(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has developed an amorphous-silicon (a-Si) / microcrystalline-Si (µc-Si) tandem photovoltaic (PV) cell production technology that achieves 50% higher maximum power output (150 watts per panel) than the company’s conventional a-Si PV modules that it now produces. MHI plans to build a plant...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — The Indian government wants full led to open up the country’s coal and mining sector to foreign ownership, the Statesman News Service reported. According to Minister of State for Coal and Mines Dasari Narayan Rao, the lead group of ministers (EGoM) want the country’s coal resources to be fully developed...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Energy major BP said it will fund a $9.4 million project by India’s The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in Andhra Pradesh state to demonstrate the feasibility of producing biodiesel from jatropha curcas, a non-edible oil bearing crop. The project, which is expected to take 10 years, will cultivate around 8,000...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Singapore-listed KS Energy Services Limited said it has been awarded a RMB87.5 million procurement and management services contract inclusive of oilfield equipment by China-based Sky Petroleum, which is also listed in Singapore. (US$1=RMB8.06). Sky Petroleum provides petroleum engineering technical services to China’s oil and gas industry. For a five-year...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — China’s dependence on imported oil fell to 42.9% last year as rising world prices dampened the appetite of the refiners to buy crude, Xinhua news agency reported. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said China’s net import of oil products and crude fell 5.3% to 136.17 million tons. ...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobras is exploring plans to export sugarcane-based ethanol to Japan, Agencia Brasil reported. The two countries could establish a joint venture company called Brazil-Japan Ethanol after 2008. Japan could import between 1.8 billion liters and six billion liters of ethanol depending on the amount it needs...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Indonesia’s PT Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk said it recently signed contracts to lease its rig to Crescent Petroleum Company Inc and Indago Oman Ltd for two back-to-back drilling projects. Apexindo has leased its Raniworo rig to Crescent to drill one well with an option to drill a second well. The...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Japanese engineering and construction firm Chiyoda Corp has released its financial results for the first nine months of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2006. Consolidated operating profit was 14,052 million yen, an increase of 99.5% compared to the same period a year earlier while net sales rose 41.8%...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the construction of strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) at Mangalore on the country’s west coast, and on the eastern port city of Vishakapatnam, or Vizag, according to local media reports. The terminals will store up to five million tonnes or 37 million...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — Singapore’s Keppel AmFELS Inc said it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atwood Oceanic Inc. (Atwood) for the construction of a new jackup rig, due for delivery in third quarter 2008. The rig is based on the LeTourneau Super 116 design and is subject...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Dana Gas said its wholly-owned pipeline subsidiary United Gas Transmissions Company (UGTC) has signed an agreement with Emirates General Petroleum Corporation (Emarat) to build, own and operate a gas pipeline from the Sharjah gas hub at Sajaa to the Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZ). Costing Dh670 million, the 30km, 48-inch common-use...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — The World Bank said it has approved an US$86.33 million loan to help scale up China’s use of renewable energy as the country’s demand for power increases. The bank’s board of executive directors approved the follow up project to the 2005 China Renewable Energy Scale-Up Program Phase 1 which would develop...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Indonesian upstream contractor PT Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk said it has confirmed two contract extensions from Total E&P Indonesie for two submersible swamp barge offshore rigs. The contracts for Raissis and Yani hold a three-year term valued at US$46.9 million and US$53.1 million respectively. “We are delighted to be able...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Finance ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) nations have issued a communique following their meeting in Moscow last Saturday. The group including Russia, Japan, the US, UK, Germany, Canada, France and Italy expressed concern with several issues including “high and volatile energy prices”. Below is the full text of...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Singapore-listed China Aviation Oil (CAO), recovering from near death after losing more than US$550 million in a trading scandal, has proposed four new members to a five-member board. Controversially, Gu Yanfei, who joined the board in March 2003, will remain Head of Special Task Force with executive powers to restructure...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) Ð Energy major Royal Dutch Shell plc said it is stepping up its development of alternative energy sources including biofuels, wind, solar and hydrogen. With an investment exceeding US$1 billion, Shell said it is now one of the world’s leading companies in alternative energies. “We aim to develop at least one...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Singapore’s Keppel AmFELS said it has received a fifth order from Scorpion Offshore for a jackup rig valued at US$143 million. The contract is signed with Scorpion’s wholly owned subsidiary, Scorpion Intrepid Ltd. All five jackup orders have been secured within nine months of Scorpion’s execution of the first construction...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Dana Gas said its wholly-owned pipeline subsidiary United Gas Transmissions Company (UGTC) has signed an agreement with Emirates General Petroleum Corporation (Emarat) to build, own and operate a gas pipeline from the Sharjah gas hub at Sajaa to the Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZ). Costing Dh670 million, the 30km, 48-inch common-use...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has received an order for a blast-furnace-gas (BFG) fired gas turbine combined-cycle (GTCC) power generation plant for use in a steel plant operated by China’s Baotou Iron & Steel (Group) Co Ltd. The power plant is slated to go on-stream in April 2008....
(Energy Asia, February 13) — Pakistan is an ideal place for local and international investors to build an oil refinery for the domestic and international markets, said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. At a recent Cabinet meeting, he said a state-of-the-art oil refinery could be built along the coast in the province of Balochistan. He...
(EnergyAsia, February 13) — Finland’s W’rtsil’ Corporation said it has acquired the entire business of Total Automation Ltd, a Singapore-based public marine automation company, and all Total Automation’s shares in its subsidiaries at a price of approximately EUR 61.6 million. (US$1=EUR0.83). Total Automation had sales of EUR 38.5 million in 2004 and has consistently generated...
(EnergyAsia, February 10) — ENSCO Oceanics International has won the contract to drill three development wells in the Kupe gas and condensate field in New Zealand, said operator Origin Energy Resources (Kupe) Limited. Bids have been received for the construction of the production station as momentum builds on the Kupe gas project. Origin said...
(EnergyAsia, February 10) — Myanmar has chosen to supply natural gas to China at the expense of India as competition between the two Asian giants for energy continues despite a pledge to work together. With domestic production barely meeting half its needs, India has been trying to tie up deals to import gas from Iran,...
(EnergyAsia, February 10) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd said it has been advised by the Mauritanian government that it disputes amendments to four offshore production sharing contracts operated by the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd. The amendments, which are supplementary to the production sharing contracts, were negotiated with the Ministry...
(EnergyAsia, February 9) — New Zealand’s Austral Pacific Energy Ltd has named Rick Webber as its new president and CEO. Mr Webber, a New Zealander, has some 30 years of experience in the international oil and gas industry, having worked in the Middle East, the Far East, the United Kingdom, Australia, Papua New Guinea...