JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Forty oil and gas companies, four of which are domestic, have raised interest in operating 11 new oil and gas blocks the government was offering, said Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry director general for oil and gas Iin Arifin Takhyan. “The number of companies that took with them the (registration) forms amount...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – State owned oil and gas company Pertamina said it will retain current fuel prices for August but would hike the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In a statement, it said that fuel prices will remain unchanged with premium gasoline still at 1,810 rupiah per litre, kerosene at 1,800, automotive diesel at...

BAGHDAD (AFX) – Iraq signed oil futures contracts with 12 foreign companies, said a senior official at the oil ministry. The contracts, the first since an embargo against Iraq was lifted, date from August 1 until end-December. The total volume of the exports will be 650,000 barrels per day for the month of August, and...

Power company InterGen said it has signed a gas sales agreement for the Island Power Project, a 720-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired, combined cycle power facility located on Jurong Island in Singapore. Island Power Company Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of InterGen, signed the gas sales agreement with ConocoPhillips (Grissik) Limited for the purchase of approximately...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China is expected to approve within a month a plan to set up 500 joint venture gas stations proposed by PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857; NYSE PTR) and BP plc (NYSE BP) in Guangdong, the China Business Post reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The newspaper said China will also...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China’s Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said it has set the crude oil import quota for non-state companies at 10.95 billion tons for 2004, and that of refined oil at 6.1 million tons. China set the crude oil import quota for non-state firms at 9.52 million tons for 2003. No comparative figure was...

MOSCOW (AFX) – China is ready to help finance the construction of a Russian oil pipeline carrying Siberian crude to Daqing in China, China’s ambassador to Russia said. “Today, all the financial and technical details concerning the construction of the pipeline have already been discussed and the final decision regarding the route of the pipeline...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd is confident the sale of its 50-50 joint venture with BP Plc, Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), to local firm Bumi Resources will go ahead, despite the Jakarta Stock Exchange suspending Bumi shares from trade, the Australian newspaper reported. Citing Rio Tinto’s Indonesia spokesman Anang Noor, the report...

BAGHDAD (AFX) – Iraq’s oil output is now surpassing one million barrels per day (bpd), which has increased oil sales that help fund the reconstruction effort, the US-led coalition spokesman said. Previous official figure provided earlier in the month by the oil ministry estimated production between 800,000-900,000 b/d. “Crude oil production is rising very fast...

WASHINGTON (AFX) — Automakers have little to fear from the wide-ranging energy bill under debate in the Senate after lawmakers killed a proposal that would have boosted mileage standards over the next 12 years. In a 65-32 vote, the chamber voted down a measure sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that would have required cars...

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said here that talks with Japanese consortia for the development of massive Azadegan oil field were continuing, but he did not say how far the chances of reaching a deal was. “We were (are) emphatic on continuing negotiations with Japan as a priority (since) it is in Asia,” he...

Malaysia’s Petronas said its joint venture Chad-Cameroon Integrated Oil Development and Pipeline Project has begun operations. The pipeline, originally targeted for completion in 2004, extends 1,070 kilometers from the landlocked oil fields in southern Chad to a floating storage vessel offshore Kribi in Cameroon, where the oil will be offloaded for export. Construction of the...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a “B3” senior unsecured rating to the proposed issue of US$200 million 10-year notes by PGN Euro Finance 2003 Ltd and guaranteed by PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN). It said the rating is on review for possible upgrade, in line with Indonesia’s sovereign rating. At the same...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Crest Petroleum Bhd has proposed to buy Sapura Energy Sdn Bhd for RM186.3 million cash and is planning a cash call to raise RM150 million to partly finance the acquisition. (US$1=RM3.8). In a statement, the company said it is proposing a rights issue of 100 million shares together with 50 million...

Perth-based resource explorer Bounty Oil & Gas NL said it accelerated activity in its oil and gas projects during the March-June quarter 2003, with plans underway for drilling in several sites. Bounty’s managing director, Tom Fontaine, said he is optimistic about his company’s up-coming projects. He said: “We have a very full schedule ahead of...

Sakhalin Energy has awarded a US$1.2 billion contract for the construction of onshore pipelines as part of Phase 2 of the Sakhalin II project. The project went to a consortium comprising Russian companies Starstroi and LUKoil-Neftegazstroi together with the European companies Saipem SA and AMEC Spie Capag. The project involves the engineering, procurement (excluding linepipe)...

The oil markets remain well supported at US$30/barrel after yesterday’s breather to follow through on last week’s sharp rally. Prices could rise further as traders remain nervous about possible supply disruptions as was seen by last week’s rally on news of fresh attacks on Iraq’s oil pipelines and weather disturbances in the US Gulf. Last...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Oil and gas developer Novus Petroleum Ltd said its second quarter to June revenues fell 13.7 pct from the first quarter to A$35.9 million as a modest fall in output was compounded by lower average oil prices as global prices fell and the Australian dollar rose. (US$1=A$1.5). In a statement, Novus said...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) Ð Shares of Manila Electric Co have been moving up on renewed investor interest after reporting a second quarter to June net profit of 391 million pesos, against a net loss of 325 million in the preceding quarter, dealers said. (US$1=54 pesos). Bargain hunters also showed interest in the shares after the sharp...

BANGKOK (AFX-ASIA) – Bangchak Petroleum Plc said it posted a net loss of 919.67 million baht in the second quarter to June against a profit 340.70 million baht a year earlier, with a loss per share of 1.76 baht compared to earnings-per-share (EPS) of 0.65 baht. (US$1=42 baht). For the six months to June, its...

Singapore’s Gas Supply Pte Ltd (GSPL) has signed an agreement to supply City Gas Pte Ltd up to 15 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas for 20 years starting September 2003. In a joint statement, the companies said City Gas is the leading town gas retailer in Singapore with over 500,000...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Yangtze Electric Power Corp, China’s largest hydroelectric power producer, has obtained approval to launch an A-share initial public offering to raise more than 10 billion yuan, Xinhua reported, citing sources close to the company. (US$1=8.27 yuan). It said Yangtze Electric Power will issue more than 1 billion A-shares to individual investors...

East Asia’s growth could pick up in the second half to reach 5.6% for this year and 6.3% in 2004, as the adverse economic impacts of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) turn out to be moderate, according to an ADB report released last week. An unfavourable external environment and the SARS epidemic have combined to...

Singapore Petroleum Co Ltd said its first half to June net profit fell 61.2% year-on-year to S$15.702 million from S$40.464 million a year earlier, despite a 45.2% rise in sales to S$1.636 billion from S$1.127 billion previously. (US$1=S$1.75). The company attributed the rise in sales to higher volumes handled and higher average realisations achieved but...

LONDON (AFX) Ð Oil prices finished last week firmer following a widely expected decision by OPEC to maintain its official output ceiling, analysts said. The group signalled its intent to maintain the existing output ceiling of 25.4 million barrels per day, following a meeting in Vienna last Thursday. Adam Sieminski, director of oil and gas...