CHINA: Hong Kong-listed Beijing Datang’s subsidiary buys assets worth 155 million yuan

Hong Kong-listed Beijing Datang Power Generation Co Ltd’s (991.HK) subsidiary Hebei Datang Tangshan Thermal Power Co Ltd will buy assets worth 155 million yuan from the group’s parent, China Datang Group Corp. (US$1=8.27 yuan). In a statement, Beijing Datang said Hebei Datang will buy assets of Tangshan Power Generation Plant (TPGP), currently a wholly-subsidiary of...

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SINGAPORE: Keppel FELS sells three rigs for US$55 million

Singapore engineering group Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS) has signed an agreement to sell three rigs to US drilling services company Ensco for a cash consideration of US$55 million, payable upon delivery expected in end May 2004. In a statement, the company said the rigs, the ENSCO 55 jackup, ENSCO 23 and ENSCO 24 platform...

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MALAYSIA: Petra Perdana shares firm; Petronas Gas sued

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) Ð Shares of Petra Perdana Bhd, an integrated service provider in the oil and gas industry, have been boosted on speculation that the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will buy more shares in the integrated oil and gas service provider, dealers said. “There’s talk that EPF may buy more shares in the company,”...

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JAPAN: Japan Oil Engineering wins 1.3 billion yen consulting deal for Indonesia pipeline

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – Japan Oil Engineering Co Ltd, a subsidiary of AOC Holdings Inc, has received an order worth about 1.3 billion yen from Indonesia’s state-owned gas company to provide consultancy services for the design and construction management of a natural gas pipeline to be built there, the Nikkei Business Daily reported, without citing sources....

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AUSTRALIA: BHP reports ‘significant’ growth for second half 2003

Australian resources company BHP Billiton said it experienced ‘significant growth’ in its operating and financial performance for the half year ended December 31, due to ‘the consistent execution of its business strategy over the last several years.’ Earnings before interest and tax (excluding exceptional items) grew 31.6% to US$2.183 billion, reflecting higher commodity prices, increased...

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AUSTRALIA: Woodside says Asian markets to benefit from ‘improved reliability’ of North West Shel

Asian LNG customers will soon benefit from even greater reliability of LNG supply from the North West Shelf Venture, with first gas now flowing into the its second trunkline, said Australia’s Woodside Energy, the project’s operator. The trunkline has been constructed to meet expected additional LNG demand from Asia and other markets, and more than...

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PHILIPPINES: Successful bilateral meeting with Thai energy chiefs on investment opportunities

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Energy Secretary Vincent Perez and Thai counterpart Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej have concluded successful two-day bilateral talks here, the Department of Energy (DoE) announced. The talks focused on investment opportunities in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors, the DoE added. The two officials are discussed in particular the countries’ bid...

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MARKETS: US senators renew plea to suspend SPR deposits

SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) — Two senators renewed a request to the Energy Department, urging it to take action to lower energy prices and raise oil supplies by suspending crude deposits into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “Temporarily suspending deposits of oil into the SPR will help provide American consumers and businesses with urgently needed relief...

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TAIWAN: State agency says ex-Tuntex chief making political donations to win favour for power plant p

Taiwan’s Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said that political donations from former Tuntex Group Chairman Chen Yu-hao to the nation’s three major political parties were designed to sway decision-making over a power plant contract. The accusation was reported by Taipei Times. The government’s accusation — which followed the fugitive tycoon’s announcement that President...

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INDIA: GAIL, Gazprom to jointly invest explore in Bengal offshore block

GAIL India and Russian gas major Gazprom will invest Rs 1.35 billion to explore Block 26 in the Bengal offshore region. (US$1=Rs45). Proshanto Banerjee, chairman and managing director of GAIL, said the 3D seismic survey for the block would begin next month, according to Business Standard newspaper. “We are hopeful about the prospects of finding...

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CHINA: Shanghai oil trading center to reopen after nearly 10 years – China Daily

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – The oil trading center in Shanghai has been given approval to reopen this year, almost a decade after it was mothballed, the China Daily reported. The Shanghai Municipal Government and the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved the reopening of the trading center, which will allow traders to buy and sell...

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MALAYSIA: Scomi Group Q4 sales up 6.9%, controversy over nuclear link

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Drilling fluids and mud-engineering services supplier Scomi Group Bhd said its fourth quarter to December sales rose 6.9% quarter-on-quarter to RM58.11 million mainly due to growth in its oil and gas division. (US$1=RM3.8). The sales of the oil and gas division grew 12.8% quarter-on-quarter to RM50.6 million, while those of the...

