co said it expects to book a net profit of 1 billion pesos, reversing last year’s loss of 2 billion, despite an ongoing refund of overcharges to customers expected to reach around 30.5 billion pesos. (US$1=54 pesos). The earnings goal will likely be achieved on the back of a projected...

Australia’s BHP Billiton has made an oil discovery at its second exploratory well on the Chinook prospect in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Drilled in water depths of approximately 8,830 feet (2,684 meters), the well exceeded a total depth of 27,650 feet (8,406 meters), encountering a gross hydrocarbon column of 620 feet (188 meters) with...

China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group) is in talks with China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) to set up a research department mainly engaged in setting up auto lubricating oil standards in order to compete with foreign brands, Beijing Business Today reported. The newspaper quoted Song Yunchang, chairman of Sinopec Great Wall Lubricating oil Group Co Ltd,...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857) is on track to deliver gas through the west-east pipeline project from the northwest Chinese province of Shaanxi to Shanghai as early as Oct 1, although the project’s joint venture with foreign partners has been delayed, the China Daily reported. Citing Wu Hong, vice president of the...

Iran has announced a near-term plan to increase crude oil swaps with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, Interfax news agency reported. “Last year Iran signed a contract with Kazakhstan to import 20,000 barrels a day for its northern regions,” the report said. “Iranian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Mortaza Saffari said the limited capacity of the pipeline between the...

BEIJING (XFN) – The average price of imported crude oil via the Tianjin port was US$193.05 per ton in May, down US$66 compared with that in March, the Xinhua news agency said, citing sources with Tianjin Customs. The agency said the oil price hike in March was largely a result of the war in Iraq,...

Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) and Tokyo Gas Co have bought a combined 10.08% stake in the Bayu-Undan gas field in the Timor Sea, said operator ConocoPhillips. According to the US oil and gas company which owns the bulk of the project, its stake will fall to 56.72% from 64.14%. The two Japanese companies have...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – State owned gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara plans to issue bonds worth US$200 million to finance its gas transmission pipeline from South Sumatera to West Java, company director Sutikno said. He told reporters on the sidelines of a business forum that the company may also require a second bonds issue in...

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFX) – North Oil Company (NOC) plans to export about 200,000 barrels of oil per day through Turkey from this week, when repairs on the Mina al Bakr to Ceyhan oil pipeline are due to have been completed, said NOC head Adil Al Qazzaz. “The pipeline will be repaired and then we’ll start...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – The Environment Ministry has decided on a basic plan for taxing fossil fuels based on their carbon content as part of its efforts to curb energy spending and greenhouse gas emissions, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. The tax will apply to the importers or refiners of fossil fuels, including coal, it said,...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Manila Electric Co said it expects to book a net profit of as much as 1 billion pesos this year, partly reversing a net loss of 2 billion pesos in 2002. (US$1=53 pesos). “We will likely be posting a net profit of 1 billion pesos for the year,” Meralco chief finance officer...

US independent energy company Marathon Oil has signed a letter of intent to pursue a gas-to-liquids project with Qatar, the company said. Houston-based Marathon signed the pact in Washington with the Qatari Petroleum Co., emphasising that it means Marathon will pursue “technical and commercial discussions” that could lead to a gas-to-liquids project in the Persian...

The Indian capital of New Delhi has won the US Department of Energy’s first Clean Cities International Partner of the Year award for its bold efforts to curb air pollution and support alternative fuel initiatives. New Delhi has experienced a dramatic reduction in air pollution generated by diesel buses and other vehicles over the last...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – China generated a total of 142.34 billion kWh of electricity in May, up 14.14% year-on-year, the State Power Grid Co said. The country’s hydroelectric plants produced a total of 23.21 billion kWh of electricity in May, up 1.37% from a year earlier, while electricity generated by thermal power plants grew 16.58% to...

BAGHDAD (AFX) – Iraq’s oil ministry is to double the number of armed guards patrolling the country’s fuel pipelines, from 3,000 to 6,000, a senior official said, following a spate of attacks. The measure will come into effect “very soon,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official added that tribal members living...

Australia’s Origin Energy has expanded its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) after acquiring Shepparton-based Victorian regional supplier Hylemit Pty Ltd which trades as Treston Gas. The acquisition delivers Origin a significant increase in its LPG operations in Victoria state with additional sales of 12,000 tonnes per annum. The acquisition complements Origin’s position as one of the...

Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas posted record revenue of RM81.4billion last year on higher oil prices and output, and the national oil company believes there are even better days ahead, reported the Star newspaper. (US$1=RM3.8). “In the coming years we will see the corporation reaping the fruits of the investments it had been...

ExxonMobil Malaysia will invest RM4 billion in upstream activities, development of its natural gas business, and organisational improvements over the next three years, said chairman Rob Fisher. (US$1=RM3.8). Much of the investment would go towards upstream activities, where a large number of its 16 fields are maturing, and the best technology would be put in...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – The cabinet will consider tomorrow a Finance Ministry proposal to set up a 100 billion baht fund to invest in key companies, possibly including Thai Military Bank (TMB) and Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), the Bangkok Post reported. (US$1=42 baht). Senior ministry sources told the Post that the fund, which is being positioned...

LONDON (AFX) – ExxonMobil Corp and Qatar Petroleum have forged an alliance to build an Stg 800 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the UK, an ExxonMobil spokeswoman said. Qatar Petroleum, which will supply the LNG, will control 70% of the project. ExxonMobil will hold the remaining 30%. The facility, once completed, can...