CHINA: Sinopec, CNOOC to strike gas deal with Shell, Unocal soon – Shell official

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) (SH A 600028; HK 0386; NYSE SNP) and China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd (CNOOC) (HK 0883; NYSE CEO) will strike a multi-billion yuan deal soon with Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Unocal Corp to explore and produce gas in the East China Sea, a Shell official...

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INDONESIA: Korea buys Tangguh LNG

BP Indonesia, the operator of Indonesia’s Tangguh LNG project, said it has been selected as the preferred supplier of LNG to two South Korean companies – SK Power Company Limited, and POSCO. POSCO, the world’s second largest steel maker, and SK Power Ð 100% owned by SK Corporation (SK Corp), South Korea’s largest oil refiner...

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MALAYSIA: SAAG proposes rights/special issues; Ecodrill jv/acquisition

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – SAAG Consolidated (M) Bhd is proposing a rights issue and a special issue to raise its paid-up share capital to meet a minimum second board requirement, and is also planning to expand its operations by acquiring a stake in an oil and gas company and via a joint venture proposal. In...

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AZERBAIJAN: BTC pipeline partners agree to bail out Azeri state oil company

BAKU (AFX) – Partners in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline will lend Azerbaijan nearly US$200 million to cover its share of construction costs, project operator BP PLC said. The bridging loan to Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR irons out an obstacle that could have held up work on the pipeline, which will deliver crude oil...

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CHINA: CNOOC 400 million yuan natural gas pipeline comes into operation in Hainan province

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) said its recently completed 247-kilometer natural gas pipeline in Hainan province has been put into operation. In a statement published on the company’s website, it said the pipeline, with a total investment of 400 million yuan, started transferring natural gas from the Dongfang 1-1 gas field...

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CHINA: PetroChina discovers largest natural gas field in China

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857) has discovered a natural gas field with gas reserves exceeding 530 billion cubic metres in Inner Mongolia, the largest in the country, China Enterprise News reported. Changqing Oil Field Co, a PetroChina unit, said that the gas field, named Sugeli, has reserves of 533.65 billion cu m...

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THAILAND: PTT raises 2003 revenue projection to 400 billion bath

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – PTT president Prasert Bunsumpun said the company has raised its 2003 revenue forecast to 400 billion baht from 380-390 billion seen earlier. (US$1=43 baht). “PTT’s revenue in the first half was already high, exceeding the company’s expectations. Therefore, full-year revenue should reach 400 billion baht from 380-390 billion baht projected earlier,” he...

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INDONESIA: Drought threatens power supply in Java-Bali

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Declining water volumes in a number of hydropower plants as a result of a severe drought may force the state-run electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to cut power supply in Java and Bali in the coming months, reports said. “We have found that the drought in a number of areas...

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CHINA: Shanghai to double power generating capacity by 2010 Ð report

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – The Shanghai government plans to double the city’s electricity generating capacity to 25.8 million kW by 2010 to alleviate power shortages during peak demand periods, the Shanghai Daily reported, citing government officials. The newspaper quoted officials from the local development and research commission as saying that the city will make it a...

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THAILAND: Unocal awards contract for new FSO to serve its crude oil development

Unocal Thailand, Ltd. Last week signed an agreement with Teekay Shipping Corporation for long-term lease and management of a Floating Storage and Offloading vessel for its crude oil development project in the Gulf of Thailand The new vessel, to be named Pattani Spirit, will replace the tanker Sibeia that is now used to store crude...

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MALAYSIA: Petronas Gas Q1 results improve on higher volume, CUF sales

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Petronas Gas Bhd said its first quarter to June sales rose to RM561.20 million from RM540.35 million a year earlier, mainly due to the higher volume of gas processed and higher industrial utilities sales from the Centralised Utility Facilities (CUF). (US$1=RM3.8). In the notes accompanying its results, Petronas Gas said the...

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MALAYSIA: Tenaga higher on overseas expansion plan talks

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd has moved higher on news last week that the company has plans to expand its operations overseas, dealers said. Tenaga chairman Awang Adek Hussain said the company is considering acquiring power stations abroad or supplying power to neighbouring countries. “We are currently in the exploratory stage,” Awang said,...

