(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Montreal-based Tiger Ethanol International said it has restructured its activities and acquired a 90% interest in a joint venture plant to produce corn-based ethanol in China’s Xinjiang province. Tiger bought the stake of five million shares from Gallant Energy International Ltd, with local Chinese companies holding the remaining 10%. Led...
(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Ethanol-blended gasoline is available in only three Indian states so far, despite the government’s much vaunted plans to introduce the fuel nationwide by November 15. The only states where the logistics for distributing ethanol are in place are Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Goa. India’s state-owned oil marketing firms...
(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum Ltd said it intends to activate a dividend reinvestment plan for the 2006 final dividend. The plan will give eligible shareholders the option of reinvesting their dividends in additional Woodside shares, without paying any brokerage or other costs. The plan will raise capital to support...
(EnergyAsia, December 7) — Solar-powered refrigerators are ready for commercialisation in India, offering millions in the rural and poor regions a chance to preserve food and vaccine. Thanks to a recent breakthrough in technology, solar energy can now be stored in ice form, dispensing with the need for lead batteries. Without access to electricity,...
(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Two US companies, GreenFuel Technologies Corporation and Arizona Public Service Company (APS), have won the 2006 Platts Global Energy Award for “Emissions Energy Project of the Year.” The award was presented at the 8th Annual Platts Global Energy Awards Gala in New York earlier this month. GreenFuel and APS said...
(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Jurong Shipyard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SembCorp Marine, said it has received a Letter of Award from Saudi Aramco Overseas Company BV, a subsidiary of state Saudi Aramco, in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia for the design, construction and delivery of a self-elevating heavy-lift jack-up barge. The contract is worth around US$180 million....
(EnergyAsia, December 12) — Australian upstream company Woodside Petroleum said its board has approved commitments of up to A$1.4 billion for the development of the Pluto liquefied natural gas project. (US$1=A$1.3). The approval allows funding for site preparation and long lead items ahead of a final investment decision. Woodside said its board remains on...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — Trueform Group, a leading UK provider of public transport related products and services, launched its energy efficient and environmentally friendly ‘Solar Powered Air Conditioned Waiting Shelter” at the recent Middle East Conference and exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems. The company said the shelter operates without the need to install costly...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — East Asia’s rapid economic growth in gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to soften in 2007 to a still robust 4.4% from 4.9% this year, said a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). An expected slowdown in growth in the US and euro area will only reduce demand for...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — After two years of research, discussion and debate, the Energy Futures Forum (EFF) has released its final report entitled ‘The Heat is On: The Future of Energy in Australia’. The EFF was created in 2004 as a means of engaging a wide set of stakeholders from the energy and transport...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — Glitnir, the Icelandic-Norwegian financial group, has officially opened its representative office in Shanghai, China. The opening was performed by Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Valgerdur Sverrisd—ttir, and the company’s CEO Bjarni çrmannsson. The Shanghai office will focus on providing banking and financial services within the bank’s global niches: sustainable energy,...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — A consortium of GAIL (India) Limited and Singapore’s Silver Wave Energy said it has acquired a stake in the exploration Block A-7 in Myanmar. The consortium signed the production sharing contract with Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise for the block located in the offshore Rakhine area. GAIL said it holds...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — Malaysia’s Assar Senari group has started up its petroleum and palm oil complex in Senari port in Sarawak state. The RM350 million complex comprises an independent oil storage terminal, a palm oil refinery, an oil, gas and chemicals jetty, and an industrial park for petrochemicals and oleo-chemicals processing. The 850,000-tonne...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — The cost of solar power systems for buildings is expected to decline 20% over the next five years on a combination of improving technology and increased supply and demand for their installations. It now costs RM20,000 for a building-integrated PhotoVoltaic (BiPV) system to generate a kilowatt of electricity, or RM60,000 to...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is promoting the development of renewable energy in Pakistan through a multi-tranche financing facility of up to US$510 million. The programme is the first of its kind in Pakistan and also one of the first to be developed under ADB’s evolving clean energy and...
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — Chemrez Technologies Inc plans to invest P2 billion to build its second coconut-based biodiesel plant in the Philippines, said chief operating officer Dean Lao Junior. The Manila-based firm, Asia’s largest producer of biodiesel from coconut, said its existing 60-million litres/year plant is unable to meet the country’s rising demand for biodiesel....
(EnergyAsia, December 11) — Singapore’s Keppel Energy said its 150 MW power barges have started producing electricity in Ecuador following a successful redeployment from Brazil, where the power barges were previously deployed. In January this year, Termoguayas Generation SA (TGSA), Keppel Energy’s wholly owned subsidiary in Ecuador, signed a 15-year concession contract with the...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — The European Union has chosen a research consortium coordinated by W’rtsil’ to receive a one million Euro grant to develop the use of methanol-consuming fuel cells to provide electrical power to marine vessels. The project is entitled “Validation of a Renewable Methanol Based Auxiliary Power System for Commercial Vessels” (METHAPU). The...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — US-based PetroSun, Incorporated said its wholly owned subsidiary, Algae BioFuels, will begin the field testing phase in the cultivation of algae for biodiesel production in the next quarter. The test site will be located in Arizona state. Algae BioFuels will install a biodiesel refinery in Arizona upon the successful completion...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — Sweden’s Atlas Copco said it has received a 13 million euro contract from China’s Datang Power to serve its chemical and petrochemical market. (US$1=0.75 euro). Datang Power has ordered three six-stage turbo compressors to be used in a coal gasification process. The order calls for the installation of three six-stage...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — Exxon Mobil Corp said its subsidiary, Esso Exploration International Limited, and Mitra Energy Limited (MEL) have entered into an agreement to explore for hydrocarbons in the deepwater Sandakan Basin southwest of the Philippine Islands. Under terms of the recently signed farm-in agreement, an ExxonMobil affiliate has acquired a 50% operating interest...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — India’s Maharishi Solar Technology (MST) said it plans to invest Rs2 billion in building a solar grade silicon production plant in Andhra Pradesh state. The company said it will use “a commonly available indigenous low cost raw material” and photovoltaic (PV) technology. It did not name the material. The...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — Thai upstream company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said the Phu Horm field in northern Thailand has started producing 60 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. PTTEP holds a 20% stake in the project. Maroot Mrigadat, PTTEP’s President, said Phu Horm is an important onshore...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — Renewable energy, coal-to-liquid and nuclear sources will play a greater role in meeting the world’s energy demand in the coming decades, said the Energy Information Administration in the US Department of Energy. In its Annual Energy Outlook 2007 (AEO2007) report, the EIA said as a result of high energy prices,...
(EnergyAsia, December 8) — A 10-man delegation from SK Group, Korea’s largest corporation, led by chairman Chey Tae-won visited the UAE recently to strengthen ties with political and business leaders, and assess opportunities in the Middle East. Mr Chey held a private meeting with UAE Energy Minister Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al Hamli, who has...