(EnergyAsia, February 3) — Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas said its has awarded a production sharing contract to its subsidiary Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd and hy Sabah Oil Co Ltd for the ultra-deepwater Block P, a newly re-demarcated exploration area offshore Sabah. Murphy is a US-based independent oil and gas company. Block...
(EnergyAsia, February 3) — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) has reported a net loss of Rs 58.3 million for the October-December quarter for financial 2005, against a net profit of Rs 12,867.6 million for the same quarter the previous year. IOC said its gross turnover for the same period surged 23.7 % to Rs 488,950...
(EnergyAsia, February 3) — Shell Exploration Company BV, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s state upstream company ONGC to pursue joint business opportunities globally. The agreement was signed in New Delhi by ONGC chairman Subir Raha and Shell chairman in India, Vikram Singh Mehta, in...
(EnergyAsia, February 3) — The Japanese government wants to build a new fast-breeder nuclear reactor in 2030, succeeding the existing prototype in Monju, according to the Japan Times. Officials at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said basic research at Monju will be completed around 2015. The reactor’s design and development policies for...
(EnergyAsia, February 3) — Malaysia-listed engineering firm KNM Group Bhd said it is expanding its production capacity to 87,000 tonnes from 46,500 now once it completes its acquisitions and improvements of facilities in the UAE and China by the end of 2006. The company manufactures oil and gas, petrochemical, and mineral processing and manufacturing processes...
(EnergyAsia, February 3) — Thailand’s solar-cell manufacturer Solartron is shopping for a strategic partner to support its expansion plans. CEO Wandee Khunchornyakong said Solartron, listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, is prepared to cede control if the partner has the technology and expertise in manufacturing solar cell modules. The company is largely owned...
(Energy Asia, February 2) — Seventeen projects in India have been registered by the UN as clean development mechanism (CDM) projects that are eligible to trade in carbon credits, according to Business Line. Projects by Subhash Kabini Power Corporation (SKPCL), SRF and Raghu Rama Energy Ltd are among the 17. Formal acceptance by the...
(Energy Asia, February 2) — Malaysia will soon offer for free biodiesel fuel to state agencies and ministries for one year as part of the government’s trial to popularise the fuel, said Peter Chin Fah Kui, plantation industries and commodities minister. His ministry, the transport ministry, defence ministry and the Kuala Lumpur city hall...
(EnergyAsia, Febuary 2) — PEARL Oil (Thailand) Limited, a subsidiary of PEARL Energy Limited, has signed a sale and purchase agreement with PTT Public Company Limited for the supply of crude oil from the Jasmine field in the Block B 5/27 contract area located in the Gulf of Thailand. Block B 5/27 is located in...
(Energy Asia, Febrary 2) — Canada’s TerraWest Energy Corp, formed in 2003 to invest in Chinese coalbed methane projects, has announced it signed its first production-sharing agreement with China United Coalbed Methane Corp Ltd (CUCMC), according to the Calgary Herald. The project area is about 650 square kilometres in the Janggar coal basin in...
(EnergyAsia, February 2) — Aabar Petroleum, a UAE-based oil and gas company, has agreed to acquire 214,200,016 shares in Singapore-listed Pearl Energy owned by Indonesia’s The Austindo Group. In a joint statement, Aabar and Austindo said the two sides have signed an agreement giving Aabar the option to purchase Austindo’s 48.29% in Pearl Energy at...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and G.B.Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar city have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to grow and harvest the jatropha crop for development as a biodiesel plant. Jatropha is a hardy oil-bearing crop that grows well in arid conditions. Biodiesel is...
(EnergyAsia, Febuary 2) — The Australian state of Victoria will invest A$30 million in a landmark project to store carbon dioxide underground as part of an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. (US$1=A$1.3). The geosequestration project aims to bury carbon dioxide deep inside depleted natural gas reservoirs. The project is being...
(EnergyAsia, February 2) — In a major Cabinet reshuffle involving several senior ministers, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has named Murli Deora as the new petroleum minister in place of the controversial Mani Shankar Aiyar. Mr Deora said his main task would be to strengthen the state-owned downstream oil companies which have been suffering...
(EnergyAsia, February 2) — Hong Kong-listed Panva Gas Holdings Limited said that a state agency in Sichuan province has approved the application by one of its subsidiaries, Ziyang Panva Gas Co Ltd, to raise its retail natural gas price. Panva said it has applied to raise prices in the province since the National Development...
(EnergyAsia, February 2) — State-owned Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) said it has paid the Indian government an interim dividend of Rs 2,909.6 billion for the financial year 2006. (US$1=Rs44). Proshanto Banerjee, GAIL’s chairman and managing director, presented the cheque to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas at a ceremony last month....
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — India is looking to Japan to support its civilian nuclear energy programme. The Indian government asked for Tokyo’s support when Foreign Minister Taro Aso visited India last month New Delhi has been working to implement its July 18, 2005 civilian nuclear energy deal with the US. Japan, a key member...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and privately owned Hinduja Group have entered into a joint venture to develop oil and gas projects in India and overseas. Hinduja’s president Gopichand P Hinduja said the two companies are also planning to jointly promote, develop and invest in liquefied natural...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — Beijing city’s municipal departments have pledged to cut their energy use by 20%, setting an example in energy efficiency for the rest of China. As part of the effort, Beijing will contract energy management firms to advise on cutting energy use and making the bureaucracy more energy efficient. Initially,...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is well positioned for another run at the US$70 a barrel mark in the coming weeks on rising political tensions on the world stage since the start of the year. The signs aren’t favourable to the West, in particular the US, as hostile forces appear...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — The Vietnamese government said it will accelerate its rural electrification programme as part of its industrialisation and modernisation of the country under the Strategy for Developing Electricity for 2001-20. According to the Vietnam News Service, by last September, the government had linked 10,500 of 10,800 communes, wards and towns nationwide...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) –— Pakistan is eyeing to acquire at least six nuclear power reactors from China in the next 10 years for the planned expansion of its nuclear facility. The Times of India has reported the plants with a total capacity of 600MW could be worth as much as US$10 billion. An...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — Australian upstream company Santos has announced record sales revenue of A$2.46 billion for 2005, up 64% from the previous record of A$1.5 billion in 2004. (US$1=A$1.3). The company said the result was driven by a 19% increase in production to 56 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) together with continuing...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — Malaysia’s state oil and and gas company Petronas is expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business with new ventures with Oman and Trinidad and Tobago. Last month, the company signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Co and a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Oman’s...
(EnergyAsia, February 1) — India has the potential to generate some 5,000 kWh/year of solar-based energy but currently only taps 852 megawatts (MW) due to the high cost of installing solar systems. Minister of State for Non Conventional Energy Sources Vilas Muttemwar told WebIndia that while the country’s potential solar resources far exceed it...