(EnergyAsia, June 14) — CNOOC Limited said its parent company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), has signed two production sharing contracts (PSC) with UK’s BG Group for deepwater blocks 64/11 and 53/16 in the South China Sea. The two companies have also signed a geophysical survey agreement (GSA) on block 41/06 in the South...
(EnergyAsia, June 14) — Australia’s Eden Energy Ltd said it has won an important US technology award for its work on hydrogen-based fuel and alternative energy initiatives. The company, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange early this month, said that its wholly owned US subsidiary, Hythane Company llc, had won the 2006 CSIA Apex award...
(EnergyAsia, June 14) — Australian upstream company BHP Billiton said it and its partners have approved the development of the deepwater Shenzi oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico. The production facility will have a design capacity to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil and 50 million cubic feet of gas per...
(EnergyAsia, June 14) — The authorities in Lam Dong province in central Vietnam will begin building a 13.5 MW a hydro-power plant worth more than VND241 billion (US$15.1 million). The plant in Bao Loc commune in Bao Lam district is expected to generate 57.5 million kWh per year when it comes onstream in in early...
(EnergyAsia, June 14) — Australia should focus on the benefits of its natural gas resources rather than arguing the case between coal and nuclear energy, according to the nation’s leading gas transmission body, the Australian Pipeline Industry Association. “Natural gas is cleaner and cheaper than coal or nuclear energy, and it is in plentiful...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — Temporary supply disruptions associated with changes in gasoline and diesel fuel quality are focusing renewed attention on wide light product margins as gasoline prices jumped to record levels for the second time in less than a year. Unlike early fall, 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed into the heart of...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — The world airlines industry is starting to see some light at the end of a five-year bleak tunnel, and facing the future with “cautious optimism”, said Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at last week’s World Air Transport Summit and IATA Annual General Meeting...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — OTB Solar, a leading Dutch manufacturer of solar cell equipment, said it has successfully installed a 30 MW production line at the factory of South Korean solar cell manufacturer KPE. The new line will increase KPE’s production capacity by more than fives times to help it meet rising demand for solar...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — Japanese engineering firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has received a bulk order for 443 large-size wind turbines from Babcock & Brown, one of the largest developers and owners of wind power in the US for its four new projects involving large-scale wind power generation. MHI said this is...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — Indian upstream company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has signed an agreement with US-based global oil-field service provider Halliburton for collaboration in upstream technology development. The ‘Heads of Agreement’ (HOA) document was signed in Mumbai last month as an extension of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) concluded earlier...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — Swiss financial giant Credit Suisse and US conglomerate GE said they will form an equal US$1 billion joint venture to invest in global energy and transportation infrastructure assets. GE will be represented by subsidiary GE Infrastructure. The joint venture will target investments in power generation and transmission, gas storage and pipelines,...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — The UN Development Programme (UNDP) said its Counter-Narcotics Trust Fund (CNTF), established to help the Afghan government fight poppy production and the drug trade, has approved the construction of three micro hydropower stations in Badakhshan province. The fund’s management board, which includes representatives of the Afghan government, major bilateral and...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — Vishal Export Overseas Limited (VEOL) has signed an agreement with India’s Uttarchal state government to develop a Rs202 million hydro power project. (US$1=Rs46). The 5.6 MW Nandakini III Hydro Power Project will be located along the Nandakini river, a major tributary of the River Alaknanda in the Chamoli District of Uttaranchal....
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), said it welcomes the bi-partisan support given last week by the Western Australian (WA) state Premier, Alan Carpenter, and the Leader of the Opposition, Paul Omodei, to the Gorgon project. This followed the issue of the Advisory Bulletin by the WA Environmental Protection...
(EnergyAsia, June 13) — Denmark’s Vestas Group, the world’s largest wind turbine maker, said it will build a 8.5 million euro wind generator factory in Tianjin city in northeastern China. The factory in Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) initially will produce 350 units of 2 MW generators a year, employing around 75 employees. It will...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — China Aviation Oil Singapore Corporation Ltd (CAO) has appointed director Zhao Shousen as its deputy chairman with immediate effect. He has also been named vice chairman of the audit, remuneration and nominating committees, and a member of the risk management committee. Mr Zhao has worked with various Chinese petroleum organisation,...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — A leading Australian upstream company Beach Petroleum Limited said it has acquired a significant strategic shareholding in a Cooper Basin oil and gas producer, Great Artesian Oil and Gas Limited, in a A$$14.5 million off-market transaction. (US$1=A$1.3). Beach said its investment in Great Artesian would add to its already considerable Cooper...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — The Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline last week achieved a historic milestone with the delivery of its first cargo of crude oil to world markets. The inaugural shipment of about 600,000 barrels of crude oil was delivered by tanker to Savona, Italy, marking the start of export of Azerbaijan’s crude oil via...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — Indian oil refiners are hoping the government will allow another increase in domestic oil prices this year to follow on last week’s 9.2% rise in gasoline price and 6.6% in diesel. The price of gasoline in New Delhi was raised by Rs4 to Rs47.49 a litre while diesel went up...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) said its FY2005 net profit fell to Rs3.716 billion from Rs8.8 billion the previous year after making provisions for financing and interest charges, depreciation and deferred and current tax liability. (US$1=Rs45). Its revenue rose 36.5% to Rs282.43 billion. Export sales of refined products jumped...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — Singapore Petroleum Company Limited has announced making a natural gas and condensate discovery at its Lukah-1X exploration well in the Kakap Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and progress at the Jeruk-3 well in the Sampang PSC, both in Indonesia. In a statement, SPC said the Lukah-1X successfully tested for natural gas and...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved plans for the construction of 13 large new coal bases around the country. According to local news media, the plan will include 500 coal projects with an expected production of 1.3 billion tonne/year of coal. The main bases to be...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — India has joined 21 other nations in signing up to the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum’s (CSLF) strategic plan to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The signatories have charted a roadmap till 2013 for developing technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide in order to reduce pollution from thermal power...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — Prospects for the global solar energy industry will slow down significantly as a result of a supply shortage of substrate material polysilicon. According to a study by US market research group Solarbuzz, the output of solar equipment will grow by only 10% a year in the coming years, down from...
(EnergyAsia, June 12) — South Korea is fast becoming a powerhouse for civilian nuclear technology and equipment, exporting nuclear technologies to advanced countries including the US and France. The Korea Herald reported that the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology has invested around 1.27 trillion won (US$1=950 won) between 1997 and 2006, putting it...