(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Western Australian engineering firm AGC said it has landed a A$11 million contract to fabricate a mobile biofuels plant for Natural Fuel Australia’s A$45million biodiesel facility in Darwin. (US$1=A$1.3). The contract will see AGC fabricate, install piping and assemble all the equipment and specialised components for the biodiesel plant, using the...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Populist left-wing regimes have returned to South America with a vengeance. Anti-US governments are in power in Cuba, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, and are likely to be followed soon by Peru while socialists remain strong in oil-endowed Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador. But no one is more determined — and possibly better...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — Vietnam and Laos will soon begin joint construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Sekong Province’s Dakcheung District in Laos. The two governments expect the 250 MW Sekaman Plant 3 to deliver power valued at US$40 million a year when it begins operation in 2009. The Viet-Laos Investment and Electricity Development...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — California state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the University of California (UC) is Davis recently celebrated a US$1 million grant from the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) to establish the world’s leading university center of excellence in energy efficiency. The new center is dedicated to speeding the transfer of new energy-saving products...

(EnergyAsia, May 5) — The global community needs to be working towards meeting the energy needs that are essential for economic growth and fighting poverty, while at the same time leaving a smaller environmental footprint, according to the Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework, a new report launched on the occasion of the...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Indian upstream company ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) recently signed a broad memorandum of understanding covering cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. The agreement was signed by JOGMEC President Isao Kakefuda and OVL managing director R.S. Butola.             The MOU was a follow-up of...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Malaysian plantation companies are expected to benefit from a new biodiesel bill due to be passed in Parliament next month. The bill aims to boost the production and use of palm oil-based biodiesel as Malaysia is looking to develop alternative energy supplies amid growing worries over rising oil prices.             The...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — The sharp decline in the New Zealand dollar and the rise of oil prices to record high levels have sparked interest for biofuels investment in this agriculture-dependent country of four million.             The local currency has fallen from around US$0.68 to US$0.62 since the start of the year, while the price...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — New Zealand’s Green Party has praised Prime Minister Helen Clark’s acknowledgement that the world oil production may have peaked or near peak, making her one of the first leaders in the world to do so. “Helen Clark is the first New Zealand Prime Minister to grasp this fundamental driver of our...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — China’s Finance Ministry will soon announce financial incentives as part of a policy to encourage the development of the country’s fledgling biofuels and biomass industry. The policy will benefit the country’s 800 million farmers and rural residents as well as reduce its dependence on imported energy amid rising cost, said vice-minister...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Two climate change experts with Australia’s state science agency CSIRO said global sea level been rising at an increasing rate over the past 130 years, with implications for weather patterns and changes.   Using information from tide gauges and measurements from satellites, John Church and Neil White report in the science...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Australian upstream company Santos said it has ventured into Vietnam for the first time with an agreement to farm in to offshore exploration acreage operated by UK-based Premier Oil.   Santos will hold a 37.5% interest in Blocks 12E and 12W production sharing contracts after funding a proportion of the costs...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — D1 Oils plc, the UK-based global producer of biodiesel, has signed an exclusive franchise agreement to supply of 16 its refineries over three years in Australia and New Zealand. Under the franchise, D1 is entitled to receive ongoing revenue from operating licence fees for each tonne of biodiesel produced by the...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Australian upstream company Hardman Resources Limited said its subsidiary, Hardman Oil and Gas Pty Ltd, has signed agreements with Suriname’s State Oil Company, Staatsolie Maatschappij Surinam NV and its affiliate, Paradise Oil NV, to acquire a 40% working interest in the onshore Uitkijk and Coronie concessions in Suriname in South America....

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Residents in parts of Ilocos Norte province in the Philippines are hoping they will be spared the full brunt of future electricity rate hikes as they will be deriving part of their supply from hydro and wind-power plants.             The Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) is rehabilitating mini-hydro power plants in...

(EnergyAsia, May 4) — Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said it has revised its outlook on Hong Kong-listed Titan Petrochemicals Group Ltd to negative from stable. At the same time, it affirmed Titan’s ‘BB-‘ long-term corporate credit rating and ‘B+’ issue senior unsecured notes rating.             “We’ve revised the outlook to negative because of Titan’s...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) said it will deliver a jackup rig to a wholly-owned subsidiary of SeaDrill Management on time and within budget. This is the third KFELS B Class rig that Keppel has completed within the first four months of 2006.   During the christening ceremony of the...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — The European Commission is inviting proposals to tap its 220-million-euro European Union Energy Initiative for Poverty (EUEI) fund to fight poverty in the developing world. The EUEI was launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in South Africa in 2002, with the aim of helping the developing...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Windpower Company is filing a court order to fight the Australian government’s decision to stop it building a wind farm on Bald Hills in Victoria state.   Windpower has the support of the state government which had approved the project but was over-ruled by Evironment Minister Ian Campbell, citing its threat...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — New York Stock Echange-listed Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (NYSE:STP), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, said it has won an exclusive contract to supply a 130KW solar energy system for Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, the main stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd said it has agreed with Brazil’s state energy giant Petrobras to jointly carry out a feasibility study to produce and market bio-ethanol. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding during last month’s visit of the Brazilian Minister of Development and Industry to Japan.   Mitsui...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — Finland’s W’rtsil’ Corporation said it won orders to supply 16 W’rtsil’ 50DF dual-fuel engines to power four liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers in Korea. The orders are included in the order intake for the first two months of 2006.   “W’rtsil”s systematic efforts over the past few years have given the...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — One of Malaysia’s largest plantation owners wants the government to provide subsidies for the country’s emerging biodiesel sector. Golden Hope Planatations Berhad is Malaysia’s leading biodiesel company with plans to build several plants to supply the fuel to domestic and export markets.   CEO Sabri Ahmad is leading the calls among...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — IJM Plantations Bhd said it and US-based CTI Biofuels Malaysia LLC (CTIBM) have agreed to build, own and operate a biodiesel plant in Sandakan, Sabah for the manufacture and sale of biodiesel on a 60:40 joint venture basis. The companies had issued various statements on the project since last December.  ...

(EnergyAsia, May 3) — The United Nations has called on international delegates and officials attending the annual session of the Commission on Sustainable Development to address the needs of the 2.4 billion people who lack modern energy services as well as concerns over energy security exacerbated by high prices.   “The central task before us...