(EnergyAsia, December 13) — Australian upstream company Santos is posied to soon buy a 9.5% stake in the ExxonMobil-led US$3.5 billion Papua New Guinea natural gas project, The Wall Street Journal reported.   The entry of Santos would allow the PNG project partners to boost capacity and gain access to Santos’ Moomba hub, which supplies...

(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...

(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) — 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 rift between Chevron and China, who earlier fought over control of US independent Unocal, threatens to grow wider following last week’s announcement that the Chevron-operated Gorgon gas project in Western Australia had signed a large deal with Japan. Analysts said the supply deal with Osaka Gas with the offer of...

(Energy Asia, December 13) — Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has called for his country to reduce its dependence on natural gas for electricity generation and to develop other energy sources.   Natural gas currently accounts for 77% of total electricity production, with coal representing 13%, hydropower 5% and bunker and diesel fuel the remainder....

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Australian upstream company Carnarvon etroleum Ltd and Pan Orient Energy Corp said they have agreed terms of settlement that will end all current litigation between Carnarvon’s subsidiary Strategic Exploration (Asia) Limited (SEAL) and Pan Orient’s subsidiary Tiger Petroleum Inc (Tiger) in relation to the Wichian Buri Joint Venture in Thailand. The...

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Industrialised countries must stop exporting climate change to developing countries if social, economic and environmental disaster is to be averted, according to a new Greenpeace report on the power sector in Asia and its impacts on the climate.  The report was released recently to mark the arrival of Greenpeace’s flagship the...

(December 12) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd said it has agreed key commercial terms with North Asian customers for the supply of liquefied natural gas from its 100%-owned Pluto gas field in Western Australia. The terms cover combined sales of between 3.5 and 4 million tonnes of LNG a year for 15 years...

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — US auto giant General Motors (GM) is promoting hydrogen as a viable fuel for the future, said its chief engineer at last week’s Middle East Forum on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Economy.   According to AMEInfo, Mohsen Shabana said:   “The next century will be shaped by how effectively and smoothly...

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — India’s Haryana state has introduced a revised incentives scheme to encourage both private and public sector companies to step up the production and use of renewable energy sources. The state hopes to generate 500 MW or 10% of additional power produced in the state by 2012, according to The Financial Express....

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — The South Korean government will spend 54 billion won from the electric power industry fund to instal solar energy generators in 1,400 low-income rental apartments and 2,000 houses next year, according to the Dong-A-Iibo newspaper. (US$1 = 1,030 won).   This will be the first time that solar equipment will be...

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Keppel Verolme BV, a member of Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, said it has secured new contracts worth around EUR 67 million (US$1=Euro 0.86) from Swiss-based Allseas Group S.A. and Sevan Production AS.   One of the contracts is the conversion of the 2005 Panamax bulk carrier Geeview into a...

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — China Aviation Oil Singapore Corp Limited (CAO) said that a class action lawsuit filed in the US Southern District Court of New York against the company has been dismissed by US District Judge Robert P. Patterson Jr.   The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit had applied to the court for...

(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Xinhua Far East China Ratings said it has upgraded the issuer credit rating of financially troubled China Aviation Oil Singapore Corp Ltd from C to BBB+. The rating is also on review for further possible upgrade.   Xinhua Far East said the rating action is prompted by the “considerable progress” made...

(Energy Asia, December 12) — IOI Corp Bhd will build its first biodiesel plant either in the Netherlands or at a site near its existing refinery in Pasir Gudang in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, reported the Malaysian Business Times.   IOI officials did not disclose the cost and capacity of the proposed plant....

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — Origin Energy said its SLIVER technology has won a A$5 million funding grant from the state AusIndustry’s Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) programme. (US$1=A$1.33).   Origin said its technology offers the following advantages: –         Improved tolerance to partial shade = better real world performance –         low silicon use without losing any...

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — Intertek Caleb Brett, a division of Intertek Group Plc, said it has acquired two complementary businesses, Lloyd’s Register Lubricant Quality Scan (LQS) and Lintec Testing Services Ltd. The acquisitions of Lintec and LQS complement Intertek’s existing test services for marine fuels and lubricant services to the global shipping and maritime industries....

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — With its flagship the Rainbow Warrior looking on, Greenpeace activists this week climbed the loading crane of the BLCP coal plant at Map Ta Phut in Thailand and unfurled banners demanding the plant’s immediate closure, calling on the Thai government to phase out coal power and to commit to renewable energy....

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — The China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has suspended Yu Li, the general manager and party secretary of its Jilin Petroleum and Chemical Company, reported the China News Service. Mr Yu is under investigation by the State Council following the deadly explosion at the company’s Jilin chemical plant, which polluted the Songhua...

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — Finland’s W’rtsil’ said it has been awarded a contract to convert seven W’rtsil’ 18V32 engines into dual-fuel operation at the Batamindo Industrial Park on the Indonesian island of Batam, where the conversion of another five W’rtsil’ 18V32 engines is already underway. All the engines at the power plant will, after the...

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — Iran said it will proceed to build its second nuclear power plant in the southwestern province of Khuzestan despite objections from the US and the European Union over Tehran’s nuclear programme.   The country’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Iran’s plans to for the second plant have never been a...

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — ExxonMobil Chemical Company has appointed ExxonMobil Singapore Chemical Plant Site Manager Georges Grosliere as the project executive for a possible second steam-cracking train now under study for Singapore. The company also awarded a project coordination and services contract to Foster Wheeler and WorleyParsons for work associated with the study.   The...

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA) plans to work with government agencies and other relevant authorities to speed up the production of renewable energy. This includes increasing the land area used to grow crops for biodiesel production, said the COA’s Agriculture and Food Agency, according to the China Post newspaper.   During...

(EnergyAsia, December 9) — High demand for solar energy products is driving Taiwan’s LED supplies to venture into the solar energy business, according to the Taipei Times recently.   Apollo Soar Energy Co Ltd, 30% owned by Ligitek Electronics Co Ltd, expects to transport 10 shipping containers of solar-cell modules between October and by the...