The share price of Australian upstream company Santos settled at an all-time high of A$9.09 yesterday as investors responded warmly to news that the company had made a massive oil find in Indonesia to follow on report of last year’s record revenue of A$1.5 billion. (US$1=A$1.3). Santos’s total production for 2004 was 47.1 million...
Fuelled by the region’s increasing energy demand for coal, Singapore’s Sembawang Kimtrans Ltd (SKL) is launching two new specially engineered vessels that will provide optimal means for coal transportation in terms of speed and loading capacity. Compared to the traditional tug and barge method for coal transportation, these vessels will save up to 30%...
Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) estimates that last month’s killer tsunamis caused some Rs800 million worth of damage to its transmission lines and property in the country’s southern and eastern coasts, Lanka Business reported (US$1=Rs100). “We estimate that the damage in all affected areas is about Rs 800 million,” Lanka cited CEB general...
The Pakistani government has granted Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Mari Gas Company Limited four oil exploration licences, Pakistani news agency PPI reported. Two licences were granted for block Nos 2968-3 (Kohlu) and 2969-7 (Kalchas) while the other two are for zones in the Bagh and Shahana areas covering areas of...
Openspec naphtha tonne C+F Japan – US$ 417.75 95 ron unleaded gasoline barrel FOB Singapore – 50.50 Jet kerosene barrel FOB Singapore – 53.27 Gasoil barrel FOB Singapore – 51.33 LSWR barrel FOB Indonesia – 30.10 HSFO 180cst tonne FOB Singapore – 198.50 HSFO 380cst tonne FOB Singapore – 187.00...
South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s largest builder of ships and offshore facilities, has won a US$150 million contract to assist Korea National Oil Corp’s (KNOC) gas field development project in Vietnam. According to Yonhap news agency, Hyundai will install about 13,000 tonnes of fixed gas and condensate extraction facilities and lay...
Financially stricken China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said it has filed a proposed Scheme of Arrangement with its creditors with the High Court of Singapore today through its lawyers, Rajah & Tann. The principal terms comprise: á A cash injection of up to US$100 million in fresh equity from its parent, China...
Taiwan’s new oil-consumption regulations will block imports of certain “super-luxury” limousines and over-3,600 cubic-centimetre (cc) sport cars, according to local news reports. The new oil-consumption regulations are due to be effective from July, the reports said. The regulations will limit the sale of many big engine-displacement limousines, sport cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs)...
Japan’s current account surplus fell 19.3% to 1.2 trillion yen (US$11.7 billion) in November 2004, its first decline in 17 months, as the cost of imports rose on higher oil prices, the Japan Times reported, quoting Finance Ministry figures. According to the ministry, the country’s surplus in the balance of trade in goods and...
A consortium of international banks led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation is extending a US$310 million syndicated loan to Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina to finance the development of its gas plants in South Sumatra. An Antara report quoted Pertamina spokesman M Harun as saying that about 70% of the facility was...
China and Canada have issued a joint Statement on Energy Cooperation coinciding with last week’s visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Paul Martin. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the statement showed the commitment of the two countries to increasing energy security and promoting environmental sustainability in the energy sector. The cooperation will cover...
UK energy major BP plans to increase by 30% its output from the Nam Con Son gas project off Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to 3.2 billion cubic metres of gas in 2005. According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the company also plans to expand the Dinh Co gas liquefying station and...
Daewoo Bus Corporation will supply 265 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to Santiago, Chile by 2007, according to Korea’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) in a Korea Times report. In the first phase of the deal, Daewoo will provide 110 CNG buses by August 2005, with the remaining 115 buses to be...
China’s Commerce Ministry has announced further relaxation of rules to allow more companies to enter the country’s downstream oil business including operating retails stations and storage terminals. The previous regulation allowing only state companies Sinopec and CNPC to build retail stations has been lifted in exchange for China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation. Entrants...
ChevronTexaco Corp has announced senior executive appointments effective January 1. Vice Chairman Peter Robertson will join chairman and CEO Dave O’Reilly in the Office of the Chairman. The two will collaborate in overseeing the strategies and operations of the company. Mr Robertson will assume direct responsibility for strategic planning, policy, government and public affairs and...
Saudi Aramco’s president and CEO, Abdallah S. Jum’ah, has called for closer ties between his company and India’s petroleum and industrial sectors. In a speech last week at an industry conference in New Delhi, Mr Jum’ah said that Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, would continue to work with its Indian counterparts “to identify...
CNPC, China’s largest oil company, has begun building an oil depot to store Orimulsion crude in Zhanjiang city in Guangdong province. The RMB 60million depot includes 12 tanks with a total capacity of 80,000 cubic metres, according to an Interfax news agency report. (US$1=RMB8.27). CNPC’s subsidiary, Shenzhen-based Dapeng Petroleum Sales Company, is building the depot...
Qatar’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and French engineering firm Technip will jointly execute the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the offshore facilities of the Qatargas II Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant expansion project. The contract was recently awarded by Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited II, or Qatargas II, to NPCC. Technip’s share...
New Zealand’s motorists would have to pay at least 1 NZ cent more for a litre of gasoline to help pay the NZ$640 million needed to boost the country’s oil reserves to international standards, according to a government report. (US$1=NZ$1.4). New Zealand now holds just 60 days of oil in reserve, short of the 90-day...
Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC), a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), is looking into building a 600,000 barrels per day refinery in Yunlin County in southern Taiwan, reported the China Economic News Services. The proposed NT$120 billion project will be built on a 2,000-hectare site, boosting the company’s total oil refining capacity to 1...
State-owned National Power Corporation (NPC) is inviting bids for the construction of fuel storage and logistic support services for 18 power plants operated by its Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG). The contracts are worth an estimated P191 million, according to the PNA news service. (US$1=55 peso). The contractor will build fuel storage facilities in four...
Openspec naphtha tonne C+F Japan – US$ 401 (-US$0.75 from Jan 19 closing) 95 ron unleaded gasoline barrel FOB Singapore – 49.07 (-1.28) Jet kerosene barrel FOB Singapore – 52 (+0.30) Gasoil barrel FOB Singapore – 49.17 (-0.57) LSWR barrel FOB Indonesia – 29.60 (+1.12) HSFO 180cst tonne FOB Singapore – 194.35 (-3.57) HSFO 380cst tonne FOB Singapore...
Thailand’s Cabinet has approved a seven-year plan by the Energy Ministry to encourage motorists to switch to biodiesel to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels. The plan, announced by Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej, aims to strengthen Thailand’s energy security and boost the income of its farmers as biodiesel will be produced from palm oil....
Foster Wheeler Ltd subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, said it has formed a new oil and gas division as part of its strategy to expand its hydrocarbon business. Malcolm Harrison has been appointed divisional director of the new group. The division, headquartered in Reading, UK, unites all of Foster Wheeler’s oil and gas experts...
Two state oil companies are racing to build oil refineries in India’s northern Rajasthan state. The Rajasthan state government last month approved a 9-million tonnes per year refinery submitted by Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) worth Rs 80 billion. (US$1=Rs44). The Board of Infrastructure Development and Investment Promotion (BIDI), chaired by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, cleared...