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...

Singapore’s Tuas Power Ltd has signed an agreement to purchase natural gas for use at its power station from Gas Suppy Pte Ltd (GSPL) for 18 years starting April 1 2005. GSPL is Singapore’s leading natural gas importer and supplier. Tuas said the agreement will enhance the reliability of natural gas supply for its power...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – Three major Chinese oil companies are expected to invest more than 10 billion yuan in the next six years in China’s western Xinjiang province, the official Xinhua news agency reported. (US$1=8.27 yuan). China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group) and China Sinochem Corp are aiming to turn the Xinjiang...

Malaysia’s Ranhill Bhd said subsidiary Ranhill International Inc and Sudan’s Petroneeds Services International has been awarded a US$239.4 million contract to develop oil and gas production in the African country. The contract for the “Melut Basin Oil Development — Upstream Facilities” project was awarded by PetroDar Operating Co Ltd, a co-venture entity that holds the...

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...

Oil and chemicals logistics specialist Vopak Terminals Singapore has announced plans to start construction this year on its fourth Singapore terminal at the Banyan sector of Jurong Island. Tenders have already been solicited for from engineering contractors for the construction of the tanks as well as jetty facilities. The first phase comprises an oil facility...

BEIJING (AFX-Asia) – Kerr-McGee Corp’s (NYSE KMG) first oil exploration effort in China will start production in the third quarter, and the firm is keen to find other off-shore opportunities in the country, said senior vice president of exploration and production David Hager. “We’re scheduled to achieve production for phase I (of the project) in...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – New Hope Group, the owner of the largest shareholder of China Minsheng Banking Corp (SHA 600016), has signed contracts to be the exclusive supplier of natural gas in 10 Chinese cities for 30 years, the Shanghai Morning Post reported, citing company sources. The 10 cities are in the five provinces of Hubei,...

LIBREVILLE (AFX) – China and the central African country of Gabon have signed a framework agreement providing for joint cooperation in the energy and mining sectors, with regard particularly to manganese and iron ore. The accord was signed in front of journalists by the Gabon’s Minister of Mines, Energy, Oil and Water Resources Richard Onouviet...

MOSCOW (AFX) – Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil will maintain its operations in Saudi Arabia despite the May 29 terrorist attacks there targeting the offices of several oil companies, Lukoil officials said. “We do not intend to change our plans for Saudi Arabia, including the opening of a permanent office this summer,” the company’s...

UK-based Cairn Energy said it has achieved “successful” results from tests of the first (N-A-2Z) and second (N-A-3) appraisal wells in the N-A oil field in India’s northern Rajasthan state. It said that N-A-2Z was drilled from the N-A-1 discovery well surface location and deviated 200 metres away in an up-dip direction. N-A-3 was a...

The energy ministers of the 10-member Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) China, Japan and South Korea have issued a joint statement at the end of their one-day meeting on energy issues in Manila, Philippines this week. Expressing their collective concern over high oil prices and fears of supply disruption, the so-called ASEAN+3 Energy...

Retail gasoline prices hit record highs in Thailand early this week as the government announced measures to slow down domestic fuels consumption. Oil companies raised Octane 91 and 95 grades by 0.6 baht to 18.19 baht per litre but kept diesel price unchanged at 14.59 baht, according to the Nation. (US$1=50 baht). The Energy Ministry...

Pacific Rim nations face a growing gap between their energy demands and supplies, and must find ways to ensure long-term stability and avoid short-term disruptions from terror attacks and other threats, officials warned yesterday. Philippine Energy Secretary Vincent Perez opened a meeting of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies by suggesting that solutions could include...

French investment bank SG said the oil market has been spared a crisis after the latest weekly US data showed a mild build-up in stocks. SG said: “The market has been focusing on low US gasoline stocks, but (this week’s) figures challenge that story with a mildly bearish stockbuild of 2.1 million barrels, half reformulated...

Russia wants a share of supplying technology to the UAE’s growing oil and gas industry, said Sergey Yakovlev, Russian Ambassador to UAE. Speaking to Khaleej Times, he said Russia would soon complete projects in the Gulf states. “We have made great strides in technology over the years, particularly in the area of oil and gas...

SYDNEY (AFX-ASIA) – Shell Australia Ltd said its oil refining, marketing and production and natural gas businesses earned total profit before interest and tax (EBIT) of A$815 million in calendar year 2003 down from A$866 million in 2002. (US$1=A$1.43). Chairman of the Shell companies in Australia, Tim Warren, said the refining and marketing operations contributed...

Thailand plans to buy natural gas and crude oil from Russia as an alternative source of energy supply to help reduce heavy dependence on sources in the Middle East, said Songpope Polachan, director of the Energy Ministry’s policy and strategy co-ordination office. According to the Bangkok Post, the plan was discussed by Thai Energy Minister...

Bangkok Aviation Fuel Service Plc (BAFS), an aircraft refuelling service provider, said it has raised its revenue target this year by eight percent from slightly above its six percent projection stated late last year. “BAFS’s full-year revenue for its 2004 operation is expected to be higher than last year since the absence of SARS is...

State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the largest producer and marketer of refined oil products in Asia, has been in talks with a few local oil companies on partly or wholly acquiring some gas stations in Southeast Asia. According to a SinoCast report, the talks went well, but Sinopec declined to provide more details...

JAKARTA (AFX-ASIA) – Oil and gas producing regions asked the central government to disburse their share of oil revenue totalling 2.77 trillion rupiah from the fourth quarter 2003 and the first quarter of this year, reports said. (US$1=9,300 rupiah). “Until now, none of the regions have received the disbursement of oil revenue share,” Bisnis Indonesia...

Australian upstream company Santos Limited has announced a “significant” expansion and diversification of its activities in the US with the addition of two new venture areas. It will be venturing into the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where winning lease bids have now all been formally awarded, and onshore East Texas. Exploration drilling...

Caltex Singapore said it dropped its retail gasoline and diesel prices by 3 Singapore cents a litres in line with falling crude prices on the international markets. (US$1=S$1.7). The company, the retail arm of ChevronTexaco, said its three gasoline grades now sell for S$1.375, S$1.458 and S$1.55 a litre at the pump, while its diesel...

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) – A consortium led by Tokyo-based Arabian Oil Co Ltd is in talks with an oil company in southern Iraq aimed at jointly training engineers and improving oil-producing facilities, an official said. “Three engineers from South Oil Co (of Iraq) are now in Japan to discuss cooperation with Arabian Oil,” which leads a...

Indonesia’s PT Arun NGL & Co said it will be exporting 102 shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan and South Korea this year, down from an earlier estimate of 109 shipments. Ccompany spokesman Irwandar said the decline was the result of Jakarta’s decision to divert supplies to PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda (PIM) for...