(EnergyAsia, August 24) — Shell Refining Company (Federation Of Malaya) Berhad, a subsidiary of the Anglo Dutch energy major, has announced after-tax net income of RM 82.4 million for the second quarter in spite of a planned month-long statutory shutdown for maintenance work started during June 2005.   Shell said it recorded a 52% decrease...

(EnergyAsia, August 24) — Singapore-listed k1 Ventures Limited said it has agreed to sell off its entire 99.9% holdings in The Gas Company of Hawaii (GASCO) to Macquarie Infrastructure Company Inc (MIC) for US$238 million in cash. k1 said it will buy up the remaining 0.01% it does not own prior to completion.   The...

(EnergyAsia, August 26) — Iran’s newly elected conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad has nominated Mohammad-Ali Saeed-lou as the country’s oil minister, replacing incumbent Bijan Namdar Zangeneh.             Mr Saeed-lou, 53, Tehran’s acting mayor, previously served as a deputy commerce minister in charge of promoting exports. He has been tasked with reforming the oil ministry, which has...

(EnergyAsia, August 24) — A massive 14,500 tonne steel platform housing 10 Rolls-Royce RB211 industrial gas turbines has been successfully floated into its position in the Caspian Sea, ready to serve as the powerful ‘workhorse’ for developing the region’s major oilfield.             The UK engineering firm said the RB211s, with their combined output of some...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — For the first two weeks of July, more than US$3 billion worth of projects were awarded in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries of the Middle East. We highlight some of the bigger projects awarded in the story below and the table in the following page.   The latest was that of...

(EnergyAsia, August 24) — Houston, US-based Pogo Producing Company said that it has completed its previously announced sale of Thailand assets to PTTEP Offshore Investment Company Limited and Mitsui Oil Exploration Co Ltd for US$820 million in cash.   “Completing the sale of our Thailand assets brings successful closure to one of Pogo’s most important...

(EnergyAsia, August 24) — A consortium led by Korea’s SK Corp has been named preferred bidder in the protracted race to take over financially insolvent Inchon Oil Refinery Co.   Last week, the district court in Incheon, west of Seoul, chose the SK consortium over international competitors to take over the country’s smallest refining company...

(EnergyAsia, August 24) — Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, the German subsidiary of the energy major, has bought a minority equity stake in Germany’s CHOREN Industries GmbH of Freiberg/Saxony.             Shell said the investment sets the stage for construction of the world’s first commercial facility to convert biomass into high-quality synthetic bio-fuel, already marketed by CHOREN...

(EnergyAsia, August 24) — Australia’s Origin Energy said it has entered into conditional agreements to acquire an additional 5% interest in the offshore BassGas project and a 1% interest in the Offshore Otway Basin and nearby exploration acreage from CalEnergy Gas (Australia) Limited. CalEnergy, which holds a 20% interest in the BassGas project and a...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — The Indonesian government has announced it will replace the entire management board of state oil and gas company Pertamina in a move aimed at solving the country’s worsening fuel crisis. Chief economics minister Aburizal Bakrie told local reporters said the government will sack Pertamina president Widya Purnama “as soon as possible”...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — GAIL (India) Limited said it is “likely” to buy an equity stake in the proposed Rs250 billion, 3,300 km pipeline Nabucco natural gas pipeline project. (US$1=Rs45). This transnational pipeline runs from the Caspian Sea to Central Europe.             Nabucco has agreed to evaluate GAIL’s proposed participation. The Indian company said it...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — A wholly-owned subsidiary of China’s CNPCI will pay US$55 per share in cash for all outstanding common shares of Canada’s PetroKazakhstan Inc, said the Calgary-based company. The deal is worth around US$4.18 billion. CNPC International Ltd. (CNPCI) is wholly owned by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The offer represents a premium...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — OMV, Central Europe’s leading oil and gas group, has announced another oil discovery in Block S2 (Al Uqlah) in the Shabwa province of Yemen. The OMV-operated Habban-1 well, drilled to a total depth of 3,020 metres, encountered a 622 meter oil column in fractured basement formation. It tested at a stable...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — New Zealand’s Contact Energy Ltd has announced a net surplus of NZ$138.2 million for the nine month period to June 30, NZ$37.6 million above the same period last year. The nine month result reflects the change in the company’s balance date from September 30 June 30. Growth for the period shows...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — China and Australia are forging new scientific links at an environmental statistics conference organised by the two countries in Beijing this week.             According to the Australian science organization, CSIRO, issues such as climate change, water resources, and environmental effects on human health will be discussed at The International Environmetrics Society...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — Thailand’s oil and gas consumption for the first half of 2005 rose 5.4% to 1,184,800 barrels/day from year ago levels, said an official with state oil and gas company PTT Public Company Limited.   Pongpayak Sathienpakiranakorn, vice president of PTT’s public relations department, said that the data excluded feedstock for petrochemicals...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) said it plans to build a new refinery with a foreign partner on the country’s east coast. M.B.Lal, HPCL’s chairman, told the Financial Express the plant will have a capacity of at least 15 million tonnes a year that will be linked to a petrochemical...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — Westport Malaysia has teamed up with KIC Oil & Gas Ltd (KIC) to provide bunker fuel to ships calling at Westport in Port Klang in Peninsula Malaysia.             Port Klang, among the top 13 ports in the world, expects to meet its target of handling three million twenty-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs)...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — The Philippine government is considering fuel rationing among several energy saving measures to tackle a worsening oil crisis.   Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla told a press conference last week that Manila is studying a draft legislation to enforce fuel rationing, which it will submit to the Congress soon.   He said...

(EnergyAsia, August 23) — The Oxford Princeton Programme, the world’s leading provider of training solutions for the energy, commodity and derivatives industries, has opened a representative office in Singapore. The office, headed by senior account executive Crystal Yeo aims to meet growing demand for energy courses in the Asia Pacific markets.   Ms Yeo was with SunGard...

(EnergyAsia, August 22) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd has announced the appointment of two new directors to its board as replacements for two long-serving directors who will be retiring.             Chairman Charles Goode said John Rose and Mr Rory Argyle will retire from the board from September 12.             Ashton Calvert and David...

(EnergyAsia, August 22) — Royal Vopak said it and Nederlandse Gasunie have started a feasibility study into the possible development of a receiving terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a location in the north-west section of the Maasvlakte at Rotterdam.             Separately, Vopak also said it has tied up with Korea Gas Corp (Kogas)...

(EnergyAsia, August 22) — US major Chevron Corp has announced the final results of elections by Unocal stockholders for the proposed merger of the two companies. The final results include:             Cash Elections: Unocal stockholders who elected to receive all cash will receive $29.755634 in cash and 0.58582169 of a share of Chevron common stock...

(EnergyAsia, August 22) — State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has dropped its interest in three Nigerian refineries and is focusing on acquiring Turkey’s national refiner Tupras, said Indian petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. “On a fresh assessment of the risks involved in the proposal, such as the uncertain pricing environment, the unclear regulatory framework...

(EnergyAsia, August 22) — Two Malaysian companies are heading into a dispute as they make overlapping claims on the right to develop a reclaimed 40ha-island on Tanjung Bin in Johor state into the region’s petroleum hub. According to the Malaysian Business Times, Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd and KIC Oil and Gas Ltd are each...