(EnergyAsia, May 12) — Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) reported first quarter profits of SR5.077 billion (US$ 1.354 billion), an increase of 116% compared to the same period in 2004 and an increase of 8% over the profits of SR4.691 (US$ 1.251) billion in the last quarter profits of 2004. SABIC vice chairman and...
(EnergyAsia, May 12) — Sri Lanka’s fuel subsidy spendings could exceed last year’s Rs16 billion if oil prices remain continue at current levels, said the Central Bank, which warned in its annual review of the economy that wasteful subsidies are hindering public investment. The bulk of the subsidies owed to the state owned Ceylon...
(EnergyAsia, May 12) — Australian upstream company Petsec Energy Limited said it has continued its expanded 2005 exploration and development program with the recent spudding of the Main Pass 19 #1 well in the Gulf of Mexico, US. The new well Ð located 128 kilometres south east of New Orleans Ð is the first...
(EnergyAsia, May 12) — Thailand’s LPG market will witness increased competition this year as leader PTT Plc faces a serious challenge from rival Picnic Gas and Engineering Plc. According to the Bangkok Post, Picnic has been aggressively expanding its marketing network by enticing dealers of its competitors, particularly those that represented the top two...
(EnergyAsia, May 12) — Several large private oil and gas enterprises in China will merge to form a corporation to improve their competitiveness, according to a Xinhua news report, citing an official with the China Chamber of Commerce for Petroleum Industry (CCPI) of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Wang Yong, secretary-general of...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) said its wholly owned subsidiary, Keppel FELS Ltd, has signed a letter of intent with Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc for the construction of two high-performance premium jackup rigs. The total project value is estimated at US$300 million. One of the units will...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — UK engineering firm John Crane EAA has again made its mark on the British Pump Manufacturers Association by taking a first prize and two runner-up positions at this year’s BPMA Awards ceremony. Following on from its success in last year’s Awards, John Crane has now won the User Application of...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — Expansion works on the Sangachal oil terminal in Azerbaijan, one of the world’s largest, is proceeding according to schedule, said the Azerbaijan International Operating Company. According to the official Azerbaijan news agency, the main contractor, Tekfen/Azfen, has notched 20 million man-hours of work without delay since the start of construction in...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — Australian engineering firm Clough said it has entered into an agreement with Norway’s Solstad Cable UK Limited for the long term charter of a cable-laying ship “Normand Clipper”. The “Normand Clipper” will be converted to an offshore construction service vessel at the Ulstein Verft AS yard in Norway and will...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — US independent upstream company Murphy Oil Corp said it has discovered oil and natural gas in multiple horizons at its Rompin number 1 well off the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The well reached a total depth of 6,021 feet and was drilled in 164 feet of water in Block SK 311....
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — The Ashvaz/East Mailisu project has been expanded by the acquisition of two adjoining oil exploration licences totalling approximately 600 sq km in area, taking Caspian’s oil acreage in the Kyrgyz Republic to approximately 16,500 sq km. According to the Kyrgyz official website, The West Mailisu and North Mailisu licences were...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — US engineering firm Bechtel said an independent arbitration panel under the auspices of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris has unanimously ruled that the Indian state of Maharashtra and two affiliate agencies expropriated a Bechtel affiliates interest in the Dabhol Power Company (DPC). The tribunal ordered a final binding award...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — Australian upstream company Beach Petroleum Limited said its revenue for the first nine months of 2004-05 has already raced ahead of the record result achieved in the previous full financial year. The oil and gas group said that its revenue for the July 2004-to-March 2005 was boosted in the latest...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — Dubai-based Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) LLC has launched an aggressive campaign to market its proprietary lubricants range in direct competition with the large international players. State-owned ENOC has invested heavily in repackaging its products Ð the first since the launch of its lubricants brand seven years ago – aimed...
(EnergyAsia, May 11) — Two of China’s leading energy groups, Huaneng power group, and oil company Sinopec, have teamed up to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and an auxiliary power plant in Qingdao, northeastern China’s Shandong Province. Xinhua News Agency reported that the two companies have signed a letter of intent stating that...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) — Plans by Thailand’s Energy Ministry to speed up the construction of four new power plants could prove to be too ambitious, reported The Nation. The regulator had scheduled to invite bids by next January, but now faces delays in appointing members to the independent power-regulatory body. In Thailand, The Nation...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) — Australian resources company BHP Billiton has provided the following update of its oil and gas upstream activities for the Januray-March quarter. The company said it spent US$31 million on minerals exploration, all of which was expensed (US$93 million gross and US$92 million expensed year to date), and US$106 million on...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) — ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Petronas have started selling ethanol-mixed gasoline at their service stations in Thailand. The three companies are buying a total of 30,000 litres a day of ‘gasohol’ from Thailand’s Bangchak Petroleum for resale at their service stations. The Thai government is encouraging motorists to use more gasohol in...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) — Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has announced plans to plant another five million rai of oil palm for use in bio-diesel production. (1 hectare = 6.25 rai). According to the Bangkok Post, the additional bio-diesel output could save the government about 35 billion baht in oil imports annually. (US$1=38 baht).Oil palm...
UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has endorsed the cultivation of food crops such as sugarcane, beet and maize along with manure as sources of energy. In a report released last month, the agency said the increased use of biofuels can help diversify agricultural and forestry activities, improve food security, contribute to sustainable development...
The following article is an edited speech presented by BP’s Gary Dirks on China’s peaceful rise at last month’s Bo’ao Forum for Asia and China Reform Forum. “We at BP are approaching our centenary as a company. Twenty-five years ago, people were asking if Western economies were going to grind to a halt as a...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) —The plywood making unit of China’s state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group aims to transform itself into an oil company, starting off by acquiring the oil assets of its parent, according to the Hong Kong Standard. CITIC Resources CEO Lawrence Ma told the newspaper that his strategy is to let the parent take on...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) — The third and latest entrant into Sri Lanka’s domestic oil market must purchase its fuels from Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC), said its chairman, Jaliya Medagama. “The government has given us the assurance that even if the third player comes in, there will be a clause that the third party will...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) Ð China’s state agencies and research institutes are studying the need to introduce new taxes to step up energy conservation in a bid to curb the country’s insatiable appetite for energy. In an interview with China Daily, Yang Fuqiang, vice-president of the Energy Foundation Beijing Office, said the various agencies and research...
(EnergyAsia, May 10) — ChevronTexaco Corp said it has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries to support the planned growth in the company’s LNG business. The new carriers will have a capacity of 154,800 cubic meters each. Both carriers, to be delivered in 2009, will be of membrane-type...