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Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has christened its KFELS B Class design jackup drilling rig, designed and built for US-based oil driller ENSCO International Inc (ENSCO). Keppel FELS said it completed the rig within budget and will deliver it to ENSCO ahead...

China’s state oil and gas company CNPC said its crude production in Sudan exceeded 16 million tons last year. Its major discovery in Block 4 is capable of producing one million tons of crude oil a year by 2006.   The company said that well Neem 2 within Block 4 has tested to produce 18,000...

Openspec naphtha tonne C+F Japan – US$ 401.75 (–US$4.67 from Jan 18 closing) 95 ron unleaded gasoline barrel FOB Singapore – 50.35 (-0.07) Jet kerosene barrel FOB Singapore – 51.70 (-0.97) Gasoil barrel FOB Singapore – 49.74 (-0.86) LSWR barrel FOB Indonesia – 28.48 (-0.49) HSFO 180cst tonne FOB Singapore – 197.92 (-0.08) HSFO 380cst tonne FOB Singapore...

Australian upstream company BHP Billiton said the Minerva field development in the offshore Otway Basin in Victoria state has begun producing gas. BHP Billiton, the operator, holds a 90% interest in the Minerva field, with the remaining 10% owned by Santos (BOL) Pty Ltd.   The new gas plant will produce up to a maximum...

Australian engineering firm Clough Limited said it has signed a confirmation letter received for a US$25 million offshore installation contract with ConocoPhillips Indonesia Inc Ltd.   Execution of the final contract is subject to Indonesian state authority BPMIGAS formally approving the recommendation presented by ConocoPhillips. Clough in an equal joint venture with its Indonesian subsidiary...

Australian upstream company Santos Limited said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Santos Direct Pty Ltd, would market gas directly into the Victorian market for the first time using its recently awarded retail gas licence.   This follows production start-up from the Minerva gas field in the offshore Otway Basin, Victoria, earlier this week.   The retail gas...

China’s Huaneng Power International, Inc. said it generated around 114.28 billion kWh of electricity last year, an increase of 25.7% over 2003. It said the increase was the result of higher output from its power plants in Yushe, Jining, Fuzhou, Dalian and Jinggangshan.             Huaneng said it raised power output to meet the increase in...

Allen Beasley will stand down in March 2005 after six years as CEO of the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA).   US energy consultants Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), a unit of IHS Energy, said its president, Joseph Stanislaw, will be retiring to pursue his private interests. China’s CNOOC Limited has appointed senior vice president...

“In any developing economy there are many new projects and hence opportunities. As the economy develops and becomes mature and established, the opportunities gradually become open only to those with innovation and new advanced technologies. This happens in harmony with, and in response to, the shifting objectives of the country. When discussing major new project...

Analysts differ on whether last week’s major blackout in several Malaysian states will hurt or help power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s attempt to win approval for an increase in electricity tariffs. Some analysts told the Malaysian Business Times that Tenaga may have to shelve its plans for a rate increase. A large portion of southern...

Petronas Carigali Niger Exploration & Production Ltd. (PCNEPL), a subsidiary of Malaysian state oil company Petronas, said it has found hydrocarbons in the Agadem Block 1 Permit in the African country of Niger. The Jaouro-1 exploration well was drilled in the Termit Basin about 1,000 kilometres east of Niamey, the capital of Niger. The well...

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil in Iraq has awarded a contract for the execution of an integrated reservoir study for the Kirkuk field to Exploration Consultants Limited (ECL). In a statement, Shell Exploration Company BV said it has offered to the ministry support for the implementation of this study. Consequently, Shell and the ministry have signed...

Thai state oil and gas company PTT Plc is now the sole owner of Rayong Refinery Co after completing the buyout of the 64% stake previously held by Shell International Holding Ltd. Last month, PTT president Prasert Bunsumpun and Shell representative Michael Noll sealed the agreement for the transfer of the 243 million shares in...

BP last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore’s JTC Corporation (JTC) to co-operate in the development and installation of hydrogen refuelling technology.   BP said: “This collaboration promotes and encourages more activities in green technologies such as alternative energies and the application of hydrogen fuel cell technology. In addition, this also supports...

Below is a statement from Australian upstream company Origin Energy updating its work on Bass Straits natural gas development project.   “In mid December Origin Energy as operator for the BassGas Project took over the outstanding work required in order to accelerate completion of the project. “The joint venture has engaged Downer Engineering to complete...

China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec, Asia’s largest refiner, may have overstated its case when it said it found large oil and gas reserves in the Tarim basin in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, Hong Kong’s The Standard reported.             Industry players told the newspaper that China does not measure reserves according to international guidelines....

Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), currently part of the country’s Department of Economy, will be privatised through a public offering, Gulf News reported.   The privatisation and a restructuring of the company are expected to help NPCC compete with international companies and eventually improve its financial performance, Gulf News said, citing a NPCC...

India’s government has offered 20 blocks, including six deepwater blocks, for exploration of oil and gas under the fifth round of its New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), according to China View newswire reports. Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar expressed confidence in attracting good response from prospective investors both domestically and overseas, given the good discoveries...

Indonesia’s trade surplus dropped by almost a third in the first 11 months of 2004, compared to its 2003 performance as imports soared due to high oil prices, The Jakarta Post reported.             The Post, citing Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS), said the country reported a trade surplus of US$21.22 billion for the January-November period....

Philippine Cagayan de Oro Electric Power Light Co. Inc. (Cepalco) will soon invite the public to bid for the contract to build its proposed 20-megawatt diesel-fired power plant on Mindanao island, The Philippine Star reported. Cepalco chairman and CEO Ramon Abaya was quoted as saying that his company will announce the details of the bidding...

Thailand’s business community say its key worries for 2005 are high and volatile oil prices and severe competition from China for export markets, The Nation reported.   These two key factors will directly affect Thailand’s exports and its competitiveness this year, while ongoing negotiations to form free-trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries should have a...

PetroChina Company Limited said it achieved ‘record’ production and operational targets last year on the back of high oil prices and strong domestic demand.   Its total oil and gas output rose 3.1% to 917.9 million barrels of oil equivalent, its highest level since the company’s listing on the stock exchanges of New York and...

Exxon Mobil Corporation senior vice president Stuart McGill recently toldfinancial analysts in New York that his company is “uniquely positioned” to meet the challenge of adding new resources and reserves to address an increasing global energy demand. Mr McGill, who in 2004 was named senior vice president of the corporation, cited its financial strength, largest...

Germany’s oil and chemical storage company Oiltanking GmbH is expanding its presence in the Middle East with the announcement of deals in Dubai and Oman last month. It has agreed to buy a stake in UAE-based Star Energy Corp Ltd, which owns and operates an oil and chemicals terminal in Jebel Ali, Dubai, for an...