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JAPAN: Global energy body to inspect Niigata reactor

The International Atomic Energy Agency will send inspectors to Japan next year to assess safety measures at a nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, the government’s own nuclear safety agency said, according to the Japan Times. The report said a team of more than 10 IAEA officials and nuclear experts will examine the pertinence of...

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CHINA: PetroChina mulling dumping Shell consortium in gas pipeline project

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – PetroChina Co Ltd is considering dumping a consortium of foreign partners led by Royal/Dutch Shell and going it alone on the US$8 billion financing of its west to east gas pipeline, the official People’s Daily said on its website, citing an unnamed source close to the project. After more than a year...

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PHILIPPINES: First Philippine Holdings firmer on H1 results, outlook

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – First Philippine Holdings shares have moved higher after reporting significantly higher net profit for the first half and second quarter, dealers said. They said the company’s outlook improved after unit Manila Electric Co won approval from state-owned National Power Corp to increase electricity supply from its parent’s power generators. Expectations of a...

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INDIA: At least 29 feared dead as chopper belonging to ONGC crashes into sea

BOMBAY (AFX-ASIA) – At least 29 people are feared killed when a helicopter belonging to the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), which was on its way to an offshore exploration site, crashed into the sea early this week, company officials said. The helicopter took off from Bombay and fell into the Arabian Sea...

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PHILIPPINES: ADB aims to promote good governance in power sector

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an US$800,000 technical assistance grant to strengthen the Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) and promote good governance in the restructured power sector. The grant is aimed at clarifying the respective roles of the DOE and the newly established Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) under the ongoing reorganisation and build...

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TANKERS: IMB lists attempted attacks on gas carriers and tankers in Southeast Asia

The International Crime Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported three incidents of attempted pirate attacks on oil and gas vessels in Southeast Asia late last month. On July 31, pirates in five fast motorboats attempted to board a gas carrier in waters off the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. Two boats each on...

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MARKETS: IEA raises 2003 global oil demand growth forecast by 100,000 b/pd to 1.11 million

PARIS (AFX) – The International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its forecast for global oil demand growth for 2003 by 100,000 barrels per day to 1.11 million, reflecting China’s quicker-than-expected recovery from the effects of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. The Paris-based agency left its 2004 oil demand growth forecast unchanged at 1.05 million...

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MALAYSIA: Tenaga Nasional Baa3 rating on review for possible upgrade

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Moody’s Investor Service said it has placed Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s “Baa3” senior unsecured rating on review for a possible upgrade. The rating action is prompted by an improving operating performance due both to electricity demand growth in Malaysia and lower fuel costs, decreasing capital expenditure as Malaysia’s reserve margin reaches a...

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CHINA: China Petrochemical Corp begins expansion of Guangdong refinery

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petrochemical Corp, the largest refiner in Asia, has begun expansion work at its Dongxing refinery in the southern Chinese city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, an official with Dongxing told AFX-Asia. The official, who did not want to be identified, said the expansion project aims to increase Dongxing’s annual refinery output...

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INDIA: Debate over need for crude stockpile

Despite its own fast-growing oil demand, India is still debating the need for the establishment of a strategic crude oil stockpile. The project has the support of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, but Cabinet Secretaries questioned its need at a meeting .on July 30. According to local media reports, the group led by the main...

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NATURAL GAS: The wild ride for natural-gas prices isn’t over

(AFX) — It’s been a wild ride for natural gas so far this year and the biggest loops may still be ahead. Just two months after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan raised his concerns about an imbalance between the fuel’s supply and demand, prices have dropped more than 20%. But as the 3% spike last...

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MALAYSIA: KNM Group expects China plant to contribute 40% to FY2004 profit (MEMBERS ONY)

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Soon-to-be-listed KNM Group Bhd (KNM) expects its China plant to start contributing up to RM4 million or 40% to the group’s earnings in 2004, online paper The Edge reported, quoting managing director Lee Swee Eng. KNM, which provides engineering services and manufactures process equipment for petrochemical and oil and gas companies,...

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: InterOil says on verge of major discovery

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFX-ASIA) – Papua New Guinea energy company InterOil says it is on the verge of a possible world-ranking oil discovery in the country’s Gulf Province. “We believe we are on the verge of finding the ‘Bass Strait’ of Papua New Guinea,” Phil Mulacek, chairman and chief executive of InterOil, told...

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