(EnergyAsia, September 7) — Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co said it has received an order from Kuwait Oil Company to build oil storage tanks and loading facilities to boost Kuwait’s capacity to export oil. Ulsan-based Hyundai Heavy has signed a letter of intent with Kuwait Oil Co for the US$1.25 billion project which will...
(EnergyAsia, September 7) — Venezuela has agreed to allow China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) drill for heavy crude oil in the eastern part of the South American country. A joint venture company set up by Venezuela’s state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and CNPC will drill oilfields in the area of Zumano, site...
(EnergyAsia, September 7) — India’s privately owned Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is looking at reviving plans for a 1.5 million tonne/year naphtha cracker at its refining-petrochemicals complex in Jamnagar in Gujarat state. The plans follow RIL’s recent announcement of plans to double refining capacity at Jamnagar to 60 million tonne/year, Infraline newswire reported. The...
(EnergyAsia, September 7) — Formosa Petrochemical Corp, Taiwan’s largest private company with a value of US$9.6 billion, was ranked the country’s leading trader last year, according to the statistics released by Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Formosa owns and operates refineries and petrochemical plants. According to Taiwan’s CENS...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — Nhon Hoi economic zone (IZ) in Vietnam’s central coastal Binh Dinh province will have a new oil depot to support its new port facility and other industrial investments to be built over the next 10 years. According to the Vietnam News Agency, Nhon Hoi has registered a total of 52...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — Goldman Sachs said the price of oil which recently hit a record US$70.85 a barrel, is not at “a tipping point” yet for Asia as the region’s economic fundamentals are in better shape than in 1990, the last time real oil prices spiked. But it warned that domestic oil price distortions...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — China’s refiners are suffering losses as a result of the country’s product pricing system which sets product prices below sky-rocketing prices on the international market, Xinhuanet reported. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s oil refining sector reported net losses of RMB 4.19 billion (US$1=RMB8.1) in the first half...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — The Cuu Long Joint Operational Company (JOC) has made a huge leap forward by discovering three oil fields off southern Vietnam and exporting 85,000 barrels a day after just three years of operation, according to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). JOC is a joint venture between the Vietnam Petroleum Corporation and...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — A month-long shut down of the Sri Lanka’s only oil refinery nearly tripled the country’s oil import bill in June, said the Central Bank. “The temporary shut down of the petroleum refinery for routine, biannual maintenance work led to increased imports of refined petroleum products in June 2005,” the bank said....
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — China’s oil demand growth will slow down in the coming years as high prices and fuel substitution take effect. According to Xinhua news service, China’s oil demand grew by only 5% to 124.41 million tonne in the first five months of 2005. For the same period last year, China’s oil...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — Caltex Australia is continuing to contribute to reconstruction efforts in Indonesia’s tsunami-devastated Aceh province with a donation of one million litres of fuel. “Our Litres For Life project is making an impact. We are pleased to report that Caltex-sponsored fuel is now helping rebuild the devastated areas of Aceh,” said Dave...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CeyPetco) wants the government to raise fuel prices as the country’s oil import bill threatens to exceed US$1.4 billion this year. World oil prices have risen sharply, with crude recently breaking the US$70 a barrel level. Sri Lanka continues to heavily subsidise retail prices...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — The Philippines government has asked the public to prepare for “harsher times ahead” as fuel prices climb to record high levels, with gasoline expected to reach P50 per liter and diesel at P47 per liter in the next few months. (US$1=P46). Renato S. Velasco, director general of the Philippine Information Agency...
(EnergyAsia, September 6) — The Philippines will have its first ethanol plant worth P1.5 billion in San Carlos City in the Western Visayas by mid-2007. Construction will begin early next year as the country seeks to reduce dependence on imported fuels, said a Department of Energy (DOE-7) official. Regional director Antonio Labios said gasoline with...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — State-owned Russian Railways has reduced its 2005 forecast for oil shipments by rail to China to seven million tonnes from 10 million tonnes, TASS news agency reported. Under a bilateral agreement, Russia is to supply 10 million tonne/year of oil to China by rail. However, it supplied only 3.75...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — Woodside Energy (USA) Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd., has expanded its offshore interests in the Gulf of Mexico by acquiring the Houston-based Gryphon Exploration Company. Woodside said it paid US$282.7 million to acquire Gryphon, a private upstream oil and gas company with extensive exploration and...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), the leading integrated oilfield services provider for offshore China, said its first half net profit rose 22.7% to RMB 555.9 million. Revenue rose 32.1% to RMB 2,372.5 million. (US$1=RMB8.1). It said its four business segments, drilling services, well services, marine support and transportation services and...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec said its first half profit rose by 17.36% to RMB 19.65 billion over the same period last year. Its turnover surged 31.85% to RMB 368.45 billion (US$1=RMB 8.1). Earnings per share came to RMB0.227 based on the number of shares outstanding at the...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — Malaysian oil and gas services provider Scomi Group Bhd (Scomi) has announced a net profit of RM12 million for its second quarter, marking a 29% increase over the corresponding period last year. (US$1=RM3.75). The company is listed on the main board of the local exchange, Bursa Malaysia. The company reported...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — ExxonMobil Corp has appointed Daniel Lyons as chairman and managing director of Esso (Thailand) Plc and ExxonMobil Ltd. He succeeds David Levy who is moving to another position with ExxonMobil Crop in the US. Mr Lyons graduated in economics from Vassar College and holds an MBA degree. He has worked...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — PetroChina and Sinopec will set up a joint venture with China Aviation Oil Holding (CAOH) CAOH later this month to supply jet fuel at mainland airports, a move that is set to weaken CAOH’s near-monopoly of that market. The Hong Kong Standard reported that CAOH will hold a 51% stake...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — Planners in Beijing are poised to implement a proposed fuel tax next year, notwithstanding the currently high oil prices, Xinhuanet reported. When the fuel tax was first put forward, crude oil was trading at US$15/barrel as compared to around US$70 recently. According to the Development Research Center of the...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — A US National Commission on Energy Policy-led oil shock simulation study predicted dismal economic and global impacts if a major oil supply disruption Ð likely in Saudi Arabia Ð should hit markets. The study was undertaken well before Hurricane Katrina struck southern US last month. The study assessed the impacts...
(EnergyAsia, September 5) — Malaysian state energy company Petronas has stepped up its presence in Sudan by entering into the downstream refining business. Petronas has agreed to participate in the new Port Sudan Refinery Project. An agreement signing ceremony was held in Khartoum in conjunction with the sixth anniversary celebrations of Sudan’s Petroleum Day....
(EnergyAsia, September 2) — A federal judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled against the Bush Administration and allowed a groundbreaking global warming lawsuit to proceed. The landmark decision is the first time that a federal court has specifically granted legal standing for a lawsuit exclusively alleging injury from...