(EnergyAsia, December 8) — The first detailed Energy Map of China has just been released.   This 120 cm by 90 cm laminated wall map shows China’s oil, gas, power and petrochemical installations in China. It includes energy infrastructure like storage terminals and depots, sea ports, industrial estates, pipelines, refineries, LNG terminals, power stations, nuclear...

(EnergyAsia, December 8) — Australia, the world’s uranium powerhouse, has taken a step towards developing nuclear power with the release of an important study calling for the country to tap into this source of green power.   Australia has a “moral responsibility” to increase its supply of uranium for world consumption as nuclear power is...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — The Malaysian palm oil industry has set its sights on producing at least one million tonnes of biodiesel next year, said association chairman Sabri Ahmad.   Five companies now produce around 400,000 tonnes this year, said the Malaysian Palm Oil Association chief at the International Biofuel & Alternative Energy Conference in...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — Japan’s Honda Motor Co Ltd has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Honda Soltec Co Ltd, to develop, produce and sell the next-generation thin film solar cell. The new company will lead Honda to make a full-scale entry into the solar cell business.   The next-generation solar cell to be produced and sold...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — Indonesia and Japan have signed three oil, gas and energy contracts worth US$2 billion, including a US$1 billion deal by state oil company PT Pertamina/BP Berau to supply Tohoku Electric Power LNG for 20 years.   Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the contracts were signed at last month’s...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — Canada’s Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd said it has agreed to license its Darrieus wind turbine technology to Belliss India Limited for use in India. New Delhi-based Belliss is actively engaged in the field of system engineering manufacture and supply of turbines for the Indian power industry ranging from 20 kW to...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — Emcore Corp of Somerset, NJ, US, which manufactures GaAs-based solar cells on germanium substrates as well as compound semiconductor components and subsystems, is investing $18 million in a 31% equity stake (26.5% on a fully diluted basis) of WorldWater & Power Corp of Pennington, NJ.   WorldWater was founded in 1984...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — China’s NYSE-listed Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, has announced a multi-year contract to supply solar modules to a division of Sun Edison LLC, North America’s largest solar energy service provider. Suntech said the total value of the contract ranges...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — China has started up its first biomass-fired power plant to produce 25,000 kilowatts of electricity in Shanxian county in the eastern province of Shandong last week. The 300-million-yuan plant is the first of more than 30 biomass power plants approved by the Chinese government, some which are already under construction.            ...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — France’s Technip has been awarded a contract by Australia’s Woodside Energy Ltd for the supply and installation of subsea facilities in connection with the development of the Vincent field. This field is located approximately 60 km north of Exmouth, off the Western Australian coast, in water depths ranging from 350m to...

(EnergyAsia, December 7) — Caltex Australia said it has achieved its year-end target to have more than 100 of its service stations sell ethanol blended gasoline. The introduction of E10 Unleaded to Caltex sites in the Brisbane area helped achieve the target.   E10 unleaded gasoline, which includes a 10% ethanol blend, is now sold at...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Singapore’s Swiber Holdings Limited said it has secured a three-year charter contract worth approximately US$14 million in India. The contract was awarded by India’s BG Exploration and Production India Limited for the lease of an Anchor Handling Tug and Supply (AHTS) vessel to support marine oil and gas works in India....

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — UK’s Biofutures International PLC is looking to expand its business in Asia following its October reverse takeover of Malaysian biodiesel producer Zurex Corporation for £16.67 million by issuing 66.67 million shares. (US$1=0.52 sterling).   The AIM-listed firm is hoping to raise £11.05 million before expenses by placing 44.2 million shares at...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Denmark’s A.P. M¿ller-M¾rsk A/S and Canada’s Teekay Shipping Corp have announced an agreement to form Swift Tankers to manage their pool of intermediate product tankers. Kristian Lohmann has been named managing director of the company to start operating from next month.   Swift Tankers will provide safe and flexible solutions to...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Biostart, a biotechnology programme of Australia’s Queensland state, recently invested in a company developing technology to enhance the production of ethanol from sugarcane.   Farmacule BioIndustries is working to develop a gene activation and amplification technology at the Queensland University of Technology that will strengthen the state’s growing position as an...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — A consortium of Icelandic and Nordic companies has implemented a new geothermal district heating utility in China, which may become the largest of its kind in the world. The group consists of financer Glitnir and Icelandic power companies, led by Orkuveita Reykjavikur, which now runs the world’s largest geothermal district heating...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — The Indian government expects its proposed special economic zones for renewable energy equipment to attract investments worth Rs 22,500 crore over the next five years.   Manufacturers of poly silicon for solar panels wind turbines, hydro machines and bio-mass gasification plants are among those interested, said minister of state for new...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Sri Lanka’s return to civil war could mean long-term fuel supply shortages for the mostly Tamil inhabitants of Jaffna Peninsula.   Operators of storage tanks and cooperative stores have begun restricting fuel distribution since October as the conflict between Tamil separatist forces and the mostly Sinhalese-dominated government have started to intensify...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has expressed concern with the slow pace of the construction of the country’s first oil refinery.   The plant in Dung Quat in central Quang Ngai province had been conceived in the late 1980s, and has undergone several revisions. In the latest attempt, construction was...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Let’s start with the facts: the world isn’t running out of oil, and nature as much as people are responsible for climate change. Beneath Earth’s thin crust and oceans are a huge mass of materials, some known but mostly unknown to man, that hold boundless potential to be tapped as resources...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC and India’s state upstream company ONGC are in talks to cooperate on storing crude oil from Russia’s Sakhalin 1 field.   ONGC, which holds a 20% stake in the Sakhalin 1 oilfield, had expressed interest to lease KNOC’s oil storage facilities last year. Sakhalin 1...

(EnergyAsia, December 6) — Singapore-listed Asia Power Corp Ltd said it has acquired a 51% stake in a hydropower plant in China’s Sichuan province for RMB 72.828 million. (US$1=RMB7.83).   The plant in Mianjie town in Wenchuan district has a total installed capacity of 21MW. It is currently generating 143 million kwh of electricity over...

(EnergyAsia, December 5) — While other countries are encouraging the production and use of solar-generated power, the Thai government has decided to stop subsidising its use, citing high cost.   Viraphol Jirapraditkul, deputy director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO), said it will terminate the pilot project launched two years ago to promote...

(EnergyAsia, December 5) — The rate of increase in the world’s carbon emissions is accelerating, said research scientist of the co-Chair of the Global Carbon Project of Australia’s CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.   Mike Raupach said 7.9 billion tonnes of carbon were emitted into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide last year.   “From 2000...

(EnergyAsia, December 5) — Australia’s Origin Energy Limited said it has executed a sale and purchase agreement with the Queensland state government to acquire Sun Retail for A$1.202 billion. (US$1=A$1.3). The deal is expected to be completed by February 1.   Origin said the acquisition will boost its group revenue by 29% or A$1.7 billion...