This summer, gasoline prices are expected to average a record high of US$1.76 per gallon, according to forecasts released today by the Energy Information Administration in its April “Short-Term Energy Outlook”. High crude oil costs, strong gasoline demand, low gasoline inventories, and more stringent gasoline specifications this year have increased gasoline supply costs and retail...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – The National Development and Reform Commission has raised ex-refinery jet fuel prices by 13% to 3,310 yuan per ton, domestic jet fuel distribution monopoly China Aviation Oil Corp said. The price hike reflects rising global crude oil prices, and should be able to give refiners such as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Royal Dutch/Shell Group (NYSE RD) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) (SH A 600028; HK 0386; NYSE SNP) will start operation of their first gasoline station within three months after the establishment of their joint venture, expected later this year, Nick Wood, Shell’s external affairs director told AFX-Asia from London. “We...

Singapore-listed China Aviation Oil (CAO) said it will earn a Rmb142 million dividend from the 2003 earnings of its 33%-owned associate company, Shanghai Pudong International Airport Aviation Fuel Supply Company. (US$1=Rmb8.27). This is about 34% higher than the dividend paid on 2002 profits. In a statement, Chen Jiulin, CAO’s managing director and CEO, said that...

The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) believes the depletionists are “too bearish and alarmist” in their outlook on world oil supply. While not in disagreement with their basic argument that world oil production will eventually peak, Claude Mandil told EnergyAsia that geologist Colin Campbell, analyst Matt Simmons and other members of the depletionist...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – The Australian gas industry is poised for growth but faces critical policy challenges to achieve its full potential, a study by economics and policy consultancy firm ACIL Tasman has concluded. Releasing the firm’s Australian Gas Market Review and Outlook at the recent Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Canberra, ACIL...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China has raised ex-factory and benchmark retail prices of some oil products including gasoline and jet fuel from April 1 in response to recent hikes in crude oil prices on the international market, a spokesman from the local Beijing and Shanghai offices of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told AFX-Asia....

Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it has entered into a co-operation agreement with Smedvig Asia Limited (Smedvig Asia) to build a Semisubmersible Drilling Tender (SSDT) with Keppel Offshore & Marine’s proprietary design. Developed by the Deepwater Technology Group (DTG), the KFELS SSDT3600-GOM-C42 will be the fourth vessel in the series of successful SSDTs that has...

LONDON (AFX) – Hardman Resources Ltd said it aims to raise around A$167.4 million via a placing and rights issue priced at A$1.10 per share. (US$1=A$1.30). The new funds will be used to finance exploration in Mauritania and for working capital purposes. Hardman is raising A$79 million through a placing of 72 million shares with...

SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) – Shares of Total Automation, which provides services to the oil and gas industry, were higher as investors eventually expect the company’s earnings to recover during the rest of the year, following a weak first quarter due to project delays, dealers said. The company warned overnight that it cannot achieve its guidance of...

Australian upstream company Santos Limited said its Moomba plant, idled after a fire on January 1, has resumed processing operations at capacity ahead of schedule. The company said the plant is producing around 630 terajoules per day of natural gas as a result of the resumption of processing through the liquids recovery plant B train...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB is in talks to take a stake in Shanghai Electric Group’s overseas listing vehicle, which was recently spun off in preparation for a Hong Kong listing, the South China Morning Post reported citing Peter Leupp, chairman and president of ABB’s China division. “We are in discussions with Shanghai...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Oil and gas company PT Medco Energi Internasional plans a final dividend payment of 25-35% of its 2003 net profit, a lower range than in the previous three years as it plans to spend more on acquisitions, said company finance director Sugiharto. “The management proposes a range of 25-35%. This is below...

Japan’s crude oil imports fell 7.7% in February from a year earlier to 130.01 million barrels, marking a fifth straight monthly decline. In a preliminary report, the Natural Resources and Energy Agency (NREA) said the Middle East accounted for 92.6% of Japan’s crude imports, up 12.7 percentage points from a year earlier and topping 90...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The National Power Corp (Napocor) said it issued 3.752 billion pesos worth of zero-coupon bonds due 2009 and 8.8 billion pesos worth of such bonds due 2011, the first ever local currency issuance by the state-owned firm. (US$1=56 peso). Napocor will use the proceeds to partly cover its financing requirements for this...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) (HK 0386; SHA 600028; NYSE SNP), the country’s top refiner, has raised the benchmark retail price for RON90 gasoline by 300 yuan per ton from April 1, but kept the rate for 0# diesel oil unchanged. The actual retail prices for gasoline and diesel oil has...

Singapore is likely to invest in Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors if the its companies “win over Iranian Oil Ministry officials”, according to a Tehran Times report citing an unidentified Singaporean excutive visiting Iran this week. The executive from SembCorp Logistics told the newspaper that the Singaporean delegation comprises representatives from nine oil, gas and...

The Indian government has raised more than 141 billion rupees (US$3.1 billion) by selling off its stakes in oil and gas companies in recent months to coincide with rising world interest in energy shares and India’s economic emergence. (US$1=45 rupees). The government raised a record of 105 billion rupees from recent sales of its stakes...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) Ð The share price of Shell Refining Company (M) Bhd has been moving higher on its strong growth prospects, dealers said. “Shell is a laggard stock. It is up probably on strong earnings growth prospects,” a local brokerage dealer said. An analyst at a local research house agreed, adding that Shell is...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China Yangtze Power Co Ltd (SHA 600900), the listed unit of the world’s largest dam project, said a severe water shortage may hurt its bottomline this year. Yangtze Power is targeting net profit of 2.62 billion yuan in 2004, nearly double last year’s 1.44 billion, as it taps into surging demand for...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) – Oil and petrochemical counters have been moving higher following the government’s move to raise gasoline prices April 1. The listed petrochemical firms involved in oil refining, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp’s (Sinopec) (HK 0386; SHA 600028; NYSE SNP) and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd’s (SHA 600688; HK 0338; NYSE SHI) all moved...

Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific Limited, a division of Emerson Electric (NYSE : EMR) has been granted International Headquarters (IHQ) status by Singapore’s Economic Development Board. The company has operated its regional headquarters in Singapore since 1965. It said the International Headquarters Award formalises this status and recognises Emerson Process Management’s commitment and contributions to...

The Indian government is looking to invest US$100 million in building underground natural gas storage facilities. A high-level team comprising officials from the Petroleum Ministry and the state gas company Gail India Limited recently visited France, Germany and Belgium to study their natural gas storage systems. It has recommended that the government build up a...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) Ð The share price of China Yangtze Power Co Ltd (SHA 600900), the listed unit of the world’s largest dam project, has been trading higher after saying its 2003 net profit surged 227%. Yangtze Power said it posted a net profit of 1.44 billion yuan for 2003, against 442.62 million a year earlier....

SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it has raised to “A-” from “BBB+” its long-term local and foreign currency ratings on South Korea’s four thermal power generating companies (GENCOs) — Korea Western Power (KOWEPO), Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO), Korea East-West Power (EWP), and Korea Southern Power (KOSPO). The outlooks on the ratings...