BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – State Grid Corp, the former monopoly in China’s power industry, has transferred 13 generating subsidiaries, which have a total production capacity of 4,640 MW, to Huaneng Group at no cost, the China Daily said. The newspaper said the assets account for 18% of Huaneng’s existing capacity of 25,660 MW. It said the...
IRAN: Royal Dutch/Shell not planning bid for Iran’s Azadegan project ‘at the moment’
LONDON (AFX) – Royal Dutch/Shell Group said it is at present not planning to bid for the massive Azadegan project in Iran. Azadegan, located in southern Iran, is considered to be the country’s biggest oil field with potential reserves of around 26 billion barrels of crude oil. A Shell spokesman said the group, which serves...
MARKETS: Shock OPEC quota cut raises questions over cartel’s credibility
LONDON (AFX) – OPEC’s surprise decision last week to cut output quotas raises questions over the credibility of the cartel and represents a slap in the face for oil consuming countries hoping for low oil prices in order to boost economic growth, analysts said. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will reduce its output...
CHINA: CNOOC begins gas production at its Dongfang field
China’s CNOOC Limited has begun production from its largest independent gas field in Dongfang field, located about 110 km offshore from Dongfang city on Hainan Island. The DF 1-1 well, in about 70m of water, is located in Yinggehai of Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea. DF1-1 is to be developed in two phases,...
AUSTRALIA: Science agency helps find oil in PNG ‘Moose’ field
Australia’s science agency, CSIRO, said it played a key role in helping Canadian oil company InterOil find new oil fields in Papua New Guinea. A team of ten CSIRO petroleum division researchers helped in a vigorous exploration programme with InterOil. In July, the company announced finding 14 oil shows through 135 meters of cored Tertiary...
JAPAN: Quake causes fire at Idemitsu crude oil storage facility – company spokesman
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – A huge earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale that struck northern Japan last Friday caused a fire at a refinery owned by Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd in the Pacific coast city of Tomakomai, Hokkaido, a company spokesman said. No one was injured and the fire at the 30,000 kiloliter crude oil...
SINGAPORE: Singapore Power full-year net profit rise 126% to S$749million
Singapore Power has reported a 126% jump in full-year net profit to S$749 million despite a 13% drop in revenue to S$4.38 billion. (US$1=S$1.75). The company attributed the profit rise to an exceptional gain of S$61m compared to an exceptional loss of S$340m previously. “The drop in revenue was mainly due to the launch of...
PHILIPPINES: Caltex not yet exempt from IPO requirement Ð Perez
MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The government will not yet exempt Caltex Philippines Inc from the mandatory initial public offering even if it has decided to stop its local refining operations, Energy Secretary Vicente Perez said. “Under the Oil Industry Deregulation Law, only oil refiners should list. Since Caltex is not anymore (operating) a refinery, we cannot...
INDIA: Joint project with the US to stockpile 55 million tones of crude
(INFRALINE) — India will set up three strategic oil reserves at Rajkot, Mangalore and Vishakhapatnam in collaboration with the US. The Rs 43.5 billion project will stockpile 55 million tonnes of crude oil to meet emergency requirements. (US$1=Rs 45). While Rajkot will have the biggest reserve of 25 million tonnes, the Mangalore facility will stock...
CAMBODIA: ADB approves grant for boosting power transmission in Cambodia and the Greater Mekong regi
The ADB has approved a US$730,000 technical assistance grant to Cambodia to prepare a power transmission project for the Greater Mekong region. The grant will develop feasibility studies that will allow international power transfers, and stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty across the country. The six countries of the Greater Mekong region, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam,...
COMPANY: Vopak agrees on sale of European interests in gas shipping, LPG tankers in Asia
Dutch logistics company Vopak said it has reached in-principle agreement to sell the European interest of its gas shipping company, Chemgas, to Germany’s Reederei Jaegers GmbH for more than Û 45 million. (US$1= Û 0.88) The sale follows its earlier announced strategic review of all non-tank terminal activities as part of Vopak’s Tank Terminal Plus...
CHINA: HK-listed Xinao Gas awarded supply contracts for four mainland cities
HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) – Xinao Gas Holdings (2688.HK) said it has won contracts to supply piped gas to four cities in the mainland provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, boosting its coverage to 37 cities and 17 million mainland residents. Xinao will own a 70% stake in the project in Jiangsu and has the right to...
IRAQ: UN chief criticised the US as Bush pushes plan for Iraqi transition at U.N.
