MALAYSIA: Fuel station operators may stop accepting credit cards if bank impose new charges

Malaysia’s retail fuel station operators may stop accepting credit cards if banks imposes new charges to help offset the cost of fraudulent transactions, Petroleum Dealers Association Malaysia President Abu Samah Bachik said. “If there is a charge imposed we will not pay and there is a possibility that we may no longer accept credit cards...

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PHILIPPINES: President Arroyo announces five-policy energy framework

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo recently announced her administration’s five policies to promote energy development, independence and savings. The policies aim at developing new power sources as well as managing traditional and alternative energy sources. “We will promote exploration of such resources,” she told members of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. State Philippine...

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IRAN: Gas successfully delivered from South Pars’s phases 4, 5 to onshore facilities

Natural gas from phases four and five of Iran’s South Pars gas field have started flowing to onshore facilities in Assalouyeh port in the southern province of Bushehr. The Pars Oil and Gas Company said gas from offshore oil fields has begun flowing through platforms belonging to the fifth phase. The company said the gas...

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INDIA: Cairn Energy makes fourth oil discovery in northern Rajasthan

UK-based Cairn Energy said it has made a “fourth significant oil discovery” in India’s northern Rajasthan state with the N-V-1 exploration well located 18 km west-north-west of the Mangala field. The discovery, containing about 300 million barrels of oil, is also located 19 km west-south-west of the N-C discovery, and in close proximity to the...

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AUSTRALIA: Entek Energy continues to trade above IPO price

Bouyed by investor interest in the oil sector, Australia exchange’s newly listed Entek Energy continues to trade above its IPO price of A$0.20. The Cooper Basin oil and gas explorer started trading this week at A$0.24 to $0.25 after receiving enthusiastic response to its IPO last week. (US$1=A$1.4). Entek executive chairman Joe Mercorella told The...

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THAILAND: PTTEP reports 24% rise in second quarter revenues, but decline in net profit

Thailand’s state PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) and its subsidiaries have reported a 24% rise in second quarter revenues to 11,609 million baht over the same period last year. PTTEP said the increase resulted mainly from sales revenue which rose by 2,670 million baht or 32% from higher sales volume. Maroot Mrigadat,...

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KOREA: Oil firms investigated for fixing prices (MEMEBRS ONLY)

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it is investigating the country’s four main oil refiners for the possibility of collusion to fix oil prices to enhance earnings. The investigations were launched early this month at the suggestion of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance-Economy Minister Lee Hun-jae following complaints that the four oil companies were...

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CHINA: Grids to exchange electricity in bid to ease power shortage

China is increasing electricity exchanges across different regional grids to deal with the nation’s worst electricity shortage in two decades, said the China Daily. Supplies from electricity-rich areas to power-pinched areas, such as eastern and southern China, surged by 223% year-on-year in the first six months of 2004 to 28.6 billion kilowatthours, said the State...

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SAUDI ARABIA: New oil fields producing ahead of schedule

Saudi state oil and gas company Aramco said two of its new oil fields are have started production, three months ahead of schedule, according to a Xinhua news wire report. Xinhua said the start-up of the new oil fields may result in Aramco delaying the shutdown of older wells to ease concerns of a lack...

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MALAYSIA: MISC to expand LNG fleet to 28 tankers by 2008m

Petronas subsidiary Malaysia International Shipping Corp Bhd (MISC) will expand its fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to 28 by 2008 from 17 now. Chairman Mohd Hassan Marican, also Petronas’ president and CEO, said the company has placed orders for new tankers and some are now being built. He did not disclose how much...

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UAE: High oil prices to boost external fiscal surplus, GDP

The UAE’s external fiscal balance is expected to show a US$600 million surplus this year, reversing last year’s deficit of US$200 million as a result of high oil prices. But its gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to slow down to 5.2%, from last year’s 12.1%, reported the Gulf News. The figures by the UAE...

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KOREA: Record oil prices hurting trade balance

With oil prices at record levels of nearly US$50 a barrel, Korea’s central bank has issued a warning that the country’s trade balance will be severely affected as trade conditions worsen. While New York crude futures prices eased on August 20 after hitting a high of US$49.40 barrel, traders said global supply fears could still...

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THAILAND: Trade deficit expected on high oil price

Net oil importer Thailand could suffer a trade deficit this year on surging oil price as its fuel import bill jumped 39% to Bt236.2 billion for the first half of the year, said an economist. (US$1=41 baht). Thanawat Pholvichai at the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce said low savings, the government’s huge investment in...

