(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Business has started a dialogue about its future role in building a climate protection regime along the lines of the Kyoto Protocol and beyond. A side-event of the European Business Council for Sustainable Energy (e5) and Germanwatch at the recent climate summit in Montréal showed that there is a strong will...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Malaysia’s state-owned Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) aims to become the world’s biggest biodiesel producer, reported the local Business Times. At a recent press briefing, Felda chairman Mohd Yusof Noor announced the ambitious plan and the setting up of a task force to oversee its implementation under new group managing...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Iran‘s Petropars has signed with Venezuela‘s state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) to study the possibility of exploring the heavy oil deposits in Ayacucho Block 7, a 540 square km block in the Orinoco River basin. According to Xinhua news agency, the study will form the basis of a...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Hong Kong-listed red-chip conglomerate China Resources Enterprise (CRE) is disposing all of its interests in petroleum and chemicals to Sinopec Corp for 98 million yuan and expects to reap a 67 million yuan gain, reported the Hong Kong Standard newspaper. (US$1 = 8.07 yuan). Its main oil assets include 19...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — The owner of Australia’s newest ethanol plant has signed a contract to supply the nation’s biggest fuel company, Caltex. ABC reported that Dalby’s plant on Queensland state’s Darling Downs, has yet to start producing ethanol from locally sourced sorghum, but has landed the contract to supply an undisclosed amount to Caltex...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — UK engineering company Rolls-Royce has won a $41 million contract from PetroChina for an additional three industrial RB211 gas turbine compression packages to be installed on Phase 1 of China’s West-East Gas Pipeline. The contract, awarded by PetroChina West-East Pipeline Company, also includes upgrading seven Rolls-Royce compressors already operating on the...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced the launch of a special cofinancing vehicle to boost investment in new Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in Asia and the Pacific. The move was announced at last week’s UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal. Dubbed the “Carbon Market Special Initiative,” the scheme will...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — The FutureGen Industrial Alliance, Inc last week said it agreed to cooperate with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and site in the US the cleanest coal-fueled power plant in the world with a target of zero emissions, hydrogen production and carbon dioxide sequestration capabilities. The Alliance and...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — MayBank Securities has placed a “buy” rating on Malaysia-listed downstream company Shell Refining Company Bhd, citing high oil prices, prospect of increased dividend pay-out and improved technical readings. Over the last two years, Shell’s share price has been moving in line with the performance of crude oil price. MayBan said...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has awarded two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts to Technip Italy and Japan’s Toyo Engineering. Technip Italy willl undertake the EPC for an ethylene and propylene plant at the YANSAB Complex in Yanbu Industrial City, on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia while Toyo...
(EnergyAsia, December 15) — Oiltanking Singapore said it will add another 185,000 cubic metres (cbm) of tank capacity for clean petroleum products at its terminal under construction at Seraya Place on Jurong Island. The first phase of the new facility currently under construction consists of 240,000 cbm tank space and two jetties for vessels...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — Caltex Australia said it has acquired Petro Fuel and Lubricants, a Caltex branded independent fuel reseller based in Toowoomba. Petro’s service station network includes 11 sites selling Caltex E10 Unleaded, a blend of 10% ethanol and unleaded gasoline. “The acquisition of Petro reinforces Caltex’s commitment to development of ethanol and other biofuel...
(Energy Asia, December 14) — Johor Corp Bhd (JCorp) is negotiating with European companies to build and operate a biodiesel plant in Johor in southern Malaysia. The 100,000 tonnes/year plant, costing US$20 million, will likely be located in Pasir Gudang or Tanjung Langsat. “Talks are at an advanced stage. We’ll make an announcement once...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — An Australian Senate committee has approved the development of a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory (NT), overriding the objections of state authorities and local laws, reported the Age newspaper. The Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2005 and the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management (Related Amendments) Bill 2005 give the...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — W’rtsil’ said its newly opened Land & Sea Academy will greatly contribute to the LNG transportation market by developing training services in Subic Bay in the Philippines. The new training centre is one in a series of three training centres built for global coverage of training and competence management services in...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — The chairman, managing director and another board director of Australia’s troubled Sydney Gas Company have resigned after losing a fight against dissident shareholders for control of the company. Chairman Michael Knight, managing director Andrew Purcell and independent director Bruce McKay said last week they would resign after losing a number...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — Russia and India have agreed to boost co-operation in their development of nuclear energy for non-military use following on the recent meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Moscow. Russia has provided two 1,000 MW reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu state...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — France’s AREVA Transmission and Distribution Division (T&D) said it has won a 140-million-euro contract with Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) for the expansion of its electricity transmission network in Doha. (US$1=0.85 Euro). Qatar’s demand for electricity has been rising rapidly as a result of the substantial increase in...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — Korea and Kuwait have concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the stockpiling of Kuwait crude oil in Korea. The MOU was concluded during Prime Minister’s Lee Hae-chan’s Middle East tour last month and signed by Korea’s minister of commerce, industry and energy Lee Hee-beom and Kuwait’s energy minister Ahmad...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — China will soon begin construction of its second largest hydropower station later this month, said Wang Huaichen, vice-governor of Sichuan Province in southwest China. The Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze remains China’s largest hydropower project Xinhua news agency reported that Xiluodu Hydropower Station will be built at a cost...
(EnergyAsia, December 14) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said world oil prices will rise next year, reflecting higher demand and tighter supplies. In its 2006 energy outlook report, the EIA said reports of past years did not fully reflect the causes of the recent volatility in oil prices and their implications for the...
(EnergyAsia, December 13) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd has announced the sale of strategic stakes in two oifields and another company. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Woodside Mauritania Investments Pty Ltd, has sold its holding of 67,418,478 shares in Hardman Resources Ltd for approximately A$118.3 million. The shares were sold at a price...
(EnergyAsia, December 13) — A field-by-field analysis of global oil production and development shows the world is not running out of oil in the near- or medium-term, and a large increase in the availability of unconventional oils will expand global liquid hydrocarbons capacity by as much as one-fourth in the next ten years, Cambridge Energy...
(EnergyAsia, December 13) — The international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski said it has expanded its Middle East practice through the establishment of a presence in Dubai and Riyadh. The practice will focus on work related to energy, project finance, defense procurement, hospitality, tourism and international dispute resolution, including arbitration, throughout the Middle East,...
(EnergyAsia, December 13) — Royal Dutch Shell plc said it is promoting Tan Chong Meng as executive vice president (Business to Business). Mr Tan, currently vice president for retail sales and operations East, succeeds Charles Harrison and will report to Rob Routs, the major’s executive director for the downstream sector. Mr Tan, a permanent...