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MARKETS: IEA says China’s 2004 oil demand growth to slow to 6.2% from 10.9% in 2003

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China’s demand for oil this year is set to grow 6.2% compared to 10.9% in 2003, as its refining capacity hits the production ceiling, putting a cap on consumption in the short-term, said the International Energy Agency. But the Paris-based intergovernmental body also raised China’s 2004 oil demand growth estimates by 40,000...

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PHILIPPINES: Energy Dept says Shell, Caltex units IPO need new DOJ opinion

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking to amend a three-year-old opinion by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which allowed a delay in initial public offerings (IPO) of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp and Caltex Philippines Inc, Energy Secretary Vincent Perez said. Under the Oil Industry Deregulation Law, enacted in 1988, oil refiners...

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AUSTRALIA: ConocoPhillips announced first liquids from Bayu-Undan project

ConocoPhillips, the operator and 56.7% stake holder of the Bayu Undan project in the Timor Sea, has announced that first liquids production has been achieved on schedule from the gas recycle liquids phase of the project. This follows successful commissioning and start-up. The company said it anticipates that gas recycling (gas reinjection and increasing liquids...

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AUSTRALIA: Vopak to invest A$55 million in Darwin tank terminal

Dutch oil and chemical logistics company Vopak will invest A$55 million to build a 113,000 cubic metre oil storage terminal in Darwin, Australia’s northernmost city. The company said it has reached agreement with the major suppliers of oil products in the Northern Territory state and with the state government to build the facility at the...

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SINGAPORE: China Aviation sees record fuel business volumes in 2004

China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp Ltd (CAO) said its jet fuel procurement and international oil trading division is on track to achieve record growth in year to Dec 2004, after announcing additional off-spot cargoes and signing of a deal with a new customer in Hong Kong. The latest new spot cargoes are for 30,000 metric...

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SRI LANKA: ADB to help bring more electricity to poor villages

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing a project to help expand electricity connection in the rural areas of Sri Lanka and review the opportunities for power distribution network expansion, through a technical assistance grant approved for US$600,000. In a statement, the ADB said that the grant will help in the project’s design on the...

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INDONESIA: PGN cuts bond issue to US$125 million on higher yield demand

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – State owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) has cut its bond issue to 125 mln usd from the initial plan of US$150 million due to demand from investors for higher yield, Bisnis Indonesia reported. The newspaper quoted company president Washington Mampe Parulian Simanjuntak as saying PGN has set the bond’s...

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ASIA: Rising demand for natural gas needs US$70 billion investments – experts

SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – Nearly 70 bln usd in investments are required by 2020 to meet Asia’s growing dependence on natural gas for its electricity needs, energy experts said here. Oil will remain a marginal player in the power generation sector because of its high price while coal will remain the most popular fuel in the...

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CHINA: Petrochina unit Chinaoil adopts TradeCapture, Inc’s energy trading and risk management soluti

Chinaoil, the international trading arm of PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE: PTR), will be using TradeCapture’s ICTS Symphony(TM) to track and manage its international crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals trading business. US, Connecticut-based TradeCapture, Inc is a leading developer of integrated energy trading and risk management systems. “After a review of the trading systems in...

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CHINA: Focus on Chongqing Jiulong Electric, China Resources, China Power International

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Chongqing Jiulong Electric Power Co Ltd (SHA 600292) said it will benefit from the increase in electricity prices this year, as this will reduce its operating risks brought on by higher coal prices. The company said under the instructions of the local price administration, it will raise the pretax power price to...

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ASIA: Energy-dependent Asia urged to step up cooperation to secure supply

SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – Energy-dependent Asia, led by the booming Chinese economy, must beef up cooperation to secure supplies and lower the region’s reliance on the volatile Middle East, an industry forum heard. “Asia is becoming even more dependent on imported energy,” Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Vivian Balakrishnan, told delegates at last...

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MARKETS: OPEC’s decision to cut output in April to have limited effect on prices

LONDON (AFX) – OPEC’s Feb 10 decision to cut output in April surprised the market, but analysts said the cut will have a limited effect on prices as it is scheduled for April and is relatively small. On OPEC’s decision to cut output from April 1, Steven Bellino, US-based senior vice president of energy risk...

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AUSTRALIA: Woodside reports first gas flows into New North West Shelf trunkline

First gas has begun flowing into one of the world’s biggest offshore pipelines as Woodside, operator of the North West Shelf Venture, starts commissioning the line as part of LNG expansion at Karratha in Western Austalia. Woodside said the new A$800 million, 42-inch (1,067 millimetre) diameter trunkline, the second major line to feed gas into...

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