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MALAYSIA: Government expresses concern over high oil prices

Net oil producer Malaysia said rising oil prices could pose “a major problem” to the economy. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government will be forced to raise the subsidies on fuels if oil prices continued to rise. Last year, it spent RM6.8 billion on fuel subsidies compared with RM4.3 billion in 2002. (US$1=RM3.8)....

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CHINA: Xiamen to form gas JV with international companies

China’s eastern city Xiamen is in talks with international energy companies to form a joint venture to distribute natural gas in the city. According to the China Daily, Xiamen aims to break the state’s monopoly in the gas distribution business and provide better service to consumers. The city’s Vice-Mayor Wang Ling told the newspaper that...

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SINGAPORE: China Petrotech deploys advanced technology; launches eight new products

Singapore-listed China Petrotech Holdings Limited said it has deployed and tested the use of state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) equipment and technology for the first time for China’s oil and gas industry through collaboration with a leading US specialist in this advanced field. China Petrotech, a leading provider of technological solutions for China’s oil and...

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SAUDI ARABIA: High oil prices boost state assets to US$82.3 billion at end-June

Strong oil prices boosted Saudi Arabia’s assets by $9.5 billion to US$82.25 billion in the first half of the year, according to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the kingdom’s central bank. The bulk of the increase was in Sama’s deposits with foreign banks despite the poor returns from low interest rates, reported the Gulf News....

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THAILAND: Gasoline prices to be floated

Thailand will allow retail gasoline prices to be floated as an immediate step to reduce the pressure on state finances, said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Retail fuel prices are being subsidised by the state’s Oil Fund, which is running up a deficit on surgin oil prices. The government has promised to continue subsidising retail diesel...

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INDONESIA: Gas company PGN to receive US$80 million loan from World Bank

Indonesia’s state PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PT PGN) said it will receive a US$80 million loan from the World Bank in October to build a US$125 million natural gas pipeline in western West Java. PGN’s CEO Djoko Pramono told local reporters he expects to sign the agreement with the World Bank in October, but did...

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CHINA: CNOOC completes key section of natural gas pipeline to Hainan Island

China’s CNOOC said it has completed a 247-km natural gas pipeline, linking the Dongfang 1-1 field to Haikou city via Yangpu on Hainan island. The company said the new pipeline will play an important role in the exploitation of the abundant natural gas reserves in the west of the South China Sea, promoting economic development...

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CHINA: Zhengzhou Gas’s first half net profits gained from higher oil prices 9MEMBERS ONLY)

State-owned Zhengzhou Gas said net profit jumped by almost one-third in the first half as surging world oil prices encouraged more people to convert to gas-powered cars. According to the Hong Kong Standard, first-half net profit rose 31.85% to 37.08 million yuan from 28.1 million yuan a year earlier. (US$1=HK$7.8). The company said the number...

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KOREA: Rising oil prices threaten trade balance

State officials and private sector analysts have acknowledged that record oil prices could threaten Korea’s trade balance and negate the effects of government spending plans to stimulate the economy. The state-run Korea International Trade Association (KITA) predicts that the country’s trade balance could be slashed by up to $12 billion if world oil prices stayed...

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CHINA: Titan Chios buys VLCC for US$23 million

Titan Chios, a unit of Hongkong’s Titan Holdings, recently entered into an agreement to buy a VLCC from shipping company Esco Trading for US$23 million. Titan Chios has paid a 10% deposit for the 1986-built vessel, and will complete the payment upon taking delivery of the vessel. In a statement, Titan said it will fund...

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THAILAND: Gasoline tops B20 mark, diesel capped for now

The Thai government has raised retail gasoline prices by 0.60 baht a litre in line with rising global oil prices, said the Bangkok Post. (US$1=41 baht). The new price for subsidised premium gasoline is 20.59 baht, compared with the actual price of 21.31 baht, and regular gasoline is now 19.79 baht, compared with 20.60 baht....

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CHINA: Panva Gas said first half profit up 14.9% to HK$95 million

Hongkong-listed Panva Gas said its first half net profit rose 14.9% to HK$95.356 million from year- ago levels, while revenue was up 20.7% to HK$848.643 million. (US$1=HK$7.8). But its earnings per share fell sharply by 25.7% to HK10.20cents while earnings per share were down 8.5% to HK9.40cents. Panva, which is involved in China’s liquefied petroleum...

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