(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) — PPL Shipyard, a subsidiary of Singapore’s,SembCorp Marine, has signed a rig building contract worth US$133.7 million with PT Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk, the largest Indonesian oil and gas drilling company for the construction of a Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 deep drilling offshore jack up rig. The rig is a...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 8) — Singapore’s oil, petrochemicals and chemicals companies is expected to show strong growth this year, continuing its momentum from the last two years, said the Economic Development Board. The EDB said the cluster’s 2004 output rose by 29% to S$50.7 billion, up from S$39.2 billion in 2003. (US$1=S$1.65). Value-added (VA) was...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 8) — State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation has signed a contract with Kerr-Mcgee China Petroleum Limited, a wholly owned affiliate of US Kerr-Mcgee Corp to explore the deepwater block 43/11 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea. The block, located about 350 km southeast of Hong Kong,...
(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) — The financial robustness of ONGC is necessary for India’s oil security, said the upstream company’s chairman and managing director Subir Raha. In a recent speech, ‘Oil Security for India Ð Role of ONGC’, to a gathering of India’s civil servants in New Delhi, he said ONGC was embarking on an “aggressive...
(EnergyAsia, February 8) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved US$1.2 million technical assistance grant to assist the Philippines government in restructuring the country’s power sector. To support its reform agenda in the power sector, Manila had requested assistance from ADB to build up the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and speed up the...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC) has reported making a net profit of Rs 12.87 billion for the October-to-December quarter, down sharply from Rs 24.04 billion over the same quarter in the previous year. (US$1=Rs44). The company blamed the drop to “higher under-recoveries and subsidies on sales of kerosene and LPG” along...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Abu Dhabi-based NaftoGaz Middle East Llc said it plans to invest $600 million in exploration and production projects in Fujairah following the signing of contract with the Fujairah government last month. NaftoGaz Middle East is a 49/51 joint venture between the Abu Dhabi-based Al Jazirah Enterprise for Project Development and...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Queensland state will provide a A$250,000 grant to help create Australia’s largest ethanol plant at the CSR mill in Sarina. (US$1=A$1.3). But local cane farmers are saying they need more financial support to position Australia for a growing race with Brazil as a leading biofuels producer, and eventually, exporter. Brazil...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Australian upstream company Santos Limited said it has discovered oil and gas at the Hiu Aman 1 well being drilled by the operator, Unocal Donggala Ltd, in the Donggala Production Sharing Contract area (PSC) in the Kutei Basin off Indonesian waters. The well reached total depth (TD) of 4039 metres in...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — India has offered to step up cooperation with Ecuador in the petroleum sector, said Ecuadorian Energy and Mining Minister Eduardo Lopez who earlier had visited New Delhi. Mr Lopez and his Indian counterpart, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar signed an agreement designating Ecuadorian national petroleum company Petroecuador and Indian upstream company...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) will increase the use of coal and and lignite for power generation to reduce reliance on natural gas, said its governor Kraisri Karnasuta at the Coaltrans Thailand conference last month. Environmentalists were also present at the event demanding that Thailand and Egat stop...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Indian state upstream company ONGC said its net profit for the October-to-December quarter was likely to be pulled down by subsidies totaling Rs 11.32 billion paid out to downstream marketing companies IOC, BPC and HPC as instructed by the government. Its sales turnover rose 65% to Rs 121.34 billion, while...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Roxar, a leading technology solutions provider to the upstream oil and gas industry, last month opened its new regional headquarters for Asia Pacific in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The opening ceremony was attended by Roxar CEO, Sandy Esslemont, the Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia, Arild Eik, and executives from the oil and gas...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Pakistan’s oil import bill for the second half of 2004 rose 38% to US$1.87 billion over the same period the previous year, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics. In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 4.56 million tons of crude, up 24% from 3.67 million tons, while...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Australia’s Origin Energy has announced a number of management and organisational changes, with seven key functional areas reporting to the managing director. Operations Australia, incorporating the integrated retail, power generation and oil and gas production activities in Australia, will be led by Karen Moses, previously executive general manager for wholesale...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — The Indonesian government has appointed Martiono Hadianto as the new chief commissioner of state oil and gas company Pertamina while replacing two other board members. Mr Martiono, who headed Pertamina for 14 months in December 1998, will replace former state minister Laksamana Sukardi, who resigned last year. Muhammad Abduh, a...
(EnergyAsia, Feb 7) — Canadian integrated oil comapny InterOil Corporation said it has issued the Certificate of Practical Completion for the construction and commissioning of its refinery to the main contractor, Clough Niugini Limited. The certificate confirms that construction of the refinery has been completed and that the refinery has satisfied all contractually required reliability...
China’s state upstream company CNOOC Limited has unveiled its business strategy and development plan for 2005. The company plans to raise its offshore oil and gas production in China for 2005 by 19% to around 141-146 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) compared with last year’s estimated 118-123 million BOE. Its Indonesian unit is...
The Vietnam government has decided to increase the import tax on gasoline by up to 15% despite the recent drop in world oil prices, Vietnam News reported. The officials said the finance ministry decided to raise the taxes to offset the rising cost of domestic product subsidies. At the same time, they pointed...
BP Singapore last week opened its MoW (Most of the World) Mega Data Centre at the SingTel Telecommunications Complex. The centre is a world-class (i.e. tier 4) facility, one of three new major BP data centres globally and will provide BP’s businesses within the whole region with an improved quality of service and enhanced...
Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS), a unit of Singapore’s Keppel Corporation Limited, has secured a contract from Diamond Offshore Services Company, a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (Diamond Offshore), to upgrade semisubmersible rig Ocean Endeavor for US$85 million. The deal was secured through another Keppel unit, Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M). ...
Thailand’s state-owned PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said its board of directors has passed a resolution proposing to pay shareholders a dividend 9 baht per share. The resolution will be subject to approval at the annual general shareholders’ meeting. In a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, PTTEP said the closing...
PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited’s (PTTEP) has announced the sale of its entire stake in PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk, an Indonesian upstream company. The stake was held indirectly through a 40% holding in News Links Energy Resources Limited or New Links. The deal was executed by subsidiary PTTEP Offshore Investment...