Indonesia’s PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk, is building a 200-220 tonnes/day liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant at at cost of US$20 million in Rimau, Musi Banyasin regency in South Sumatra. According to local press reports, PT Medco Energi Internasional Finance Director Sugiharto said the plant would begin production early next year to meet rising domestic...

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – CLP Holdings Ltd (2.HK) said electricity sales in Hong Kong declined in the first half year-on-year due to the cooler weather and reduced economic activities as a result of the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The group reported a 8.2% growth in total earnings to HK$3.714 billion for the six...

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...

Thailand’s Alliance Refining Co (ARC) has realised US$200 million in cost savings for equal joint venture partners Star Petroleum Refining Co (SPRC) and Rayong Refinery Co (RRC) since it was established four years ago, said chief executive Brian Waywell. According to a Bangkok Post report, it achieved the savings through better asset utilisation, improved blending...

Australia’s North West Shelf JV has signed sale and purchase agreements with BP Gas Marketing for the supply an LNG cargo of up to 135,000 cubic metres. The cargo left this week from the North West Shelf’s LNG loading facilities in Withnell Bay, Western Australia. BP will deliver the cargo to a receiving terminal in...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Department of Energy said it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp and the Malampaya consortium on the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) for public transport. The Malampaya consortium, which operates the Malampaya natural gas field in Palawan, includes Shell Philippines Exploration BV, Shell Philippines LLC,...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Nippon Oil Corp said it has temporarily suspended operations at two oil refinery facilities in Osaka and in Yamaguchi, west Japan, for safety reasons. The company said the decision was made after the company found the two facilities had not previously conducted some inspections obligated under the High Pressure Gas Safety Law....

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co Ltd (CSPC), a joint venture between Royal Dutch/Shell Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp, said it has raised US$2.7 billion for the company’s US$4.3 billion Nanhai petrochemicals project. In a statement, the company said the deal is the largest-ever private sector project financing in the Asia-Pacific...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Inner Mongolia Mengdian Huaneng Thermal Power Corp Ltd (SH A 600863) will see a steady increase in its net profit in the second half of this year due to strong demand for electricity and stable coal prices, analysts told AFX-Asia. Electricity demand in the Beijing and Tianjin area will increase rapidly, which...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Origin Energy Ltd said its year to June oil production rose 6.2% over the year earlier’s figure to 853,770 barrels, with fourth quarter production coming in at 334,930 barrels, up 167% year on year. The company said natural gas production for the year was up 2% at 73.99 petajoules, while fourth quarter...

Xinao Gas, through subsidiary China BVI, and Changsha Gas have set up a joint venture, Changsha Xinao, to supply piped gas for 20 years to the Hunan’s Changsha city in China’s Hunan province. Changsha Xinao, now a subsidiary of Xinao Gas, will invest RMB266 million in the project (US$1=RMB8.27). Changsha Xinao has registered capital of...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Another two generating units of the Three Gorges Project will be put into operation on Aug 10, ahead of schedule, to alleviate the power shortage brought on by a heat wave, the Liberation Daily reported, citing the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Committee. The newspaper did not give the original scheduled date. It...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Oilcorp Bhd has stayed strong after listing in place of Abrar Corp Bhd, as investors continue to take strong interest in new listings as well as oil and gas stocks, dealers said. Oilcorp provides services mainly for key sectors like oil and gas, petrochemicals, power generation, semiconductors and other related industries,...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – At least 48 local and international oil and gas exploration companies have expressed interest to explore the areas of Palawan and the Sulu Sea for potential gas and oil reserves, the Department of Energy said. The energy department launched the First Petroleum Public Contracting Round as a first step to bidding –...

Sakhalin Island’s rise as a potential major gas producer is significant on two fronts. It marks Russia’s emergence as an important energy supplier to East Asia to potentially rival the Middle East and Southeast Asia in the long term. It is also likely to strengthen the position of Japan and its neighbours in negotiations with...

Indonesian oil and gas company PT Medco International said its first half net profit rose to US$52.7 million from US$44.6 million the same period last year. In a statement, the Jakarta-listed company said sales revenue increased by 9% to $227 million from $207 million. Net revenues from its subsidiaries rose by 18% to $52.7 million...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it assigned its “B-” foreign currency rating to the proposed US-dollar notes to be issued by PGN Euro Finance 2003 Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PT Perusahaan Gas Negara. The notes are guaranteed by PGN, to which Standard & Poor’s assigned ratings on July 29, 2003....

TEHRAN (AFX-ASIA) – National Iranian Oil Tanker Company (NIOTC) has signed a US$240 million order for six oil tankers to boost its handling of oil exports from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, NIOTC planning manager Abdolsamad Taaqol said. “NIOTC signed a 240-million-dollar contract on July 25 with Sadra Tanker company from Iran” and a Russian firm to...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Japan National Oil Corp, a government-affiliated corporation, will later this week commission Merrill Lynch Japan Inc and the consortium of Lehman Brothers Japan Inc and Mitsubishi Securities Co to appraise its equity stakes in oil and natural gas development firms, before selling the interests to private-sector investors, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported,...

Sakhalin Island’s rise as a potential major oil and gas producer is significant on two fronts. It marks Russia’s emergence as an important long term energy supplier to East Asia to potentially rival the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is also likely to strengthen the position of Japan and its neighbours in negotiations with...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – China’s listed power companies are reaping the benefits of a three-week heatwave, but analysts cautioned investors against buying stocks based on the temperature. Many Chinese are spending their days sitting in air-conditioned rooms as the heatwave enters its third week, and this has been a boon for the country’s power producers. “The...

The first steps towards government regulating energy pricing could be underway, US state agencies warn. The effects could eventually ripple across the world where energy pricing is left largely to the media which publish prices that are used by traders for valuing their deals. As a continuation of the fall-out of the California energy crisis...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – ExxonMobil Corp plans to invest some 4 billion in Malaysia over the next two years, of which 80-90% will go into the company’s oil and gas upstream activities, chairman of its Malaysian subsidiary Rob Fisher said. (US$1=RM3.8). The New Straits Times quoted Fisher as saying that the remaining investment will be...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – KGI Securities(Thailand) Plc said its expects PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) to report a second quarter net profit of 3.38 billion baht, which would represent a 30% quarter-on-quarter increase. (US$1=42 baht). But PTTEP’s second quarter net profit will be flat from the 3.34 billion baht reported a year earlier, KGI Securities (Thailand)...

Cairn Energy, the UK independent exploration firm, is being tipped to make further gains from its stepped-up operations in India. London-listed Cairn, one of Britain’s few remaining upstream companies, is largely focused on India, with interests in shallow-water production in Bangladesh and a small position in the North Sea. Analysts are particularly impressed with the...