(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Caltex Australia Limited said it will apply for a short term variation to the government’s clean fuel standards deadline of January 1 2006 as part of a contingency plan to ensure certainty of supply to customers. Caltex is investing A$400 million to revamp its Sydney and Brisbane refineries and deliver the...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Malaysia would have to produce 500,000 tonnes of palm oil a year to meet the government’s goal of developing a palm oil-based fuel, said the Malaysia Palm Oil Association (MPOA). The proposed biofuel, known as B5, would comprise 5% processed palm oil and 95% diesel oil. MPOA chairman Sabri Ahmad told...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — China’s energy consumption growth continues to exceed its economic growth by 30% to 60%, with energy elasticity coefficient reaching 1.6%. According to Dai Yande, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute of the State Development and Reform Commission, this data shows that China has potential to significantly improve its energy efficiency....
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Japan’s current account surplus shrank 8.9% in the first half from a year earlier to 8.752 trillion yen, marking a first decline in four half-year periods, according to the Japan Times. (US$1=110 yen). Citing the Finance Ministry, the report said high oil prices, which inflated the value of imports, and an...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — State-owned Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi government to provide technology for development of the oil industry. According to Yonhap news agency, KNOC signed the agreement with the Iraqi Oil Ministry in the Jordanian capital of Amman earlier this month. ...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Hong Kong-based Titan Petrochemicals Group Limited has appointed Ib Fruergaard President for the oil transportation division from September 1. Mr Fruergaard will be responsible for directing and managing the unit’s commercial business and fleet operations worldwide. He will also be responsible for the strategic and operational planning and policies to help...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Indonesia has been classified as one of the world’s biggest wasters of energy, Antara news agency reported. According to Indonesia’s Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, the country’s energy elasticity, a ratio of energy consumption growth and economic growth, reached 1.84 in 2004. This compares to only...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — The Vietnamese government has pledged to give “special support” to Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) in speeding up the construction of new power plants, according to new agency VNS. One option will be to hike consumer electricity prices, VNS reported. EVN has some 15 electricity plants under construction. But...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Singapore’s SembCorp Marine has reported a 21.6% rise in first half net profit to S$58.4 million over the same period last year. (US$1=S$1.65). Its net profit excluding the effect of tax write-backs last year was up 33.6% compared with S$43.7 million in the first half of 2004. Group turnover rose...
(EnergyAsia, August 17) — Singapore-listed KS Energy Services Limited said it has secured a three-year US$50 million revolving credit facility from three local banks: Singapore’s OCBC Bank and UOB, and Malaysia’s Maybank. The facility, a standby line of credit, will be used to enhance the company’s ability to invest in additional rig and offshore...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — New Zealand’s Austral Pacific Energy Ltd has provided an update of its upstream activities. The Supplejack-1 well in PEP 38741 (Austral : 30%, operator) is now being prepared for casing over two test zones, which will be flow tested in the coming weeks. The well was drilled to an along...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — PEARL Energy Limited, a Singapore-based oil and gas upstream company focused exclusively on Southeast Asia, has reported a net profit of US$407,000 for the second quarter of 2005 and increasing production at two of its key developments. This is an improvement from a US$1.246 million net loss from the same quarter...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Japan Vietnam Petroleum Company Ltd (JVPC), a subsidiary of Nippon Oil, said the Rang Dong field in Vietnam has passed the 100 million barrels of crude output in June. JVPC has a minority stake in the project. The company said the 100 million barrels are equal to 24 days of consumption...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Sri Lanka’s Shell Gas has dropped the price on a cylinder of cooking gas by Rs 101 after the government removed the 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) on Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) at the start of the month. According to the Lankan Business Online, the government made the decision to exempt...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Singapore-listed KS Energy Services said it has received approval from the Singapore Exchange for its proposed bonus issue of new ordinary shares of S$0.10 each on the basis of one new ordinary share for every five ordinary shares held by shareholders. On August 4, the company had announced the proposed...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Hai Phong city has announced it will be building a 600MW coal-fired power plant by 2008. Last month, the Hai Phong Thermal Power Joint Stock Co awarded a US$507 million engineering procurement construction (EPC) contract to a joint venture between China’s Dongfang Electric Corporation and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation. Construction will begin...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Sri Lankan motorists have been queuing up in recent weeks on persistent rumours of gasoline shortage and delays in shipments into the country. With Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s (CPC) Sapugaskanda refinery closed for routine maintenance from early July till August, Sri Lanka has to import about 40,000 tonnes of fuels each...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Malaysian state energy firm Petronas plans to invest at least RM41 million (US$1=RM3.75) to open 54 natural gas vehicle (NGV) stations over the next five years, Bernama news agency reported. Petronas vice president for gas business Abdul Rahim Hashim told the agency: “We hope to open 10 NGV stations by...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — The crude oil storage capacity at Iran’s Isfahan oil refinery will exceed 2.7 million barrels by year end, said a refinery official. Its crude storage capacity now stands at 1.8 million barrels. Bahram Keramat, head of the plant’s technical and engineering affairs department, told Petroenergy Information Network that nine new...
(EnergyAsia, August 16) — Bacteria could hold the key to help recover oil from Australia’s vast offshore deposits, said the coutry’s leading science organisation CSIRO. Microbes feeding on highly viscous oils can produce chemical changes to allow the residual oils to be extracted. Speaking at a recent conference on the oceans, Craig Roy from...
(EnergyAsia, August 15) — Singapore gasoil to Dubai margins surged back over $16.50 per barrel in June, encouraging refiners to boost their runs, said US energy consultant ESAI. “Consequently, gasoil output has surged, especially with several regional plants emerging from maintenance. As a result, Singapore gasoil/Dubai margins have fallen in recent weeks,” said ESAI...
(EnergyAsia, August 15) — Finland’s W’rtsil’ said it has won a contract to deliver a 45 MW power plant to Riyadh Cement Company (RCC) in Saudi Arabia. The value of the contract, signed in June 2005, is EUR 26 million. (EUR1=US$1.24). The plant will be fully operational during the first half of 2007. RCC is...
(EnergyAsia, August 15) — Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) will install advanced pollution control at its planned steel mill complex in Yunlin county to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emission to record low levels. According to Taiwanese news agency CNS, the new technology will allow FPG to cut carbon dioxide emissions from the proposed steel...
(EnergyAsia, August 15) — The revaluation of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) could be positive for commodity and energy stocks, according to Merrill Lynch analysts. On July 21, China revalued its currency by 2.1% to RMB8.11 against the US dollar. The analysts said the revaluation could provide a stimulus to China’s investment sector because it...
(EnergyAsia, August 15) — Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONCG) is working to restore within four week some 70% of the crude output lost after the explosion and fire at its Mumbai High North (MHN) oil platform offshore Mumbai, according to Financial Express news agency. Mumbai High produces some 110,000 b/d or 16% of India’s...