(EnergyAsia, May 9) — Malaysia will build its first bio-diesel plant in Labu town in Negeri Sembilan state, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui said. The RM40 million plant, a joint venture between the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Golden Hope Plantations, is expected to start up in 2008 producing 60,000...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) —`It took the oil industry several months to mount a united response to the US Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on oil and gas reserve accounting practices following the scandal triggered by Shell’s massive reserve write-downs last year. But instead of quietly accepting the new regime, the majors have attacked the SEC’s...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) Occidental Petroleum Corporation has signed a Heads of Agreement with the government of Oman to develop the Mukhaizna oil field, one of the largest oilfields in the sultanate. Under the terms of a new production sharing contract (PSC), Occidental will be operator of the field. Occidental’s partner in the project is Liwa...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said its subsidiary PTTEP Iran Company Limited has signed an exploration and development contract with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to undertake an upstream project in Iran. PTTEP Iran Company Limited will become the operator with 100% interest in the exploration...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — Malaysia’s Sumatec Resources Bhd plans to expand its coastal tanker business to Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and regional oil storage role, reported the Business Times. Last month, the mainboard-listed company received shareholders’ approval to purchase four Miri, Sarawak-based shipping companies involved in the oil and gas industry for RM50 million....

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — India’s Reliance Industries Ltd said its FY2004 net profit rose 47% to Rs75.72 billion results for the year ended March 31, 2005. Revenue climbed 30% to Rs 731.640 billion (US$1=Rs44). Exports, including deemed exports, jumped 71% to Rs255.32 billion.   The private company said the increases reflect the 24% rise in...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — India’s Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd, a Hinduja Group company, has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Gulf Oil Yantai (Co) Ltd, a lubricants manufacturer in Shandong, China with a total plant capacity of more than 200,000 tons a year.   China has lubricant market potential of 4.3 million tons/year, roughly...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) will invest 8.38 billion yuan (US$1=8.28 yuan) in three new projects on Hainan island in southern China. Last month, the company and the Hainan Provincial government signed an agreement covering the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, the reorganisation of state-owned assets at...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — The UAE needs to double its electricity production by 2010 and expand installed capacity by 6,000 MW from the present level of 12,800 MW to meet fast-rising demand for power. According to the Khaleej Times, Ahmad Humaid Al Mazrouie, director general of the General Exhibition Corporation (GEC), that will co-host next...

(EnergyAsia, May 9) — Australian upstream company Beach Petroleum Limited said it is on course to earn record profits and revenue. Already, its revenue for the first nine months of the current financial year 2004-05 has already raced ahead of the record result achieved in the previous full financial year. For the latest March quarter,...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Horizon Singapore Terminals Pte Limited (HSTPL) yesterday broke ground on the construction of a US$205 million bulk liquids terminal on a 39-hectare plot on the Banyan Basin of Singapore’s Jurong Island. HSTPL is the Singapore unit of Horizon Terminals Limited (HTL), owned by Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) LLC of the...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Ezra Holdings Limited, Asia’s leading offshore support and marine services provider, has placed orders for the building of two multipurpose anchor handling tugs (AHTs) for US$5.82 million, excluding the cost of certain owner furnished equipment.   The vessels, a 45-metre multi-purpose 4,200 brake horse power (or bhp) AHT and a 48-metre...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — The Korean government said it will raise taxes on diesel, which fuels 40% of the country’s buses and trucks, from July. More private vehicles and cars have been switching to diesel, causing concern among planners as diesel prices have been rising on the world markets.   The Ministry of Finance and...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Hong Kong-listed China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), a leading offshore oilfield services provider in China, said it drilled 73 wells in the first quarter, up 52% from a year ago. Of the 73, 62 were development wells while 11 were exploration wells. The average utilisation rate of its rigs was 99.5%,...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Keppel Kazakhstan LLP, a unit of Singapore’s Keppel Corporation Limited through Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract estimated at US$150 million from Agip Kazakhstan North Caspian Operating Company NV (Agip KCO).   Keppel said the contract is to fabricate pipe racks and build four barges. Upon...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Qatar plans to invest around US$10 billion building up its petrochemicals sector over the next five years, said Hamad Rashid Al Mohannadi, vice chairman and general manager of Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco).   Speaking at a recent news conference, he said that Qatar’s petrochemical production is expected to reach around 12...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali Al Naimi, said the Kingdom’s oil reserves were 261 billion barrels at the end of last year despite recent comments by some analysts that the actual size of the reserves was much smaller.   Speaking at the recent 6th International Petroleum Forum...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Sri Lanka has raised domestic fuel prices by up to 18% to ease the strain on its balance of payments as demanded by lending agencies. On Wednesday (April 4), 90 Octane gasoline at the pump rose by Rs4 to Rs74 a litre while 95 octane now costs Rs77 a litre. Auto...

(EnergyAsia, May 6) — Vietnamese consumers appear to have accepted the past month’s 3.7% rise in fuel prices with little difficulty, but economic growth will slow, said the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).   In late March, Hanoi reduced its oil subsidies by VND100-650 per litre. It spent VND4.87 trillion (US$300 million) on fuel subsidies in...

(EneryAsia, May 6) — Vietnam attracted approximately US$383mil in foreign direct investment (FDI) in April, bringing the total FDI value for the year to more than $2.1 billion, up 241% against the same period last year.   The Vietnam News Net said the figures were released by the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department of...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Scottish company Seatronics Pte Ltd has officially opened its calibration laboratory at Loyang Drive in Singapore, the first of its kind in Asia Pacific.   Allan Jack, Regional Manager of Seatronics Pte Ltd Calibration Laboratory said: “We are delighted to be the first to provide such a service to the Asia...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won has sought the personal support of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh in helping to develop the company’s Marib liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.   The Korea Times reported that Mr Chey paid a courtesy call on Mr Saleh when the Yemeni leader visited Seoul last month....

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, the wholly owned upstream unit of Malaysia’s oil and gas company Petronas, has installed the first Stratapac Separation Tool in its TK-54L well in the offshore Tukau field near Miri town in Sarawak.   Petronas said the Stratapac Separation Tool, believed to be the first of such...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Australian upstream company Victoria Petroleum NL has scheduled an active exploration, appraisal and production testing program within Australia and the US this quarter.   The company said it will drill and test six wells in the Texas Flour Bluff Gas Project, one in the offshore Carnarvon Basin with Apache Energy, two...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Malayan Banking Bhd aims to increase its share of the financing market for the oil and gas services sector by working closely with the fledgling Malaysian Oil and Gas Services Council (MOGSC), according to The Edge newspaper.   The one-year-old MOGSC represents 50 Malaysian and Malaysia-based oil and gas services companies...