INDIA: RIL to invest Rs50 billion in methane production

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to invest more than R50 billion to produce natural gas from coal bed methane (CBM) blocks by mid-2008. (US$1=Rs44).   The company is planning to drill 1,000 CBM wells and set up compressor terminals near the sedimentary basins to store and supply methane gas. CBM,...

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INDONESIA: Power company PLN signs US$2.5 billion worth of gas deals

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — State power company PT PLN has signed sales agreements for gas supply to various industries worth US$2.5 billion. The agreements will cover a period between six months and 20 years, Jakarta Post reported.   PLN will purchase 72 trillion British thermal unit (Btu) of gas from producer PT Medco E&P Indonesia...

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SRI LANKA: Work on first coal plant to start next month with Chinese funding

(Energy Asia, February 21) — Work on Sri Lanka’s first 300 MW coal plant will start next month with Chinese funding, according to Lanka Business Online.             Sited in Norochcholai in Puttalam, the plant’s first phase will hopefully be completed by end 2008, said Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera. The Chinese government is providing US$300 million....

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CHINA: Sweetener and biofuels producer Luzhou Bio-chem launch IPO in Singapore

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — A China-based corn-derived sweetener and biofuels producer, Luzhou Bio-chem, has launched an initial public offer (IPO) of its shares in Singapore to raise net proceeds of RMB 111.7 million. (US$1=RMB8.05 and S$1.62). The company’s offer to sell 100 million new shares at S$0.25 each will close on February 22 at noon....

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PEOPLE: Australia’s Santos appoints former diplomat as new head of government and media relations

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — Australian upstream company said it has appointed former diplomat Christian Bennett to the newly created position of group executive for government strategy and media affairs.             Mr Bennett joins Santos from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) where he was most recently the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam....

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AUSTRALIA: LNG emerging as second-largest export earner

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is emerging as Australia’s second-largest commodity export after coal. The Australian newspaper reported that recent sales and production developments will lift annual sales beyond A$15 billion by the middle of the next decade. (US$1 = A$1.33).   Japan’s Inpex is planning a multi-billion-dollar export LNG project at...

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MARKETS: Consultant predicts gasoline demand to rebound in second and third quarters

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — The seasonal fall in gasoline demand has been a major element underlying the market’s bearish tone, said US consultant ESAI. That bearishness has kept the gasoline spread over Dubai at a relatively stable and moderate level.   In the latest edition of its Pacific Basin Stockwatch, ESAI said it believes that...

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SINGAPORE: Engineering consortium wins US$91.325 million, 10-year contract from PetroChina Internati

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — An international consortium comprising Singapore-based Federal Offshore Services Pte Ltd (FOS), its wholly-owned subsidiary, KK Marine Inc, and Indonesia’s PT Antarbuwana Pertala has secured a 10-year contract of US$91.325 million from PetroChina International Jabung Limited to provide time charter of floating storage and off-loading (FSO) vessel services to support the Chinese...

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CHINA: State Council releases drafts strategy on oil refining industry

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — China’s State Council has agreed in principle to implement the Special Plan on Mid- and Long-Term Development of the Oil RefiningIndustry.   At a recent executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, the council emphasised that the oil refining and ethylene industries are vital to the national economy. Since the introduction...

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MALAYSIA: J. Ray McDermott wins installation contract in commercial arrangement area

(EnergyAsia, February 21) — Engineering firm J. Ray McDermott said its Malaysian associate, Barmada McDermott Sdn BHD (BMD), has won a contract from Talisman Malaysia Limited to provide installation services in the PM3 commercial arrangement area located between Vietnam and Malaysia in the Gulf of Thailand for the Bunga Tulip A development project. Contracts of...

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MARKETS: Consultant recommends SPE standards to for reporting on oil reserves

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — The optimal way to modernise the 28-year-old US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules under which oil and gas companies report reserves data is by adopting definitions and guidelines developed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and transferring responsibility for rule-making to the SPE, a year-long consultation led by Cambridge...

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SRI LANKA: Government makes part-payment towards Lanka IOC’s subsidy claim

(Energy Asia, February 20) — The Sri Lankan government has paid Rs 500 million towards Indian Oil Corp subsidiary Lanka IOC’s seven billion rupees subsidy claim. (US$1 = Rs 102).   The company is still hoping to recover the remainder of the money in the shortest possible time, K Ramakrishnan, Lanka IOC’s MD, told Lanka...

