JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said oil prices “are coming down” but expressed caution that “there are also several (political) incidents such as in Nigeria and in Venezuela; and these are … factors which affect prices.” He was referring to speculation about a fall in supplies due to an oil workers’ strike in...
BEIJING (AFX-Asia) – UK-based BOC Group PLC said it has signed a letter of intent to form an industrial gas joint venture with Sinopec Group unit Sinopec Shanghai Petroleum Co Ltd. In a statement, BOC said the joint venture company will initially target a production capacity of nearly 3,000 tons a day of air separation...
NYSE-listed Murphy Oil Corporation said it has made a “significant” oil and gas find in its Kakap number 1 deep-water exploration well off Sabah state in Malaysia. Kakap 1 was drilled in 3,037 feet of water in Block K. “This latest discovery at Kakap further confirms our view that there is significant exploration potential across...
China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) has selected Lucent Technologies’ next-generation optical solutions to improve the communications system in its Southwest Products Pipeline Communications System. Lucent said that this project is the first deployment of its optical transmission equipment in China’s petrochemical industry. Wantel Technologies Hong Kong, a member enterprise of Wantel United International Holdings Company Limited...
BEIJING (AFX-Asia) – The Chinese government has kicked off a week-long national energy saving campaign as part of efforts to head off further power shortages this summer. This effort to raise public awareness comes as the government is investing heavily in the construction of new power plants — namely coal, hydro and nuclear. Installed capacity...
Several Qatar’s leading oil and gas officials, led by Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, the second Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry, last week signed Memorandum and Articles of Association for the establishment of gas transport company Q-Gas. Mr Al-Attiyah, also the chairman and managing director of Qatar Petroleum, signed the documents together with...
The shortage of power in south China’s Guangdong province will soon be eased by electricity from the gigantic Three Gorges Dam some 1,000 kilometres to the north, said the China Daily. A 500-kilovolt direct current transmission project linking the dam to Guangdong started up last week. The project can add generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts,...
The Philippines raised its energy self-sufficiency to 53.9% last year from 45.8% two years ago, thanks to increased utilisation of indigenous energy sources, said the Department of Energy (DOE). “Renewable energy sources such as hydro, geothermal, solar and biomass accounted for about 42% of the energy mix. In terms of power generation, hydro power contributed...
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenaga Nasional Bhd said it has signed two agreements to buy power from small renewable energy power plants. In a statement, Tenaga Nasional said it will buy power from Sunquest Sdn Bhd and Recycle Energy Sdn Bhd for 21 years, at a contract value cost of RM13.5 million per year. (US$1=RM3.8)....
Retail gasoline prices in Japan have risen to their highest levels since April 1997 as oil distributors passed on recent increases in wholesale prices triggered by higher crude prices, the Japan Times has reported. Last week, the average price of regular gasoline at the pump stood at 112 yen per liter, up 4 yen from...
Malaysia’s largest power company Tenaga Nasional Bhd has sold off its remaining 11.96 million shares in locally-listed YTL Power International Bhd (YTL Power) for RM42.57 million. (US$1=RM3.8). Tenaga is in the midst of rationalising its minority stakes in independent power producers. “Of the said amount, 3.24 million YTL Power shares were placed with the Employees...
Los Angelese-based Sonoran Energy, Inc. said it has retained international financiers Global Investments & Banking Corporation (GIBC) to assist with its on-going project funding requirements in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. President and CEO Peter Ostenfeld-Rosenthal said: “GIBC’s experience and success in financing projects in Asia and the Middle East will be key as...
The entry of new players is stepping up the competitive heat in Pakistan’s domestic retail oil market, but analysts are wondering if the consumers might benefit in the long run. While the country’s domestic fuels demand is growing at a rapid 7% clip, analysts worry that the new players might be co-opted into the system...
SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Soaring world oil prices are having their biggest impact at Australian gasoline pumps, but analysts warn sustained high levels and a disruption to supply will ultimately lead to slower economic growth. Service Stations Association chief executive Ron Bowden said as long as the market remained nervous, prices would continue to edge up,...
KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Record high oil prices are a double-edged sword for Malaysia, boosting its oil earnings but threatening growth of its major export markets, analysts said. “Any price spike in global crude oil markets would have a double-edged impact on Malaysia,” Azrul Azwar, senior economist with MIDF Berhad, told Agence France-presse. Crude oil...
Australia has launched a A$15 million national research flagship programme aimed at creating vast amounts of low-cost, clean energy to sustain economic growth. (US$1=A$1.45). Science and technology agency CSIRO believes the Energy Transformed (ET) national programme will transform Australia into one of the world’s first hydrogen economies. CSIRO said that by 2020 Australia must generate...
State oil and gas company PTT said it will support the Thai government’s move to curb night fuels sales in response to rising oil prices even as thousands of workers said their jobs at retail outlets could be threatened. Bangkok has announced a series of measures including a ‘fuels curfew’ after dark to battle the...
The Philippines government said it is negotiating with Australia’s BHP Billiton Petroleum to explore for oil and gas in the Sulu Seas. The negotiations are part of the Philippine Petroleum Contracting Round (PCR-1), said a Manila Times report. Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez said BHP led a consortium comprising Unocal Corp., Amerada Hess and Sandakan...
Two Royal/Dutch Shell subsidiaries have agreed to sell to a Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) subsidiary their combined 40% stake in Egypt’s Rosetta oil and gas concession in the Nile Delta. The BG-operated concession, some 65 kilometres off the coast of Egypt, includes an onshore and offshore plant The oil major said it expects...
India will start exporting diesel to Myanmar next month from the Numaligarh refinery in the eastern state of Assam, a petroleum ministry official said. “Initially, tankers will be used to take diesel from Numaligarh by road to Myanmar. We might explore possibilities of laying a pipeline to export diesel at a later stage if technically...
Sakhalin Energy said it has signed its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Kyushu Electric Power Company Incorporated. This is the first agreement signed with a major Japanese utility company, and includes an earlier start to deliveries. The agreement follows an earlier initial Heads of Agreement (HoA) signed with Kyushu...
US energy consultants ESAI expects gasoline refining margins to decline in the coming months. It said that scheduled heavy Japanese maintenance in May and June has led to an early start on imports, tightening the Asian gasoline market. In the latest the latest edition of its Pacific Basin Stockwatch, ESAI said: “At the same time,...
Japan’s largest oil refiner, Nippon Oil Corp, has agreed to use its underutilised capacity to produce oil products for PetroChina Co. The Chinese company faces a shortage of refining capacity as it struggles to meet the country’s growing domestic demand for oil. PetroChina will send its Middle East crude purchases directly to Nippon Oil’s refineries...
The ASEAN Energy Ministers have released an official statement at the end of their 22nd meeting in Manila promising to accelerate energy co-operation and development of alternative energy sources. The meeting held last week with representatives from Japan, Korea and China was chaired by Vincent S. Perez, the Philippines Energy Secretary. The ministers said they...
Australia’s Origin Energy Developments Pty Ltd said four workers were treated for scalding injuries after an unspecified incident on its drilling operating in the Perth Basin off Western Australia state last week. The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Origin Energy Ltd, is operator of Production Licence L11 of the exploration well Tarantula 1 in...