The energy ministers of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar will meet in Yangon on January 12 and 13 to discuss the building of a gas pipeline from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh. India will be represented by Mani Shankar Aiyar, Bangladesh by Mosharraf Hossain and Myanmar by Brig-Gen Lun-Thi, the Times of India newspaper reported. The...
CHINA: Oil development agreement signed with Nigeria
China and Nigeria have signed an agreement to develop oil fields 64 and 66 in the deep waters of the oil-rich Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, according to state oil company publication NPDC News. The managing directors of the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Ð the exploration and...
JAPAN: Finance ministry allocates 10.1 billion yen to build vessel for gas exploration in East China
Japan’s Finance Minister will allocate 10.1 billion yen (US$970 million) in the fiscal 2005 budget to build a ship for gas exploration in the East China Sea, where Japan and China are embroiled in a territorial dispute, according to the Japan Times newspaper. The move is seen as retaliation against what Japan says is...
MARKETS: Asian product prices for December 30
Openspec naphtha tonne C+F Japan – US$394.25 (+US$6.00 from Dec 30 closing) 95 ron unleaded gasoline barrel FOB Singapore – 42.80 (+0.30) Jet kerosene barrel FOB Singapore Ð 48.50 (+0.45) Gasoil barrel FOB Singapore Ð 47.43 (-1.00) LSWR barrel FOB Indonesia – 22.10 (+0.07) HSFO 180cst tonne FOB Singapore Ð 174.90 (-2.47) HSFO 380cst tonne FOB Singapore – 154.88 (-2.62) ...
AUSTRALIA: Origin sells its Carpentaria Gas Pipeline interest for A$16 million
Origin Energy in conjunction with Santos Limited and Delhi Petroleum has announced that they have agreed to sell their combined 30% interest in the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline (CGP) to Australian Pipelines Trust (APT) for A$98 million. (US$1=A$1.33). APT previously owned 70% of the CGP while Santos had an 18.02% stake, Delhi Petroleum 6.96% and...
INDIA: Indian Oil Corp eyes stake in Nigerian refineries
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is interested to buy into three refineries in Nigeria while offering its expertise in providing maintenance and turnaround services to refineries in African and West Asian countries. “IOC has submitted Expression of Interest for acquiring a 51% stake in the Nigerian-government-owned Port Harcourt, Warri and Kuduna refineries,” an unnamed official was...
PAKISTAN: Petroleum minister predicts “revolution” in energy exploration and production
Pakistan is eyeing a “revolution” in oil, gas and mineral exploration and development in a few years, according to the country’s Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Resources Mir Muhammed Naseer Khan Mengal. Speaking with members of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and FPCCI Standing Committee on CNG, Oil & Gas,...
INDONESIA: No need to raise oil and gas prices, says former minister
The Indonesian government does not need to raise domestic fuel prices as the country has sufficient oil resources, said former state minister for national development planning Kwik Kian Gie. Antara news agency quoted him as saying: “The government will not need to spend a single cent even if the global oil price soars to US$100...
RUSSIA: Excerpts from President Vladimir Putin’s press conference defending Moscow’s handling of the
Russian President Vladimir Putin made the following comments at a press conference last week. “Now regarding the acquisition by Rosneft of the well-known asset of the company Ð I do not remember its exact name Ð is it Baikal Investment Company? Essentially, Rosneft, a 100% state owned company, has bought the well-known asset Yuganskneftegaz. That...
INDIA: Cairn says operations not affected by tsunami, to make donations to victims
UK-based Cairn Energy said it plans to make a donation to aid victims and survivors of the December 26 tsunami that struck south-eastern India. It said a payment will be made in the coming days to the Relief Fund set up by the Indian Prime Minister. More than 85,000 people in several Asian and African...
INDIA: ADB provides US$400m loan for power transmission grid upgrade
ADB has approved a US$400 million loan to help finance a project to upgrade India’s national power transmission grid. The project will strengthen the capacity of the national transmission grid that comprises 765-kilovolt (kV) and 400kV transmission lines as well as sub-stations operated by the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Powergrid), according to an...
THAILAND: BOC sells Unique Gas to Siam Gas for US$56m
Tough competition has forced British Oxygen Company Ltd (BOC) Ð the only foreign investor in the Thai cooking gas market Ð to withdraw, selling its Unique Gas and Petrochemical Plc to Siam Gas Industries Co for 2.17 billion baht (US$1=39 baht), the Bangkok Post reported. With the acquisition, Siam Gas will double production capacity...
INDIA: W’rtsil’ awarded first O&M contract for coal power plant
W’rtsil’ has announced the signing of its first operation and maintenance (O&M) contract for a coal-fired power plant in India. A W’rtsil’ press release said the contract is for a 15MW coal-fired steam turbind power plant for a leading Indian cement producer. The contract marks significant progress for W’rtsil’ in broadening the scope...