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MALAYSIA: Golden Hope Plantations teams up with Dutch company to produce biodiesel

(Energy Asia, February 20) — Malaysia’s Golden Hope Plantations Bhd has signed a letter of intent with Dutch company Godiver Handelsgesellschaft mbh to produce biodiesel in the Netherlands.   A joint venture company will be established in the Netherlands to build and operate a biodiesel production facility in Zwinjndrecht. Golden Hope will supply the raw...

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INDIA: Rural ministry begins work on national biodiesel project

EnergyAsia, February 20) — India’s biodiesel project under the aegis of the National Mission on Biodiesel has taken off with the Planning Commission granting an in-principle approval for an initial Rs5 billion fund. (US$1=Rs 44). Supporters aim to raise the fund to Rs15 billion. The mission will cultivate some 400,000 hectares of wasteland and 200,000...

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SINGAPORE: Tanker Pacific bought nine tankers from NYSE-listed General Maritime Corp

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — Singapore’s Tanker Pacific has bought nine Aframax tankers from NYSE-listed General Maritime Corp (GMC) for US$247.5 million. The nine Aframax OBO tankers, which can carry about 600,000 barrels of oil each, are expected to be delivered by June.   GMC said it expects to realise a net gain of $16.6 million...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Foster Wheeler awarded major EPC contract for world-scale

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — Foster Wheeler Ltd said its subsidiaries Foster Wheeler Energy Limited and Foster Wheeler Arabia Ltd. have been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (PETRORabigh) for the utilities and offsites of PETRORabigh’s world-scale, integrated refining and petrochemical complex at the Red Sea town of Rabigh,...

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PEOPLE: Brian Chan joins SolArc as VP of Sales for Asia Pacific

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — SolArc Inc, a leading provider of enterprise supply, trading and risk management solutions for the global energy industry, announced today that it has hired Brian Chan as vice president of sales in the Asia Pacific region.   Mr Chan has an in-depth understanding of business-to-business applications and services in cross platform...

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MARKETS: US Energy Information Administration released ‘Annual Energy Outlook’ for 2006

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its “Annual Energy Outlook 2006” (AEO2006) full report on its website, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html.   In preparing projections for the report, the EIA said it evaluated a wide range of trends and issues that could have major implications for US energy markets between now and...

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SRI LANKA: LPG company could still cut imports

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — Sri Lankan liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) company Laugfs has warned it could still reduce imports if the government continued to hold down domestic prices while international prices remained high. Together with Shell Gas, both companies have been lobbying the government to raise LPG prices.   Laugfs chairman W K Wegapitiya said...

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CHINA: Xinao Gas secures Quanzhou project in Fujian Province

(EnergyAsia, February 20) — Xinao Gas Holdings Limited, a privately-owned piped gas operator in China, said it has secured the piped gas project in Fujian province’s Quanzhou city, enhancing its business in East China.   Through wholly-owned subsidiary Xinao (China) Gas Investment Company Ltd, Xinao Gas indirectly holds a 60% interest in Quanzhou City Gas...

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RENEWABLES: New report calls for greater use of renewable energy to deal with climate change

(EnergyAsia, February 17) — Renewable energy must play a major role in the global energy supply to meet the increasingly serious environmental and economic threats of climate change, according to a new report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21).   Changing Climates, the Role of Renewable Energy in a Carbon-Constrained...

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NEPAL: Nepal Oil Corp to start selling gasoline and diesel on wholesale basis

(EnergyAsia, February 17) — The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) will soon launch a wholesale service by selling gasoline and diesel at the customs point and through its depots.   The company said existing distributors and re-sellers can purchase fuels from any of its depots or the customs point, but will have to undertake their own...

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THAILAND: PTTEP makes oil find in northwest Oman

(EnergyAsia, February 17) — Thai state upstream company PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) Public Company Ltd has found oil in the northwestern Block 44 concession area in northwest Oman.   Oman News Agency said the company found oil reserves in two reservoir formations with a thickness of around 96 meters from 3,750 meters depth.  ...

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SRI LANKA: Shell Gas retracts decision to reduce LPG supply

(EnergyAsia, February 17) — Shell Gas has temporarily retracted its earlier threat to cut liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies following high level talks with the government.   The country is in the grip of a fuel supply crisis as oil companies reduce supply availability after failing to obtain government approval to raise prices. Renewed conflict...

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SRI LANKA: Protest at northern port disrupted oil supply

(EnergyAsia, February 17) — Oil supply through Sri Lanka’s northern port of Trincomalee could be disrupted again if labour disputes erupt once more. Last month, labour protests disrupted the flow of goods through the port, LBO reported.   An organisation called the Sinhala East Sanvidanaya distributed leaflets in the Trincomalee town of Kantalai calling for...

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