Caltex Australia has welcomed the decision by the Brisbane City Council to give development approval to the A$145 million Lytton Refinery Clean Fuels Project. The project will upgrade the refinery to greatly reduce the benzene content of gasoline and sulphur content of diesel for sale at terminals and service stations from January 1, 2006. (US$1=A$1.45)....
Oil wholesalers may soon raise gasoline prices in line with surges in crude oil futures in New York, oil firms told Kyodo News Service. An official at Nippon Oil Corp said: “Higher procurement costs due to a rise in crude oil prices and the yen’s depreciation against the dollar may lead to a price hike...
Singapore Exchange-listed oil and gas supply specialist KS Tech Ltd said it has entered into agreements with an unidentified listed Chinese state owned company to provide procurement, repair and support services to deploy a jack-up drilling unit. The rig is expected to be ready for drilling services in the South China Sea by end August...
Calgary-based PetroKazakhstan has announced the final results of its Dutch auction substantial issuer bid dated June 11 for up to C$160 million of its Class A common shares. (US$1=C$1.3). The company said it will take up 3,999,975 shares validly deposited at the final purchase price of C$40. Computershare Trust Company of Canada, the depositary under...
China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) said that it has signed a new service contract with Kerr-McGee China Petroleum Ltd. (KMCPL) for the CFD 11-1/2 oilfield of the Caofeidian 04/36 Block in the Bohai Bay. The drilling services contract, worth around US$80 million, includes cementing, drilling fluids, directional drilling, sand-prevention, perforation, logging, drilling and other related...
Australian upstream company Amity Oil said its second quarter cash receipts from gas and condensate sales increased 7% from A$4.4 million to A$4.7 million. (US$1=A$1.45). In an update to the Australian Stock Exchange, it said that natural gas production from its Turkey operations was “steadily improving” while drilling in Ellis County, Oklahoma in the US...
(AFX-Asia) — Philippines’ President Gloria Arroyo has signed an executive order increasing the import duties on crude and petroleum products to 5% from the current 3%. “The idea is that (the executive order) will be a revenue mechanism until Congress decides on a (new) excise tax,” Energy Secretary Vincent Perez said. The across-the-board tariff hike...
ExxonMobil has denied a Financial Times report that it plans to sell its 19% stake in Sinopec, China’s second-largest oil company. An ExxonMobil spokeswoman told China Daily that she was not aware the company is considering selling its Sinopec stake to raise more than US$1 billion in cash. A Sinopec spokesman also said his company...
The Sri Lankan government has finally approved a 13.3% rise in retail gasoline prices to 68 rupees a litre from July 31, but has maintained its silence on diesel. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have been asking for a price increase since February to align domestic fuel prices with...
Singapore’s Keppel Corp’s second quarter earnings rose 11% to S$108.2 million, thanks in part to the performance of its offshore and marine sector which has been receiving building orders for oil and gas upstream work. (US$1=S$1.7). The sector’s first half earnings grew 43% to S$106 million on the back of increased worldwide spendings on exploration...
For the second consecutive month, US crude oil futures set record highs on fresh fears of supply disruption and continued strong global demand. That has been the enduring theme of the oil markets the past year in clear defiance of predictions by many analysts that prices would eventually “return” to their “normal” US$20-$25 a barrel...