(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) — 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) — 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) — 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) — The partners working on Australia’s the Bass Straits Gas (BaasGas) Project have provided an update on their efforts to comply with improve safety requirements as laid down by state agency WorkSafe. In late March, operator Origin Energy said the BassGas participants had announced that work on the offshore platform was essentially...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Aberdeen-based HAMPCO Group, a leader in the global market for mechanical handling solutions and drilling packages, is expanding into Asia with the opening of its new office in Singapore.             Michael Burke has been appointed the managing director of Singapore-based HAMPCO Asia Pte Ltd, the new subsidiary of HAMPCO.             Mr...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Chiyoda Corporation, a major Japanese plant engineering company, has sharply revised its profits for the fiscal year ended March 31. The company said it has benefited from an increase in construction activities and a yen weaker than that projected at the beginning of the fiscal year. Ordinary profit and net profit...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Singapore Petroleum Company Limited said it has decided to exercise its rights to reinstate its 40% participating interest in the Jeruk oil discovery located off East Java in Indonesia, and to participate in the proposed appraisal drilling programme to further evaluate the discovery.             The discovery was made by the Jeruk-1...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Philadelphia-based Delta Mutual, Inc, a specialist in energy recovery and construction services through environmentally-friendly technologies and construction technologies, said it has obtained financing to purchase equipment for use in an oil sludge processing facility in Indonesia. The equipment comprises a centrifuge that separates the sludge into water and low-grade oil and...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — The Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd (ARF) became the first biodiesel producer to list on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) after its initial public offering of shares (IPO) met with strong response. (US$1=A$1.26).   The company said its IPO closed two days last week after its IPO was oversubscribed by more than...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Services (UNESCAP) said the region suffered a series of shocks last year, detailed in its report, “The 2005 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific: Dealing with Shocks”.   Launched last month by executive secretary Kim Hak-Su, the...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — P.T. McDermott Indonesia (PTMI), a subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott, S.A., was recently awarded a US$12 million contract by Saipem Asia Sdn Bhd for fabrication of a jacket and associated tripods, and bridges. McDermott said the contract constitutes part of the offshore platform system for a pipeline project of Thailand’s PTT...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Shaw Stockbroking has placed a ‘hold’ rating on the stock of Santos despite the Australian upstream company reporting first quarter production and sales above forecasts.   “Strong revenues resulting from over-lifted liquids volumes and high-realised prices have increased our FY05 profit forecast by 3%,” said Shaw. Santos was boosted by a...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — High oil prices swelled Thailand’s trade deficit to more than US$1.1 billion in March, with exports at US$9.56 billion and imports rising to US$10.67 billion.   According to the Bangkok Post, the Bank of Thailand said the country would show a current account deficit for the first quarter, due to abnormally...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Finland’s W’rtsil’ Corporation said it has been awarded a contract to equip an 18 MW gas-fuelled captive power plant for Videocon Narmada Glass in Bharuch,. The plant will comprise three W’rtsil’ 18V34SG generating sets, each of 6 MW output at 11 kV. The plant will be installed and commissioned in two...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Malaysian power company Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) could gain as much as RM200 million from next year as a result of savings from a diesel subsidy and write-off of loans to its unit, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB). (US$1=RM3.8).  According to the Star newspaper, the diesel subsidy and loans write-off by...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Chinese companies are in talks with Australian partners to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the energy demand of China’s affluent east coast.   According to China Daily, if the talks are fruitful, Chinese oil companies, including China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and Sinopec, may also buy equity...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Vietnam’s northern region could be hit with severe power cuts later this month if the water level at the Hoa Binh Lake continues falling, warned Dang Huy Cuong of the National Centre for Power Grid Control. The reservoir feeds the Hoa Binh dam, which generates nearly half of power output in...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — US President Bush has announced proposals aimed at boosting energy production in the US through the construction of new oil refineries and nuclear power plants. According to the Voice of America, the proposals come as the president faces growing public unrest over soaring energy prices.   Mr Bush said lowering energy...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Australian upstream company Santos Limited has reported higher production, sales volumes and revenue for the opening quarter of 2005, reflecting improved results across most areas and recovery from the January 1 2004 fire which idled the Moomba gas plant for a few months.             Total production for the three months ended...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — US crude futures finally closed below US$50 a barrel on the last trading day of April, ending a record run of more than two months during which oil prices touched record highs on two occasions. Early last month, crude futures broke through US$58 a barrel. Since then, it has been mostly...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Chinese upstream company CNOOC Limited said its first quarter oil and gas revenue jumped 48.1% to RMB11.42 billion (US$1.38 billion). It did not disclose its net profit performance. The company’s total net daily production rose 13.4% to 411, 424 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), including a 19% year-on-year increase in net...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Shaw Stockbroking has upgraded the stock of Australian upstream company Oil Search to a ‘buy’. In a research note, it said: “Oil Search’s first quarter was above our production and below our sales volumes forecasts. The key highlight was despite issues at the Kumul loading terminal, Oil Search’s production target for...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Thai;and’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) and its subsidiaries have posted a record net profit of 4.254 billion baht for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005. (US$1=38 baht). This was an increase of 876 million baht or 6.50 baht per share-diluted or 26% from 3,378 million baht...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation or Sinopec Corp said its first quarter net profit grew 16.02% to more than RMB9.637 billion on revenue of RMB174.127 billion (+34.35% over the previous year). In a statement, Sinopec attributed the rise to China’s strong demand growth for refined oil products and petrochemical products,...