(EnergyAsia, July 17) — Emerson Process Management said it has been awarded a contract by Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) to supply its proprietary valves for general turbine-generator control systems, commonly referred to as balance-of-plant applications, in the Lunmen Nuclear Power Number 4 plant.   Expected to be fully operational in 2010, the project involves a...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — India, the world’s third largest coal producer, may have to import about 76 million tonne of coal by 2011-2012.   The projected imports would be needed to help meet domestic demand which is expected to nearly double to 710 million tonne/year by 2012. Imports will be needed despite Coal India’s efforts...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — The oil market’s fears of either a price collapse or a ‘hyper-spike’ from a positive or a negative outcome in the stand-off between Iran and the West are overstated, said commodities group FIMAT. Both outcomes appear somewhat unlikely. The peaceful resolution scenario is the least realistic, especially in the wake of...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — Malaysia must develop its hydroelectric potential as a solution to the rising cost of generating power from using fossil fuels, said a senior official with the power producer TNB.             TNB chief financial officer, Izzaddin Idris, said hydropower, abundantly available in Malaysia, offers the cheapest way to generate electricity. The country’s...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — For once, a hydropower plant in northern India has been shut down not by lack of rain, but by too much of it as gushing rivers threatens to wash silt into the 1,500 MW Nathpa-Jhakri hydro facility. The plant has been shut for several days since July 7 as the silt...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — Australian upstream company Beach Petroleum Limited has announced a significantly expanded A$100 million-plus exploration and appraisal programme for the new financial year to June 30 2007. (US$1=A$1.35). The Adelaide-based oil producer will drill 69 exploration and appraisal wells this financial year, up from 19 in last year.   Beach Petroleum said...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — Globeleq, the Houston, US company specialising in the power industry in emerging markets, has completed the purchase of power assets in Pakistan and Bangladesh from another US company, El Paso Corporation. The purchase of additional assets in South and Southeast Asia is expected to close later in 2006. The transaction was...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — A joint programme between the World Bank and the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) is making available micro-hydro power plants to the villages and remote areas of Takhar province. The programme, now in its third year in Afghanistan, is aimed at empowering small rural communities with the skills...

(EnergyAsia, July 17) — Taiwanese solar companies are applauding the government’s plan to help them expand into the Middle East, Africa and Pacific islands to increase their international presence.   Leading solar equipment producer Motech Industries Inc has welcomed the announcement as the industry is seeking out new markets, after having focused most of their...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — China, the world’s biggest coal producer and consumer, plans to spend some 40 billion yuan by 2020 exploring for new coal reserves. (US$1=8 yuan).   Xu Dingming, head of the energy bureau under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told China Daily that China aims to secure about 170 billion...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — Chinese investors will help finance a refinery project in Russia’s Amur area, Itar-Tass reported.   Construction of the 5-million tonne/year project is expected to begin in October at a site in Beryozovka township, Ivanovka district. The project is scheduled to be onstream late 2008. The unit will procure its feedstock from...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — International oil companies in the Middle East saw the value of their portfolios surged by 87%, said energy consultant Wood Mackenzie. It attributed the rise to bullish expectations for oil prices and to the award and approval of several major development projects in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Oman.   “Although several...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — Malaysian state energy company Petronas said it and two partners have started producing crude oil in Sudan’s Block 5A in Sudan. The field is operated by White Nile (5B) Operating Co Ltd, a consortium owned by Petronas (68.875%), India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (24.125%) and state Sudapet of Sudan (8%).             Thar...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) said it is interested to buy a stake in Gujarat State Petroleum Corp’s (GSPC) Deen Dayal block in the Krishna Godavari basin.   “We are willing to participate in the block as an equity partner and will talk to GSPC once they have certified their...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — The “geo-political” factors threatening the oil markets today are often blamed on a familiar cast: Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Venezuela, Nigeria and Islamic terrorists. On a broader scale, it is the growing interaction between China and the US that has the greatest potential to create tsunami-sized geo-political tensions. But that is...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil Middle East Gas Marketing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp, have jointly announced the signing of their Subsequent Development Plan and the launch of the Al Khaleej Gas-Phase Two (AKG-2) project. AKG-2 is being developed to supply natural gas to domestic markets while recovering...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — Hong Kong-listed China Oilfield Services Limited said it has signed a supplemental agreement to lease Nanhai II, a semi-submersible drilling rig, to Malaysia’s Genting Oil & Gas Limited (GOGL) to provide drilling services. Nanhai II will operate in the Natuna Sea of Indonesia.   The rig has been tugged to the...

(EnergyAsia, July 14) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has criticised China for wasting electricity and building too much power capacity to meet this wastage. The IEA said that every two years, China adds as much power generation capacity as the total in France or Canada. The country is now the biggest electricity consumer in...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Advanced Technology Office (ATO) is soliciting proposals for biofuels for use in the military. In a statement, the Defense Department said it has been directed to explore a wide range of energy alternatives and fuel efficiency efforts in a bid to reduce the...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — PowerLight Corp of Berkeley, California state, a leading global provider of solar power systems, will export equipment and services for the development and deployment of a 1-megawatt (MW) solar power project in Gwangju, Korea, thanks to a 15-year, $7.8 million medium-term loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of the US (Ex-Im...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — ALSTOM, a world leader in transport and energy infrastructure, said it has signed an exclusive worldwide licence agreement with EIG Inc of the US for its carbon dioxide (CO2) capture process. The licence agreement of this patented process covers its development and commercialisation by ALSTOM’s Environmental Controls Systems business.   The...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — Chinese engineers and scientists said they have developed the world’s first full-permanent magnetic levitation (Maglev) wind power generator that would boost wind energy generating capacity by as much as 20% compared with conventional systems. The Guangzhou Energy Research Institute under the Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Science &...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — The IFC-Netherlands Carbon Facility, a joint initiative of the World Bank’s International Finance Corp, and the Dutch government have signed an emissions reduction purchase agreement worth more than $6 million. Under this agreement, IFC will use Dutch government funds to purchase greenhouse gas emission reductions from windfarms in the Indian states...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has started procedures to submit an application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for design certification of the US-APWR, the company’s 1,700 MW class advanced pressurised water reactor currently under development for launch in the US market. In conjunction with that move,...

(EnergyAsia, July 13) — A secure climate future will bring the benefits of a secure energy system as climate and energy security are closely linked, said the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In a new report, “No energy security without climate security”, the WWF said that G8 nations can best contribute to increased energy and climate...