by Dr Sergey Popov* (EnergyAsia, October 9) — In September, we celebrated 15 years of Spetsneftegaz’s founding. Compared to the metallurgical industry in the Ural, which is more then 300 years old, ours is a young company. But we have a rich history and a strong foundation for research and development, as well as production...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — Thailand’s Energy Ministry said it will enforce its January 1 2007 deadline for millions of vehicles including 24 million motorcycles, to switch to using ethanol-blended fuel from 95-octane gasoline. In a drastic move, the ministry’s Energy Business Department said it will issue a new regulation next month completely banning the sale...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — Patkol Plc, a Thailand-listed engineering specialist and freezing machine manufacturer, is carving out a niche as a builder of ethanol plants. Last week, it announced it has landed a contract to build an ethanol plant worth 3.14 billion baht for T.P.K. Ethanol in Nakhon Ratchasima province. (US$1=37 baht). The...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — The cost of solar-generated power is expected to drop sharply by the end of this decade on a combination of improving technology, rising world demand and the entry of mass producers of photovoltaic (PV) panels and solar cells. Global semiconductor equipment firm Applied Materials is the latest entrant into the solar...
(EneryAsia, October 9) — The R&D unit of auto giant Honda and Japan’s Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE) said they have jointly developed technology that produces ethanol from waste biomass such as leaves, discarded wood and other non-edible plant materials. RITE is a non-profit entity set up by the Japanese government and...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — The Indonesian government is boosting the country’s biofuels sector by sharply raising next year’s funding to Rp13 trillion and setting aside nearly 500,000 hectares of land to grow crops for fuel production. In raising the budget allocation by Rp12 trillion, the government said it aims to subsidise the interest payments...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — The IFC-Netherlands Carbon Facility, a joint initiative of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and the Dutch government, last week signed an emissions reduction purchase agreement worth more than $6 million. IFC said it will use Dutch government funds to purchase greenhouse gas emission...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — India’s ONGC and China’s Sinopec said they have jointly acquired the upstream oil assets of Colombia’s Omimex de Colombia Ltd, from Texas-based Omimex Resources Inc. ONGC was represented by subsidiary of ONGC Videsh Ltd (ONGC-VL) while Sinopec was represented by Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation (SIPC) in their equal...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — Oil companies should not be blamed for Australia’s slow adoption of ethanol-blended fuels as the motoring public must play its part, said the country’s largest refiner, Caltex. The company’s chief financial officer Simon Hepworth said motorists were not yet comfortable with using ethanol and biodiesel as they fear the blended...
(EnergyAsia, October 9) — Australia’s crude and condensates fell by 13% to 23.8 gigalitres for the year ended June 30 2006, said state agency Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics. Most notably, it said domestic production in the first half of 2006 plunged 20% to around 10.5 gigalitres compared with the second half of...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — State agency Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) said the country’s production of crude oil and condensate is forecast to increase by 7% to around 25.4 gigalitres for the year to June 30 2007. This forecast increase in production mainly reflects the startup in production from the Enfield...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — Australia’s Victoria state may yet land a second major solar power project that could power 40,000 homes in the north-western part while creating hundreds of local construction jobs. Melbourne-based Solar Systems and aviation company Boeing are backing the proposed A$420 million solar power station, which will use completely different technology...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — Germany’s SolarWorld said it has landed a large export order worth around 350 million euro supplying solar silicon wafers to China over the next 12 years. (US$1=0.77 euro). The sale starting this year was made by subsidiary Deutsche Solar AG which is among the world’s largest producers of solar silicon wafers....
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — India will launch a national programme to blend ethanol into petroleum fuels from November 1, said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. He is pushing local oil companies to speed up the programme’s implementation in an attempt to reduce the country’s crude import bill. India depends on imports for about 70% of its...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — Indonesia could halve its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Japan in the next few years due to declining reserves and rising competition from buyers in other countries. Officials from Indonesia and Japanese companies have begun discussing terms for the reduced volume when current long-term export contracts expire. Supply...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — US oil data for the last week of September signal a seasonal turning point in market dynamics, said commodities trader Fimat. After a late-summer binge of high crude runs which severely eroded refining margins, it noted that US refiners had steeply reduced throughputs, causing crude inventories to rebound and the recent...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — US-based International Fuel Technology Inc (IFT) said it will make the first major commercial shipment of its DiesoLIFT(TM) fuel additive to the Philippines’ National Power Corporation (Napocor). The buyer, a government-owned division of the Philippine Department of Energy, will use the additive in its diesel-fueled stationary power generation units. The shipment...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — Sri Lanka regards high oil prices as a bigger threat to the country than the violent ethnic strife caused by conflict with the Tamil Tiger terrorists seeking a separate homeland. The country’s Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal told Lanka BusinessOnline that for now, oil is a bigger threat to its...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — Sri Lanka will lead a South Asia initiative to study the impact of high oil prices on the region’s economies. Finance ministers of the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) have agreed to appoint Sri Lanka to head the study as volatile and rising oil prices are causing distress...
(EnergyAsia, October 6) — New Zealand motorists could do serious harm to their vehicles by using biodiesel from “backyard producers”, said the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and the Consumers’ Institute. In a joint statement, the two agencies warned that vehicle owners risked permanent and serious damage to their engines by using fuels that...
(EnergyAsia, October 5) — The much anticipated initial public offering of marine fuel supplier Chemoil Energy Ltd was abruptly cancelled yesterday on fears the company might not be able to raise the US$374 million it had hope for. The company said it decided to pull out of the IPO due to considerations relating to...
(EnergyAsia, October 5) — India’s airlines recently raised their ticket prices in response to higher aviation fuel prices. Domestic air travel in India has become costlier after airlines raised their fuel surcharges from Rs 650 to Rs 750 last month. (US$1=Rs46). India’s state oil companies recently announced an additional 4% price hike for...
(EnergyAsia, October 5) — India is stepping up effort to increase electricity from neighbouring countries. The government is working to reach bilateral deals on power supplies from Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to help overcome India’s domestic energy shortfall. Bhutan has a potential capacity for hydropower of some 30,000 megawatt (MW). The small Himalayan...
(EnergyAsia, October 5) — Chinese scientists said they have created a new kind of rapeseed with high oil content ideal for making biodiesel. The new strain has an oil content of 54.72%, nearly two percentage points higher than the current record for rapeseed. The seed was specially developed to meet China’s growing demand for...
(EnergyAsia, October 5) — Friday, 1 September 2006. 05:40 (ACST)Friday, 1 September 2006. 05:40 (AEST) Friday, 1 September 2006. 06:40 (ACDT) Friday, 1 September 2006. 03:40 (AWST) Australia’s northernmost port in Darwin could be handling uranium exports from 2008 with the start-up of a uranium mine in South Australia state. The board of mining...