(EnergyAsia, March 22) — China has agreed to share its coal liquefaction technology with India, and to explore possibilities for joint projects in coal-bed methane (CBM) development and underground coal gasification. Recent energy talks between the two sides have opened a new chapter in their attempts to develop broadbased relationships, said the Indian ambassador...
(EnergyAsia, March 22) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Ltd said it has secured a contract with GlobalSantaFe Corporation (GSF) to build an ultra-deepwater drilling rig for US$270 million. GSF will supply the drilling and sub-sea equipment while Keppel FELS provides the design, engineering and construction of the hull as well as the accommodation quarters for 180...
(EnergyAsia, March 22) — Singapore’s Keppel AmFELS Inc said that its contract with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atwood Oceanics Inc for the construction of a new jackup rig is now effective. The contract follows the signing of a letter of intent between the two companies announced on February 7. The rig, excluding owner furnished...
(EnergyAsia, March 22) — The former chief executive of China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Ltd has been sentenced to four years and three months in jail and fined 335,000 Singapore dollars (US$1=S$1.6) for his role in the near collapse of the company from disastrous oil derivatives trades in 2004. Chen Jiulin, 44, had pleaded guilty...
(EnergyAsia, March 22) — Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD), a member of Germany’s Siemens group, said it has been awarded another major order worth around 110 million euros by the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) for a power transmission system expansion project currently in progress in Qatar. (US$1=0.85 Euro). The new...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) has announced a set of clean technology initiative which is designed to help local businesses effectively reduce greenhouse gases. The ministry said it would foster clean technology aimed at controlling materials harmful to the environment. Clean technology encompasses a wide range of...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — Thailand’s oil demand crept up by 2.1% to 1.157 million barrels/day last year, said state energy company PTT Public Company Limited. According to Sarun Rungkasiri, vice president of PTT’s public relations department, Thailand’s demand for refined oil products edged up 0.4% to 719,100 b/d. Its diesel use crept by...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — Woodside Natural Gas Inc, a unit of Australia’s upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd, said its proposed OceanWay Secure Energy project, a state-of-the-art process for safely delivering affordable Australian natural gas to meet California’s growing energy needs, will be located more than 32km off the coast of Los Angeles. OceanWay will...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — China’s power shortage eased considerably in 2005, and the situation will continue to improve in 2006, said the New York-based World Watch Institute citing a recent report by the Development Research Center of the State Council, China’s parliament. The number of provinces that experienced blackouts dropped to 12 in 2005,...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — The rising cost of building materials could scutter Western Power’s plans to expand its Albany wind farm in southern Western Australia state, ABC Australia reported. Last October, Western Power announced it would investigate the feasibility of adding another seven turbines to the wind farm at a cost of about A$30 million....
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — The Bangladeshi government has warned that domestic fuel supply could be threatened by the growing incidences of fuel smuggling. State energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman gave the warning after visiting the northern bordering districts of Bangladesh where he learnt how smugglers were delivering fuel across the border to India. Gang members linked...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — China’s National Guideline on Medium and Long-term Programme for Science and Technology Development (2006-20) has outlined the country’s strategy for improving the efficiency of energy and natural resources consumption, China Daily reported. Although China is making progress in promoting renewable energy technologies, the agency noted that coal, oil and natural...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Corporation (MRPL), the standalone refining subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), is spending Rs128 billion to upgrade its refinery and build an aromatics complex. The upgrade, which will be completed in three and a half years, will enable the refinery to process heavy and sour...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — The Philippines Department of Energy assured Luzon residents that there will be no energy shortage this year and that it is doing its best to avert any possible crisis. “For 2006, there is no shortage because we have an over capacity. The critical period is around 2010 to 2011. Will there...
(EnergyAsia, March 21) — PT Wood Group Indonesia, unit of UK’s energy services provider John Wood Group PLC, said it has been awarded the project and construction management support services contract by BP for the Tangguh gas processing facilities in Indonesia’s Papua province. Wood described it as a multi-million-dollar, two-year contract, with a one-year...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Thai state chemical company Chemical Public Company Limited (PTTChem) has signed an agreement to use ExxonMobil’s autoclave technology that is also employed at the US major’s polymers plant in Antwerp, Belgium. ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing LLC said the agreement will cover the production of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and ethylene vinyl...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Thailand’s PTT and Malaysia’s Petronas Trading Corporation (PETCO) recently signed an agreement to jointly market the condensate output from their Joint Development Area (JDA) in the offshore Block A-18. Both are state-owned oil and gas companies. Since early 2005, the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJA), Amerada Hess Ltd, and Petronas...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Australia’s Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL), a leading flat plate solid oxide fuel cell technology company, last month successfully completed its UK placement raising over $87 million (US$1=A$1.35) via an institutional placing at A$0.50 per share. Following that, the company has applied to list on the AIM Market of the London...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — A vertical axis wind turbine that can be installed on house roofs and commercial buildings for small-scale power generation is one of three projects in South Australian state awarded funding in the latest round of Australian government grants. Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane recently announced that Adelaide-based Stellar Energy received...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Exxon Mobil Corporation said that its subsidiaries Mobil Cepu Ltd. and Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd have signed a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with PT Pertamina EP Cepu, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina, for the Cepu contract area located in East and Central Java. The signing of the...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Companies are following up on oil agreements signed between Saudi Arabia and three major Asian countries following the recent visit to China, India and Pakistan by the Saudi King. Three Saudi companies, MIDROC, Sara Development Co. and House of Invention (HOI) Co, have formed a joint-venture petrochemical company with a...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Russia has agreed to supply uranium to India’s Tarapur nuclear facility, according to Indian news reports following last week’s visit to New Delhi by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov. Describing his country as desperately in need of energy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India has secured Russia’s agreement to supply...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Hurricanes, and particularly a discussion on whether Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita signify a new trend, will be the topic at the next Marine Technology Society luncheon on March 23. Hurricane expert Chris Herbert, TropicsWatch Supervisor with ImpactWeather, Inc., will be the guest speaker. The luncheon will be held at...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Asia has much to worry about these days: political instability in Southeast Asia, possibility of a bird flu pandemic, tensions between China and Japan, US opposition to the ‘peace’ gas pipeline to link Iran with Pakistan and India, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, environmental / weather-related threats and the possibility...
(EnergyAsia, March 20) — Shell and Statoil said they have signed an agreement to work towards developing the world’s largest project using carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) offshore. The concept involves capturing CO2 from power generation and utilising it to enhance oil recovery, resulting in increased energy production with lower CO2 impact....