PRODUCT NEWS: GE Energy using ultrascan technology to check on “health” of pipelines
GE Energy said it has adapted ultrasound technology used in hospitals to create the most advanced inspection tool for evaluating the “health” of liquid pipelines. GE Energy’s UltraScan¨ Duo is the oil and gas industry’s first pipeline inspection gauge (“pig”) to utilise “Phased Array Ultrasound Technology,” an automated sensor system GE adapted to perform...
PAKISAN: Government to make choice on two gas import pipeline projects
Islambad is still studying the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP), Iran-Pakistan and Qatar-Pakistan gas import pipeline projects and has yet to decide on which one to choose. “We are working on these projects and would select one of them that would be in the best interest of the country,” Petroleum and Natural Resources Secretary Ahmad Waqar told...
AUSTRALIA: Origin Energy keen to build a natural gas-fired power station in central Queensland
Australia’s Origin Energy said it has lodged an “Initial Advice Statement” with the Queensland state government seeking ‘significant project’ designation for its proposed high efficiency natural gas fired power station. In a statement, Tony Wood, the company’s general manager for public and government affairs, said: “This represents a further step in the process...
MARKETS: Asian product prices for December 29
Openspec naphtha tonne C+F Japan – US$388.25 (+US$2.50 from Dec 28 closing) 95 ron unleaded gasoline barrel FOB Singapore – 42.50 (+0.55) Jet kerosene barrel FOB Singapore – 48.05 (-0.45) Gasoil barrel FOB Singapore – 46.43 (-0.32) LSWR barrel FOB Indonesia – 22.03 (+1.15) HSFO 180cst tonne FOB Singapore – 177.37 (+3.44) HSFO 380cst tonne FOB Singapore – 157.50 (+5.00)...
THAILAND: Additional 25 billion baht allocated for diesel subsidies
The Thai government has set aside an additional 25 billion baht (US$640 million) to subsidise diesel prices, the Bangkok Post reported. The Thai cabinet has agreed to allow the Energy Fund Administration Institute, a public organisation under the Energy Ministry, to borrow from local financial institutions. The extra financing was deemed necessary because...
EMISSIONS: Is climate research looking up?
by David Wojick for the Electricity Daily An emerging consensus that solar activity may be playing a major role in global warming has lead to new interest in adding a solar thrust to the US Climate Change Science Program, or CCSP. In past months two heavy lifting workshops have been convened on the prospects for...
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Cheetah Oil & Gas says its asset holds 2.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserv
Las Vegas, US-based Cheetah Oil & Gas Ltd said that one of its key assets in Papua New Guinea, #246, holds an estimated 2.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas reserves. The company said the reserves estimate was provided by an independent expert, Australia’s 3D-GEO, which recently completed a comprehensive evaluation of some...
CHINA: PetroChina announced more natural gas sales agreements
The leading group for China”s West-East Natural Gas Transmission Project held its seventh workshop meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. During the meeting, PetroChina signed natural gas sales agreements with 12 customers. They include Tuzhou Ruixing Chemical Co., Anhui Gaojia Gas Co., Wangting Power Plant, Qishuyan Power Plant, Huaneng...
MALAYSIA: TNB awards US$343-million contract to Japanese consortium
Malaysian state power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth RM 1.3 billion (US$343 million) for the redevelopment of the Tuank Jaafar Power Station in Port Dickson to a Japanese-led consortium. The contract was awarded to a consortium comprising Sumitomo Corp and Toshiba Corp, General Electric...
THAILAND: PTT aims to become top lubricant supplier by 2007
Thailand’s main oil and gas company PTT Plc said it aims to displace Shell as the country’s leading lubricant oil marketer by 2007, The Nation newspaper reported. PTT said it now has a 19% share of the domestic market after Shell and Esso, and aims to raise that to 30% in three years. ...
MARKETS: Platts said WTI benchmark oil price down US$5.10 for January delivery
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, as assessed by Platts, has fallen $5.10 cents for January delivery to $43.98-44.00 per barrel. Platts is the global energy information division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Light Louisiana Sweet crude (LLS), produced onshore in Louisiana and in the shallow waters off the state’s coast, dropped $5.11...
CHINA: BASF support for independent engine-testing lab in Beijing
The Chinese Reseach Academy for Environmental Science (CRAES) is building Beijing’s first independent engine-testing laboratory, with the technical and financial support of German transnational chemical company BASF. A press release from BASF said the engine stand for the laboratory would come from Schenck Pegasus GmbH. The delivery contract for the stand was signed in...