(EnergyAsia, August 3) — Corruption continues to deter much needed foreign direct investment (FDI) into Indonesia, almost a year after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono assumed office with a pledge to clean the country up, local news media reported. A recent report published by the Ministry of Transportation illustrates just how bad the situation has...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Unocal Corp said that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that Unocal stockholders vote for the merger with Chevron Corp at the special meeting of Unocal stockholders scheduled for August 10. In making the recommendation, ISS said that it had taken into account the issues related to the competing proposal...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), the only locally listed oil refiner and fuel retailer, said its first half net earnings rose by 157% to S$174.4 million on the back of high oil prices and surging sales. Revenue climbed 59.9% to S$3.25 billion from a year ago. (US$1=S$1.68). Half-year earnings per share...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Caltex Australia said normal operation has resumed at its Lytton refinery and terminal in Brisbane after a bomb threat last week caused an evacuation of most employees. Employees at the Australasian Lubricants Manufacturing Company facility within the Lytton terminal site are also resuming normal operation. Police and the Queensland...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Greenpeace said its flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, closed down the world’s largest coal export port in Newcastle last week and called on Australia to quit coal and tackle climate change by moving to a clean energy economy. The Rainbow Warrior dropped anchor in the channel leading to the Kooragang and...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — The government of India has announced that UK’s Cairn Energy has been awarded five new exploration blocks in India. The blocks were awarded to Cairn and its joint venture partners under the fifth New Exploration Licensing Policy round (NELP V). Cairn Energy said that there was an “unprecedented” level of...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — South Korea’s oil consumption rose 2.6% year-on-year in the first half despite high international crude prices, said the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. Korean crude oil consumption alone reached 387 million barrels, said the ministry, according to a Yonhap news report. The ministry reported Korean gasoline consumption grew 6.5%...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Malaysia raised the domestic prices of fuel on July 31, the third hike this year, as it seeks to reduce its subsidy spending on fuel. The Prime Minister’s Department announced that premium gasoline price has been raised by 10 sen a litre to RM1.62 per litre; regular grade by 10...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — As July came to a close, oil futures prices jumped right back up above the US$60 a barrel level. It was more or less the same type of stories that brought buyers back to the market: the closure of two US refineries as a result of fire, China’s revaluation of its...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Crude oil futures shot right up to US$62 a barrel on news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd, a spate of US refinery outages and tensions over Iran’s plans to proceed with its nuclear ambitions. Prices could well climb to another record high in the coming week as...
(EnergyAsia, August 2) — Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) said it signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a Aker Kvaerner and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) joint venture for the engineering, procurement and construction of its world-scale polyolefins complex in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, President of Yansab, signed the LOI for SABIC, Dennis...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — Australian upstream company Origin Energy Limited has given an update of its operations at the gas exploration well Tarantula 1 Sidetrack 1 (Tarantula 1ST1) in the onshore Perth Basin Production Licence L11. Origin said it has drilled to a total depth of 3,330 metres. Origin said wireline logging of the well,...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — Pakistan’s downstream oil companies are not supporting the government’s plan to produce and promote ethanol-mixed gasoline, citing poor economics. Ethanol production has been rising rapidly in recent years under a programme launched by the ministry of industries, production and special initiatives. According to the Daily News, te industrial alcohol can...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — The Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN) will be officially launched on August 2-3 at the ADB headquarters in Manila. The foundation meeting for AECEN is being co-organised by ADB and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The regional workshop brings together more than 80 senior environmental officials,...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — Indian upstream company ONGC said it has emerged the biggest beneficiary of the fifth round of the country’s New Exploration Licensing Policy, grabbing 8 of the 18 oil and gas blocks which have been cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). A total of 69 bids were received for...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — India’s fiscal 2004-2005 trade deficit hit a historic high of US$38.1 billion due to the sharp rise in the cost of imported oil and merchandise, PTI news agency reported. For the previous year, India’s trade deficit was US$15.4 billion, PTI reported, citing data released by the Reserve Bank of India...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — The South Korean government is preparing a long-term energy savings plan as it appeals to the public to reduce energy use amid rising skyrocketing oil prices. According to The Korea Herald, Seoul has shifted to “on alert” mode from a “take notice” attitude toward volatile oil prices. South Korea is...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — Unique Gas and Petrochemicals Plc, Thailand’s second largest liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) trader, will invest Baht240 million to expand its markets in Indochina, according to the Bangkok Post. (US$=Baht41). Unique plans to invest in gas depots and the production of LPG containers in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Its managing...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — Vietnam’s business community is worried about the impact of the recent 10% to 15% price hike for gasoline, the VNS news agency reported. The hike, implemented by the Finance Ministry, will affect businesses and consumers across the boards, VNS said. While the transport sector will bear the most immediate...
(EnergyAsia, August 1) — Thailand’s diesel use has continued to grow a rapid pace despite recent hefty increases in retail prices, said state oil and gas company PTT Plc. In the first five months of this year, diesel use grew 9.7% to 366,700 barrels per day compared with the same period last year, according to...
(EnergyAsia. August 1) — Malaysia has launched a RM95 million project aimed at promoting the use of photovoltaic technology to tap solar energy and generate electricity for buildings.reducing the cost of renewable energy production. (US$1=RM3.75). The Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) launched by Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, Lim Keng Yaik, aims to reduce...