(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Nippon Oil and Toyota of Japan, and Malaysia’s Petronas will jointly develop diesel fuel from palm oil. The venture is the first attempt ever in the world to convert palm oil directly into automotive fuel, officials said. A joint research facility will begin operation next year in Malaysia, with...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — The Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan’s Taipei county is running a biodiesel trial on 183 vehicles. The vehicles burn diesel with a 20% mix of crop-based fuel, the agency said in a statement. The programme includes 96 garbage vehicles which have been converted to use biodiesel. The trucks have...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering Limited has declared a bonus dividend of S$0.10 less tax of 20% per ordinary share, and proposed a renounceable, non-underwritten rights issue on the basis of two rights shares for every five shares held. (US$1=S$1.55). Rotary is a leading provider of engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services supporting...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the International Energy Agency (IEA) jointly held workshop on oil security last week. Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Finance, and other government agencies, as well as representatives from China’s major oil companies, research organisations, the IEA...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Under pressure from climate change activists and consumers, the Australian government has reversed its plans to abolish rebates for solar energy equipment. The rebates provide incentives for millions of Australians to use solar power in homes, businesses, schools and community centres. They were due to be phased out by...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Norway’s Aker Kvaerner Subsea expects to soon start up its US$100 million integrated manufacturing facility to serve the subsea oil and gas industry in Port Klang in western Malaysian. The facility will be fully operational by early 2007, said the company’s visiting executive vice president Raymond Carlsen. The facility, which...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Singapore Petroleum Company Limited said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina to undertake joint oil and gas projects that could be worth up to S$1 billion. (US$1=S$1.55). The companies plan to share information and cooperate in oil and gas exploration, development and...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Australian engineering WorleyParsons is stepping up its commitment to grow in Asia, and has chosen Singapore as its regional headquarters for a diverse range of consultancy in hydrocarbon, power, energy and infrastructure. Its Asia-Pacific engineering centre and headquarters in Singapore is expected to grow to 650 staff by 2010. The company...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Greenpeace has issued an urgent call to governments attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Nairobi, Kenya this week “to face reality and act urgently to avoid dangerous climate change.” “The worst impacts of climate change CAN be prevented, but only if governments act now,” said Steve Sawyer, Climate &...
(EnergyAsia, November 9) — Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has joined the international “methane to markets” partnership as a project network member. The partnership is a public-private venture that aims to advance methane recovery and use projects in four sectors: agriculture, coal mines, landfills and oil and gas systems. Methane is a powerful...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — UK energy major BP is planning to quadruple the capacity of its solar energy joint venture in Xi’an, the capital of China’s Shaanxi province. When completed by 2010, the project in northwestern China will have a capacity of 100 megawatt (MW). Sunoasis, the operating company is jointly owned by BP...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Australia’s Roaring 40s has started up its joint venture Shuangliao wind farm project in China, Australian news media reported. The 49 megawatt (MW) project is a joint-venture with Datang Jilin Power Generation Company. It will supply enough energy to power about 30,000 homes and help save up to 200,000 tonnes of...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Canada’s Methanex Corp said it has secured additional natural gas supply that will enable it to continue to operate its 530,000 tonne per year plant in New Zealand until the end of next March. This plant is a flexible asset for Methanex, with operations dependant upon methanol industry supply and demand...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — News that protesters had taken over a Nigerian flow station, following earlier threats of large-scale assault on Niger Delta oil facilities, helped lift crude and product futures on November 6, extending the previous session’s gains. On the face of it, according to commodities trader FIMAT, this is a typical case...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — NYSE-listed Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, has formed a new subsidiary, Shenzhen Suntech Power (Stock) Co, Ltd, to promote and develop solar power grid integration projects. “Shenzhen Suntech marks a milestone in our ongoing efforts to develop the...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Emerson Process Management, a business of Emerson, said it has been awarded the fiscal metering contract for the Fujian LNG-import terminal project in China. The terminal being constructed in Fujian Province will be owned and operated by CNOOC Fujian LNG Co Ltd, a co-investment of China National Offshore Oil Corporation...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Deli Solar (USA) Inc (OTC Bulletin Board: DLSL.OB), a supplier of hot water and space heating devices in China, said it has signed two separate memoranda of understanding to acquire controlling interests in two Chinese companies that could expand its solar hot water heater and boiler businesses. Deli Solar is...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Celestial NutriFoods, the Singapore-listed maker of soy protein-based food and beverage products, is planning to build a biodiesel plant in China. The proposed 100,000 tonnes/year plant will be located in the soybean zone of Daqing city in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China. It will use soybean oil, a by-product of its...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Renowned environmental economist Lester Brown said the US’s growing use of crops as fuel is threatening world food security and political stability. In a recent commentary for Earth Policy Institute, he said world grain supply falling behind demand in six of the last seven years. As a result, world carryover...
(EnergyAsia, November 8) — Climate change will directly affect future food availability and compound the difficulties of feeding the world’s rapidly growing population, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said at the opening of a UN climate change conference in Nairobi, Kenya this week. In an address to the conference’s scientific and technical body,...
(EnergyAsia, November 7) — Thailand is unable to produce enough ethanol to replace octane 95 gasoline by next year, the government has acknowledged. The admission has forced an embarrassing climbdown for the Energy Ministry which earlier had insisted it was on course to with plans to completely replace octane 95 gasoline with ethanol. ...
(EnergyAsia, November 7) — Japan’s Sharp Corporation said it has increased annual production capacity for solar cells at its Katsuragi Plant in Nara Prefecture by 100 MW to 600 MW, making it the world’s largest. The 3.5 billion yen expanded capacity has started full operations to meet rising demand for photovoltaic (PV) power generation in...
(EnergyAsia, November 7) — Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co Ltd and subsidiary Mitsui & Co (USA) Inc said they will acquire the business of Kingston NY-based SunWize Technologies LLC, a solar technology company, specialising in the design and manufacture of integrated solar power systems, and associated project development and product distribution. The acquisition is...
(EnergyAsia, November 7) — Mid America Bio Energy and Commodities LLC (MABE) of North Platte, Nebraska said it has completed the merger of Mid America Agri Products/Wheatland, LLC (Madrid, Nebraska) and Mid America Agri Products/Horizon, LLC (Cambridge, Nebraska) into Standard Ethanol LLC. MABE is the principal owner of Standard Ethanol, LLC. Standard Ethanol plants...
(EnergyAsia, November 7) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is partnering with Beijing’s Tsinghua University to establish a regional knowledge hub in China on climate change, under an agreement signed in Beijing last month. The knowledge hub is to be established under an ADB grant and expertise that is setting up centers...