US independent energy company Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL) has provided an update on the activities of its subsidiaries, Unocal Ganal Ltd, Unocal Rapak Ltd and Unocal Makassar Ltd. The subsidiaries are exploring for oil and gas in deep waters off Indonesia as well as preparing preliminary development plans at West Seno based on the results...
The Thai government will allow market forces to set the retail price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by next July despite calls by traders for continued subsidies for another two years. Metta Banturngsuk, director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), told the Bangkok Post that it was unfair to continue subsidising household consumers...
UK independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) firm Cairn Energy has received Indian government approval to extend its Rajasthan Block to an 850 sq km area north of Cairn’s so-called N-C discovery there, according to the August issue of EnergyAsia Report. In a research note, Merrill Lynch said the magnitude of the extension,...
LG-Caltex Oil Corp., Korea’s second-largest oil refiner, has started firing striking union members who failed to return to work by the final extended deadline of 1 pm last Friday. The refiner could lose more than two-thirds of its 2,700-strong work force, said the Korea Herald. “We are considering hiring 100 more employees to fill the...
Oman’s GDP grew by an estimated 6.3% last year, sharply up from 2002’s 1.8%, thanks in large part to high oil prices. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) expects another strong performance for the economy in 2004. In its Annual Report, the CBO said high oil prices helped offset the negative impact from the decline...
The Philippines Department of Energy said it expects to sign a deal with Australia’s BHP Billiton Petroleum by September to develop two of the 46 oil and gas exploration sites it put on the auction block. BHP is leading a consortium comprising Unocal Corp., Amerada Hess, and Sandakan Oil which is interested to explore in...
Caltex Singapore offered motorists a 12%nationwide discount off its gasoline grades to celebrate the country’s 39th National Day celebrations from August 5 to 9. Singapore celebrates its independence day on August 9. In addition to the discount, Caltex said its “Thanks!” loyalty programme customers will also be entitled to accumulate reward points with every fuels...
Energy major BP Plc will soon complete the sale of its entire 70% stake in Malaysian unit BP Malaysia Sdn Bhd to Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), said BP Malaysia chief executive Peter M Wentworth. “The discussions are ongoing and should conclude very soon,” he told The Edge newspaper. He said that the armed forces...
State-owned Korea Electric Power Corp has dismissed concerns that rising demand for electricity trigger off a nationwide power shortage or failure at the height of summer this month. In a joint meeting with officials from six affiliated power generating firms, the country’s biggest power producer decided to set up a situation room to ensure a...
A draft Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act, a precursor to building a strategic storage in India, is being prepared by IndianOil for the ministry of petroleum and natural gas. All the oil companies operating in India will be asked to maintain a 30-day oil stock, unidentified sources told The Economic Times. The act, which is expected...
Caltex Australia said it and franchisees who initiated a Federal Court class action seeking a halt to the Caltex Woolworths discount fuel venture, have agreed to settle the action subject to Court approval. A deed of settlement, signed by Caltex and by the relevant franchisees (Jarrama Pty Ltd and Lupevo Pty Ltd), was recently filed...
Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd said it expects its after-tax profit to exceed analysts’ forecasts of A$314 million by around 10% when half year results to June 30 are released on August 18. (US$1=A$1.45). The results will be released following review by the external auditors and after consideration by the board. The company said:...
Esso (Thailand) Plc, an ExxonMobil unit, said that it saw no need to move to the second phase of its refinery expansion project. Speaking to the Nation newspaper, Pipop Pruecksamars, the company’s director and public affairs manager, said its 145,000 barrels per day refinery in Sri Racha was operating at only 130,000 b/d. In 1991,...
PetroChina, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country’s three leading oil and gas companies, have been shortlisted for a contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Shanghai city. The US$500 million project, which includes a power plant, is slated for completion by 2008. The Shanghai...
Calgary, Canada-based PetroKazakhstan Inc said its second half net income rose 53% to US$209.5 million from year-ago levels on income of US$721.4 million, compared with US$503.5 million from second quarter 2003. PetroKazakhstan Inc is a vertically integrated, international energy company into its seventh year of operations in Kazakhstan. It is engaged in the acquisition, exploration,...
Japan’ crude oil imports fell 20.9% in June from a year earlier to 108.31 million barrels, marking a ninth consecutive month of decline, the Natural Resources and Energy Agency said. According to the Japan Times, imports from the Middle East accounted for 88.6% of the total, up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier, the...
Australia’s opposition Labour Party wants the government to place a ceiling on the GST of gasoline as an immediate move to relieve motorists from the pain of rising oil prices. The GST now adds more than A$13 billion a year to the price of gasoline, which recently exceeded A$1 a litre. (US$1=A$1.45). Fuel prices are...
Malaysia’s Petronas Gas Bhd (PGas) says the country’s gas consumption will rise in line with its forecast economic growth, its chairman, Mohd Hassan Marican, said at the company’s recent annual general meeting. Pgas’s revenue declined in the 2004 financial year ended March 31 as the power sector, which has a huge surplus capacity, reduced its...
Despite its vigorous protests, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) has to contribute Rs2,260 million as its share of the country’s fuel subsidy bill. (US$1=Rs45). The amount will be paid to India’s state oil marketing firms for the losses they suffered in the first quarter for selling LPG and kerosene below cost. According to the...
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has appointed Chalermchai Ratanarak as its new governor. Mr Chalermchai, the president of Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), will replace Sitthiporn Ratanopas, who resigned earlier this year for allegedly encouraging labour groups to oppose the proposed privatisation of Egat. Mr Chalermchai’s appointment is expected to be approved by Egat’s board...
China Aviation Oil (CAO) has issued a statement clarifying its earlier announcements of 5 and 9 February pertaining to the acquisition of Hongkong’s Fortune Aviation Holding Ltd. Under the sale and purchase agreement dated 20 January 2004 between CAO and Fortune Aviation Holding Limited, it said the aggregate value of the deal of RMB 441...
Caltex Australia said it welcomes the recent decision on new quality standards for gasoline and diesel, announced last month by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Ian Campbell, as part of the government’s clean fuels agenda. It said the new standards demonstrate the government’s strong commitment to the environment and will help to greatly...
Foster Wheeler Ltd has announced that a subsidiary of in England has been awarded a project management consultancy contract by Hyundai Oilbank Co., Ltd. (HDO) for a $200 million clean fuels upgrade project at its oil refinery at Daesan, 130 km southwest of Seoul, Korea. The value of Foster Wheeler’s contract was not disclosed. The...
Hong Kong-listed CNOOC Limited and its subsidiaries has made an oil discovery with the exploration well JZ 21-1S-1 in Bohai Bay. Located on JZ21-1 south structure in Liaozhong Sag in Bohai Bay, Well JZ21-1S-1 was drilled to a total depth around 2400 meters in 20 meters of water. On 7.94mm and 7.14mm chokes, the well...
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has appointed Chalermchai Ratanarak as its new governor. Mr Chalermchai, the president of Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), will replace Sitthiporn Ratanopas, who resigned earlier this year for allegedly encouraging labour groups to oppose the proposed privatisation of Egat. Mr Chalermchai’s appointment is expected to be approved by Egat’s board...