State Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam) has set a target of producing 17.5 million tonnes of crude oil and 5.74 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2004. According to state VNA, the company is seeking more foreign investments to exploit the country’s newly discovered offshore oil fields and local investors to explore in...

Prommin Lertsuridej, Thailand’s Minister of Energy, last week signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for petroleum cooperation with Nejad Hosseinian, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Petroleum for International Affairs during his official visit to Bangkok. The first MOU covers cooperation in five areas: i.ÊÊÊÊexploration and development between Thai upstream company PTTEP and Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum....

The Indian government is considering imposing new duties of “less than Rs0.15” per litre on gasoline, diesel, LPG and kerosene to pay for the cost of a proposed Rs16.5 billion five-million-tonne strategic oil stockpile. (US$1=Rs45). The facilities, the first to set up by a government in South Asia, will be in addition to an existing...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – The government plans to build a 1,600 kilometer gas pipeline to link natural gas fields in East Kalimantan with various industries in Java, in a project worth an estimated 1.7 billion, the daily Kompas reported. State-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) development director Adil Abas said PGN is undertaking the...

Australian upstream company BHP Billiton has reported that 12 of its 14 exploration and production projects during the final quarter of 2003 came within expenditure limits and are on or ahead of schedule. Several of the projects are in the oil and gas sector. The ROD Integrated Development in Algeria (BHP Billiton 36.04%) and Minerva...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) (SH A 600028; HK 0386; NYSE SNP) said it received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Jan 16 to issue 3.5 billion yuan in corporate bonds to Chinese citizens, domestic legal persons and institutions. (US$1=8.27 yuan). The company said it will publish...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Yangtze River delta to import gas from an Australian field that its listed unit, CNOOC Ltd (HK 0883; NYSE CEO), is negotiating to buy into, the South China Morning Post reported. CNOOC Ltd hopes to...

North West Shelf Australia LNG said that Japan’s Chubu Electric Power Company, Inc has signed an agreement to buy 600,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year starting 2009. The 15-year contract finalises a key terms agreement signed with Chubu Electric in August 2001. The agreement also represents the last of the sale and...

Thai upstream company PTTEP said it and its joint venture partners have signed a Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) with buyer PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) for gas from the offshore Arthit field. Last November, the parties had signed a Heads of Agreement for the deal. PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) is the...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – Manila Electric Co plans to issue US$200 million worth of bonds in the international market to help refinance this year’s maturing debts worth more than 11 billion pesos, the company’s treasurer Rafael Andrada said. (US$1=56 peso). The debt papers will have a seven-year maturity. Meralco officials, however, said the power firm would...

Upstream company Santos Limited said it is on track to increase gas supplies from the Moomba gas plant in central Australia that was damaged by a fire on January 1. On January 8, the company announced Stage 3 of the Moomba recovery plan which was targeting gas production of 450 terajoules per day (TJ/d) within...

The current crude oil price strength is precarious because it is based primarily on weather. Once the winter is over, the price of crude will begin to fall, but it is unclear by how much. In the latest edition of its Atlantic Basin Stockwatch, consultants ESAI said it expects that while there will be a...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Crest Petroleum Bhd has paid RM32.57 million to US-based Newpark Shipbuilding-Pelican under a settlement agreement reached last month over their dispute, The Edge Financial Daily reported, citing a Crest Petroleum statement. (US$1=RM3.8). Last year, Newpark sought a Texan district court warrant to seize a vessel against Crest Petroleum’s Teknik Hidayat rig...

PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857; NYSE PTR) will begin building a 300,000-cubic metre oil terminal in Shanghai this spring to meet the increasing demand there, according to local media reports. The company and partner Chimbusco Marine Bunker Co Ltd will jointly invest 368 million yuan in the terminal. (US$1=8.27 yuan). The terminal, said to be...

The coldest weather to hit North America and Europe in decades sent WTI crude prices briefly surging past US$36/barrel last month, their highest in 10 months. The bitter cold is expected to hold through early February, thus giving the oil markets a strong fundamental reason for staying firm. OPEC has done its bit to keep...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Chinese President Hu Jintao visited three African countries, reflecting China’s growing need for natural resources to fuel its booming economy. Last week, Mr Hu spent three days in Egypt, then two days in Gabon and one in Algeria, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. His trip came shortly after the International Energy...

ChevronTexaco chairman Dave O’Reilly has urged business leaders to take on the “defining challenge” of the 21st century — global poverty. Speaking at a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he shared his views on why business must care about the world’s poor and the need to help them achieve a standard...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd shares have been trading lower after the national utility unexpectedly turned in a net loss for the first quarter to November, dealers said. Tenaga posted a net loss of RM26.4 million in the first quarter from a net profit of 663.2 million a year earlier after accounting for...