French consultants Gaz de France will advise two Indian oil and gas companies on building underground natural gas storage facilities as an insurance against supply disruption. Oil and Natural Gas Corp and GAIL (India) Ltd will set up the facility through a special purpose vehicle, an unnamed government official told the Press Trust of India....

Even in a rising oil price environment, there are losers among oil stocks. Until last year, Russia’s Yukos, Singapore’s China Aviation Oil (CAO) and India’s Reliance Energy were three highly rated companies with a promising future. Yukos is now about 3% of its peak size, CAO is fighting for its life while Reliance Energy has...

China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPLB), a key subsidiary under state China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), said its gross revenue for 2004 doubled to a record 6.8 billion yuan. CNPC is China’s largest oil and gas producer. Its profit of 220 million yuan was doubled that of 2003, reported Xinhuanet. “The tremendous achievements resulted mainly from...

China’s energy companies are close to agreement to invest in a US$2 billion pipeline to deliver crude from Canada’s Alberta-based oilsands projects to British Columbia on the country’s west coast, from where the oil will be shipped to China and other Asian markets. This latest move underlines just how serious a player China will be...

The share price of Australian upstream company Santos has remained solidly supported at over A$9 following last month’s 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 barrels of oil-equivalent, generating...

US energy consultant ESAI said China could be a net exporter of oil products this month. ESAI disclosed its finding in the latest edition of its Pacific Basin Stockwatch. “After surging to five-year highs in December, Chinese gasoil imports have slowed dramatically as higher refinery runs largely met domestic demand. As a consequence of this...

Oil refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec has denied news reports that it plans to build a liquid fuel storage facility with Hongkong-based Titan Petrochemicals Group. The South China Morning Post had reported that Titan would sign an agreement with Sinopec to build the country’s largest liquid fuel storage facility in Shanghai. Sinopec...

OceanConnect and broking house Starsupply have expanded their derivative broking alliance in New York to Singapore.   “OceanConnect and Starsupply bring global experience in the fuel oil and other derivatives markets,” said OceanConnect President Thomas Reilly.   The alliance with Starsupply, the leading derivative broker, has been in operation from OceanConnect’s headquarters office in NY...

Australian upstream company Bounty Oil & Gas NL said it has executed the formal agreement to purchase of a 40% interest in the Utopia oilfield located in south-western Queensland state and is progressing discussions to commence a development drilling program. Bounty announced its agreement to acquire this interest last December 17.   As of January...

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has begun to use diplomatic efforts to acquire controlling stakes in three Nigerian refineries, according to the All Africa News agency. The refineries belonging to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.   IOC last year submitted expressions of interest to buy 51% controlling stakes...

India’s state upstream company ONGC has earmarked a budget of Rs5.69 billion to instal two well platforms for enhancing oil and gas production from its Heera offshore field off Mumbai. (US$1=Rs43). The investment was approved by the ONGC board on January 31. An oil well platform will be installed in the relatively un-drained area of...

Genting Oil & Gas (China) Ltd, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd, has successfully tested and placed into production its new development well ‘ZG10-18’ in the Zhuangxi Buried Hill oilfield in China’s Shandong province, The Edge reported.             Following the test with a 25mm choke at an initial flow-rate of 521 tonne/day (or over 3,500...

Thailand’s Bangchak Petroleum is aiming to triple earnings by 2010 according to its latest five-year plan to triple earnings by 2010, reported the Business Day.             The company will spend an additional Baht200-300 million each year over the next five years to expand and renovate its national network of service stations (US$=Baht38).             Bangchak’s new...

Malaysian oil services major SapuraCrest is acquiring an 80% stake in Australia’s Total Marine Technology Pty Ltd (TMT) to bolster its regional expansion and technology enhancement plans, The Edge reported. The deal is worth A$9.6 million, the paper added (US$1=A$1.3).             SapuraCrest will fund the acquisition partly by the proceeds from its US$80 million 2.5%...

Singapore Exchange mainboard listed KS Tech Ltd (KS Tech), an energy services group, has proposed to change its name to KS Energy Services Limited to better reflect its growing involvelment in the energy business. Over the past year, the company has stepped up its business of providing refurbished offshore oil rigs and platforms to companies...

UK’s Rift Oil has agreed with Wellington, New Zealand-based Austral Pacific Energy Ltd to contribute the first US$6 million of expenditure on the Douglas-1 exploration well in Papua New Guinea. In return, Rift will earn a 65% interest in Petroleum Prospecting License 235 in PNG’s Foreland Basin, said a statement from Austral Pacific Energy. Austral...

Murphy Oil Corporation, a US independent energy company, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Murphy Sabah Oil Co., Ltd. has awarded a major contract for the Kikeh Area field development in Malaysia. The contract for the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel was recently awarded to Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad (MISC). Single Buoy Moorings...

Japanese engineering group Chiyoda Corporation said it has achieved ‘favourable’ financial results for the first nine months of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2005. Among its many clients, Chiyoda undertakes major projects for oil, gas and power companies.   Consolidated operating profit for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2004 was 7,043 million...

PT Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk (Apexindo), Indonesia’s largest oil and gas drilling company, is building a super premium jack-up rig with capabilities to drill high pressure and high temperature wells more than 25,000 ft deep in 375 ft of water. The company has awarded the contract to Singapore-based PPL Shipyard Pte Ltd (PPL), a subsidiary...

Malaysia’s Kemaman Bitumen Company Sdn Bhd (KBSB) has invested RM270 million to build a bitumen processing factory in Terengganu state, Bernama news agency reported (US$1=RM3.8). The 800,000 tonnes/year facility is due for completion by June next year.   KBSB is a joint venture between Seloga Holdings, which owns a 50% stake, and TIPCO Asphalt and...

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Today is a public holiday. There is no publication....

(EnergyAsia, Feb 8) — Engineering firm Foster Wheeler Ltd said its subsidiary Foster Wheeler International Corporation has been awarded a project management consultancy (PMC) contract by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO) for the development of the Onshore Gas Development Project (OGD-III) to increase production of condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs) at Habshan in...

(EnergyAsia, Feb 8) — Naturol BioEnergy Ltd (NBL), a joint venture between the Energea GmbH of Austria and FeClean Energy of France, is closer to building a bio-diesel plant in India as it moves towards financial closure by March. The company has requested the Andhra Pradesh state government to allot land for the construction of...

(EnergyAsia, Feb 8) — The Vietnamese government has decided to increase the import tax on gasoline by up to 15% despite the slight drop in world oil prices recently.   Vietnam News reported that the finance ministry has been under pressure to raise prices to reduce subsidies now spent on capping retail oil prices.  ...