WASHINGTON (AFX) — President Bush asked the United Nations last week to back his administration’s plan for Iraq to transition to a democratic society, but did not set a specific timetable for the return of sovereignty to Iraq. “The primary goal of our coalition in Iraq is self-government for the people of Iraq, reached by...
MALAYSIA: Oil, gas stocks extend gains on Murphy Oil investment news
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Oil and gas stocks have gained in recent weeks as investors remained bullish that companies that provide support services for oil and gas exploration will benefit from a further RM1.6 billion investment by Murphy Oil, dealers said. (US$1=RM3.8). Earlier, Murphy Oil Corp unit Murphy Sarawak Oil Co Ltd’s operations manager Steward...
INDIA: ONGC plans to double production capacity by 2020
India’s upstream company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has announced plans to double its oil and gas production to 12 billion tonnes per year by 2020. N Lal, ONGC’s director for technical and field services said most of the new output will come from offshore fields. More than two thirds of the country’s 6...
ASIA: Region’s LNG demand to exceed 150 million tons by 2015 – BHP Billiton chief
SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia should double to more than 150 million tons by 2015 on surging demand in Japan, South Korea, China, India and Taiwan, the president and chief executive of Australian resources giant BHP Billiton Ltd, Philip Aiken, said. He said rising demand was expected to result...
RUSSIA: Gazprom, Conoco seek to cooperate on US$10 billion LNG project
LONDON (AFX) – OAO Gazprom said it hopes to cooperate with ConocoPhillips on a US$10 billion joint venture to provide liquefied natural gas to the US market, the Wall Street Journal reported. Alexander Ryazanov, deputy chief executive of Gazprom, told reporters at a US-Russian energy summit that Gazprom hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding...
INDIA: HPCL’s JV entity to begin implementation of LPG cavern
(INFRALINE) — Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s (HPCL) joint venture entity South Asia LPG Company (SALPG) is expected to begin building a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) underground cavern. “SALPG will soon commence implementation of the LPG underground cavern with a storage capacity of 60,000 MT along with related infrastructure for receipt and dispatch facilities”, HPCL chairman...
PHILIPPINES: Caltex to convert Batangas refinery into storage terminal
MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Caltex Philippines Inc said it will convert its refinery in San Pascual, Batangas, south of Manila into a world-class storage terminal. Caltex said it will import its refined oil product requirements after the closure of the refinery. “This product import strategy reflects Caltex’s strong determination to be a major supplier of the...
CHINA: Power company Enerchina announces profits for 1H 2003, turnaround from loss
Hong Kong-listed Enerchina Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 622) has reported an interim net profit of HK$5.1 million for its first half operations, representing a turnaround from a loss of HK$187.8 million for the same period last year. Its consolidated turnover for the period was up 166.2% to approximately HK$187.8 million. (US$1=HK$7.78). “The encouraging performance was...
THAILAND: Government plans new strategic oil reserve
The Thai government plans to establish a strategic oil reserve in addition to the one legally required for commercial purposes. The new reserve will help Thailand deal with potential supply disruptions and global oil price fluctuations, according to a Bangkok Post report citing Metta Banturngsuk, director of Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO). Thai laws...
PHILIPPINES: Accord reached with Singapore on petrochemical issue
The Philippine and Singaporean governments have reached agreement on the issue of tariffs involving petrochemical products traded in the ASEAN region. According to Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II, a compromise was reached during the recent meeting of the ASEAN Economic Ministers in Cambodia. “We have already signed a protocol agreement since we...
PHILIPPINES: Meralco extends gains on higher Jan-Aug sales
MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Manila Electric Co shares have gained over the past week after it said sales grew 5.7% year-on-year for the January to August period, dealers said. Interest in Meralco remains firm amid its continuing recovery from recent losses, they added. Chief finance officer Daniel Tagaza said Meralco’s favorable sales so far has given...
MARKETS: IMF Meeting told oil price decline set to boost economic recovery
DUBAI (AFX) – A projected decline in oil prices, possibly sharpening by late 2004, should help underpin the global economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook. Lower oil prices translate into lower industrial input costs, helping to drive economic growth. “There may well be an upside risk to...
INDIA: Essar’s 240,000 b/d Vadinar refinery to go on stream in 2005
(INFRALINE) — Essar Oil Ltd is set to start crude processing at its US$2.2 billion refinery at Vadinar, Jamnagar, on the West Coast of India from mid-2005, its managing director and chief executive officer Jagdeesh M. Mehta told UNI in an interview. He said construction would start soon on the 240,000 barrels a day refinery,...