JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers in Indonesia, Oman and Qatar may unite under an association to secure each others’ LNG supply in case of a shortfall, Bisnis Indonesia reported quoting Indonesia Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro. He said the idea surfaced following Indonesia’s difficulties to honour its LNG export...

Shell Malaysia and its partners have delivered the first gas from their new Serai field at Block SK-8 offshore Sarawak ahead of schedule, according to a Bernama report. The reported cited a Shell statement that 300 million cu ft per day of gas from subsea wells started flowing to Petronas’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex...

Qatar Petroleum said its managing director’s Office and the operations directorate have recently been awarded Quality Standard ISO 9001:2000 certification. At the ceremony, Tony Mouawad, Bureau Veritas’ Middle East Indian regional CEO presented the certification to Abdulaziz Bin Ahmed Al-Malki, director in the office of the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry,...

State electricity firm PT PLN is planning to build 12 hydropower plants across the nation to meet the growing demand for electricity, reported the Jakarta Post. Nine of the proposed plants with a total generation capacity of 447 megawatts (MW) are to be funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Asian...

While Australia’s big oil fields are in decline, its endowment of gas, black coal, brown coal, coalbed methane, oil shale, uranium, geothermal, bioenergy and deep ocean methane hydrates will last for centuries, said science agency CSIRO. In addition, the country has virtually infinite supply of wind, sunlight, tidal and wave energy. In a recent article,...

The UAE’s non-oil sector grew by 5.7% last year and in the first quarter of 2004 to surpass the contribution of the oil sector to the economy, said the Ministry of Planning. The Khaleej Times reported that the UAE’s non-oil GDP reached Dh199.2 billion in 2003, up from Dh188.5 billion in 2002. (US$1=Dh3.6). The components...

India’s state gas firm Gail (India) Ltd is eyeing a listing on the New York Stock Exchange to raise capital for its future expansion. “During the course of government’s recent offer for sale of 10% in Gail, international investors raised concerns over the low liquidity and tradability of its stocks (on Indian exchanges) and suggested...

The Indian finance ministry is contemplating rationalisation of duties on crude oil and petroleum products. In order to deal with the present volatile global oil situation, when crude prices have crossed $40 a barrel, the government may go in for a 5 per cent customs duty cut on crude besides a marginal reduction in the...

SEOUL (AFX-ASIA) – Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it has assigned its ‘A-2’ short-term corporate credit rating to LG-Caltex Oil Corp and revised to positive from stable the outlook on its ‘BBB’ long-term corporate credit rating on the company. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its long-term corporate and debt ratings...

SHANGHAI (AFX-ASIA) Ð The share prices of China’s power companies have risen over the past week following news of increased power tariffs and acquisitions. Huaneng Power International Inc (HK 0902; SHA 600011; NYSE HNP), the country’s largest independent power producer, was higher after it said its shareholders approved six assets acquisition deals, dealers said. The...

Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited, has secured the conversion of two shuttle oil tankers for Teekay Navion Shuttle Tankers (TNST), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teekay Shipping of Canada. Nordic Rio and Nordic Brasilia are both newbuildings completed in Korea earlier this year. Nordic Rio arrived at Keppel Shipyard...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – State electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) will sign a 20-year contract with ConocoPhilips on June 25 for the supply of 400 million cubic feet of gas per day, the Koran Tempo daily reported, quoting a government official. “The gas supply PLN has asked for is actually much larger than that,...

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest Rs200 million to double the operating capacity of its 100,000 tonnes/year oil refinery at Tatipaka in Andhra Pradesh state. (US$1=Rs45). According to the Financial Express, ONGC’s board approved the project in April. The company has already begun the basic engineering and tendering jobs on a fast...

Taiwan’s electricity supply will remain normal this summer despite growing public concerns that there will be widespread shortfall, said state Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower). According to Taipei Times, the company estimates that single-month consumption in July and August may peak at around 29.8 million kilowatts and that it may break the 30 million kilowatt level...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd (991.HK) is planning to build its own railway line across northern China to transport coal for its power stations and bypass the overloaded public railway system, company officials told AFX-Asia. China’s power stations are running short of coal because supplies cannot keep up with demand and...

LONDON (AFX) – UK investors in Shell Transport & Trading PLC were left “disappointed and frustrated” last week after a meeting in London at which senior management failed to soothe their concerns over the slow pace of the company’s review into governance, the Financial Times reported. Lord Oxburgh, acting chairman, and Sir Peter Burt, senior...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Asia’s demand for energy is expected to soar in line with its economic progress, but current high oil prices and the region’s heavy reliance on oil imports could impede growth, highlighting the urgency of the need for liberalisation to attract energy investment, oil experts said. The region must also ensure sufficient...

Singapore Exchange-listed China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said it has made a record 630,000 tonnes purchase contract for jet fuel procurement for the July-September 2004 quarter. The purchase comprises seven cargoes of approximately 30,000 MT each bound for Tianjin (Beijing), 13 cargoes for Shanghai (Pudong) and one cargo bound for Huangpu, South China....

The Indian government last week raised the domestic prices of gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in response to rising world oil prices. Gasoline price rose Rs2 to Rs35.71 a litre while diesel was revised up Rs1 to Rs22.74, said Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. (US$1=Rs 45). The price of kerosene,...

A global “energy demand shock” compounded by extremely tight world oil supplies, constraints on US natural gas production, and geopolitical turmoil is putting the US at a “critical juncture” in its energy position, said leading energy consultant Daniel Yergin. “The risks will be different in the near-term from the long-term and among various energy users...

Finland’s W’rtsil’ will supply two turnkey power plant extensions, totalling 65 MW, to the Lungtan factory of Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT) in Taiwan to meet the increased power demands of CPT’s new production facilities. Wartsila said the first contract, for a 12 MW standby power plant extension, was signed in January 2004. The second...

China National Chemicals Import Export, Sinochem, is inching towards buying over Korea’s bankrupt Inchon Oil Refinery. China Daily has reported that Sinochem is leading three Korean competitors in a bid to take over the smallest of South Korea’s five oil refineries for US$556 million. The newspaper said Sinochem has offered a down payment to Inchon...

MANILA (AFX-ASIA) – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is still studying whether to order Manila Electric Co (Meralco) and other utilities to refund meter and service deposits to customers, ERC chairman Rodolfo Albano said. “To be exact in the provision of the Magna Carta, there is nothing to talk of a refund. What the Magna...

BANGALORE (AFX) – India’s largest company, Indian Oil Corp, said it is planning to buy out a global US$2 billion exploration and production firm to gain a foothold in the world oil market. “We are planning to buy a mid-size exploration and production firm,” said MS Ramachandran, chairman of the state-owned company. “Government approvals have...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – China has started building a 1,050 megawatt gas-fired power plant in Guangdong province, and plans to build more such facilities around the country in an effort to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions from coal-burning thermal facilities, an industry official said. “Work at the Guangdong plant has started, and plans for more gas-fired plants...