KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Crude oil reserves, including condensates, in the country have risen 6.6% to 4.84 billion barrels so far this year from 4.54 billion in 2003, said national oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and chief executive officer Mohd Hassan Marican. The increase in reserves is a result of new discoveries following...

Keppel Singmarine (KSM) has delivered two sophisticated Anchor Handling Tug/Supply (AHTS) vessels to Pacific Richfield Marine (PRM). KSM, a world leader in the construction of offshore support vessel, said it was awarded the contracts for the “Pacific Silver” and “Pacific 28” in July 2002 and March 2003 respectively. Pacific Silver has a bollard pull of...

Australia’s Origin Energy recently showcased its new A$20 million solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing plant at Regency Park in South Australia by hosting the country’s Energy Minister, Patrick Conlon, and the Head of the Sustainability Roundtable, Tim Flannery, on a special visit. (US$1=A$1.45). “The opportunity to work at Origin’s Regency Park solar plant is attracting talented...

Thailand is looking to reduce its 1.58 baht/litre subsidy on diesel sold to the public to check rising demand for the fuel. (US$1=40 baht). Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej has ordered the Energy Policy and Planning Office and the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) to study the possible impacts on the economy of a...

State Petronas of Malaysia has established a subsidiary in China as part of its global expansion strategy. Shenzhen-based Petronas Marketing China Company Ltd (PMCCL) will tackle China’s fast growing downstream oil market including oil retailing. PMCCL will enhance Petronas’ growing presence in China which includes a representative office in Beijing, a liaison office in Shanghai...

Malaysian company Genting Oil & Gas Ltd has signed a 30-year production-sharing contract (PSC) with Indonesian state agency BP Migas for the Anambas block in the West Natuna seas. Genting Oil & Gas is a subsidiary of Genting Berhad listed on the Malaysian stock exchange. The contract was signed last month by Genting Oil’s wholly-owned...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Tenggara Oil Bhd expects to return to profitability in the current financial year, with earnings likely to be boosted by acquisitions and by a better performance at its lubricant sealing division, its executive chairman Kamal Salih said. In the year to Jan 2004, the company registered sales of RM38.22 million, compared...

Commercial users of diesel in Malaysia have recently begun paying more for their diesel as the government has reduced the sales tax exemption and subsidy on diesel. From this month, diesel subsidy for commercial users will reduced to about 30sen per litre from 37sen previously, said the Ministry of Finance in a statement. (US$1=380 sen...

Gas has begun flowing into the North West Shelf Venture’s new, fourth LNG train where it will be liquefied for export from the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia, the venture recently announced. Operator Woodside Energy Ltd said it has begun commissioning the train to prepare it for meeting expanded production commitments this year. First gas...

A draft of China’s medium- and long-term energy development programme for 2004 to 2020, was recently approved by the State Council, the country’s highest decision-making body headed by Premier Wen Jiabao. In a statement, the State Council said that at a meeting chaired by Mr Wen, it has resolved to take certain measures to deal...

US energy equipment company Dresser-Rand Company has been awarded a contract valued at US$5 million to provide DATUM centrifugal compression equipment to the Daqing Natural Gas Company for gas field service in Daqing, China. Industrial city Daqing is the home of China’s oldest and largest oil field. Dresser-Rand said it will supply two DATUM compressor...

Tenggara Oil Bhd wants to acquire some assets that will allow the company to venture into the “mid-stream service sector” of the oil and gas industry in Malaysia, said chairman Kamal Mat Salih. The mid-stream business includes providing engineering support services for oil exploration and production activities. According to the Malaysian Business Times, the company...

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) – BP Plc is interested in teaming up with China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Shanghai and possibly supply LNG for that project, Michael Smith, head of BP Energy Analysis, told AFX-Asia. “We are a potential participant in CNOOC’s LNG terminal in Shanghai,” he...

Malaysia’s Petronas has been awarded a licence to sell oil products into Indonesia’s domestic market, said Erie Soedarmo, director of processing at the Mines and Energy Ministry. He added that regulator BP Migas is still processing a similar application from oil major BP plc. Petronas will likely start selling high octane gasoline in Indonesia. In...

Shell New Zealand, a subsidiary of the oil and gas major has given the green light to the development of the Pohokura gas field, when it signed off the Final Investment Decision (FID) last week. Shell New Zealand Exploration and Production Commercial Manager Ajit Bansal said taking FID signalled the formal start of the development...

Canada’s InterOil Corporation (IOL:TSX-V) a Canadian company with operations in Papua New Guinea, said its combined mid- and downstream business segments will achieve an annualised full-year target net income of US$44 million by mid-year 2005. This target is based on a historical average for InterOil’s estimated product slate through its recently started-up oil refinery and...

KUALA LUMPUR (AFX-ASIA) – Sumatec Resources Bhd expects to post a 2004 net profit of RM15 million on sales of RM175 million, managing director James Chan said. (US$1=RM3.8). “We have forecast a net profit of RM15 million and sales of RM175 million for the current year,” he said after the company’s recent annual meeting. Sumatec...

Woodside Energy Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd, said it is about to embark on its 2004 offshore Mauritania drilling campaign in West Africa. The campaign will involve the drilling of up to 21 exploration, appraisal and development wells across offshore acreage containing the Chinguetti, Tiof and Banda oil and gas discoveries....

Thailand’s PTT Plc and subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production Plc are interested to step up their investments in the Philippines, said PTT president Prasert Bunsampun. His company will focus on natural gas exploration, pipeline construction. Analysts say there is growing demand for natural gas distribution through pipelines linking Batangas to industrial centres just outside Manila....

China’s oil import could reach 120 million tons to feed the country’s projected oil consumption of more than 300 million tons in 2004, said a consultant with China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, China’s largest oil refiner. Tian Chunrong said China will process 270 million tons of crude oil this year. The country will consume about...

State-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar) recently sold its gasoline for discount for a three days as part of a strategy to expand market share. “We hope the effort É will help sales of our gasoline business grow to more than NT$4 billion (US$118.7 million) this year, from over NT$3 billion last year,” Chen Hsueh-min, Taisugar’s...

Finland’s W’rtsil’ said it has landed several “significant” long-term operation and maintenance (O&M) agreements in Indonesia. Last month, the company and PT Antam (Antam), an internationally-listed, diversified Indonesian mining and metals company, signed an eleven-year O&M agreement covering the operation and maintenance of a 152 MW power plant supplying the energy needs of the Pomalaa...

Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) has agreed to purchase BP’s retail and LPG business in Singapore for US$70 million, the companies said in a joint announcement yesterday. BP’s retail business comprises 30 stations while its LPG business includes a 70% shareholding in BP Wearnes Gas Ltd. Subject to receiving the necessary approvals and consents as...

French investment bank SG says Saudi Arabia will not raise its crude production to 9.1 million barrels/day as announced last month. It said that June’s price declines can be explained by market sentiment that crude supply is ample, particularly in the Atlantic Basin. “This change in mood occurred after Saudi Arabia promised to push its...

Mr Al Attiyah, also Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry and chairman of Qatar Petroleum, spoke on the occasion of the recent signing ceremony of LNG sales agreements between Qatar Liquefied Gas Co. Ltd and Spain’s Gas Natural SDG. Among those who attended were Enrique Locutura, CEO of the Gas Natural Group, and Carlos Torralba,...