(EnergyAsia, January 8) — The Indian government plans to encourage coal production in 41 blocks in the states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh that are estimated to hold a total reserve of 16 billion tons. The coal ministry has invited private power firms and state companies to help develop the reserves. A total...
(EnergyAsia, January 8) — Sixteen years ago, India was on the brink of financial collapse when the first Gulf War drove oil prices to then new highs of more than US$40 a barrel. The country’s foreign exchange reserves fell below US$1 billion — not enough to pay for a month’s worth of imports — while...
(EnergyAsia, January 8) — Japan’s Sanyo Electric said it will expand the HIT solar photovoltaic cell production capacity at its Nishikinohama plant in Osaka and Shimane in response to the huge and growing demand for solar photovoltaic systems. Sanyo produces its HIT solar photovoltaic cells at two major locations in Nishikinohama and Shimane with...
(EnergyAsia, January 8) — Oil started 2006 as the player to watch, but it was uranium that performed sensationally, its weekly spot price doubling to a US$72 a pound over the course of the year. The fuel for nuclear plants has been rising relentlessly from well under US$10 as recently as 2002. Not even oil...
(EnergyAsia, January 8) — The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has made a $50 million equity investment in PNOC Energy Development Corporation as part of the state-owned enterprise’s initial public offering on the Philippines Stock Exchange, which took place last month. The IFC said the investment supports...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — The renewable energy sector is attracting over $30 billion of investment a year, but future growth will depend on advances in energy storage technology. This is the conclusion of a recently published report by Cambridge, UK-based analysts, CarbonFree. According to the report, emphasis will shift away from photovoltaic technology and towards...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — French engineering firm AREVA said its transmission and distribution division (T&D) recently won a large-scale contract in Russia, worth several tens of millions of euros, to modernise Moscow’s electricity network. The company said it possesses expert know-how in the field of gas-insulated technology and demonstrates its leading position in large-scale grid...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — India expects to boost its refining capacity to 240 million tonnes per year by 2012, a 60% increase from 149 million now, said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. Some of the new refineries being built include Reliance Industries’ 29 million tonnes/year refinery in Gujarat state, Indian Oil Corp’s (IOC) 15 million...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — Indonesian state energy firm Pertamina said it has discovered four large depots operated by traders who illegally hoard and resell kerosene for huge profits. Kerosene allocated to households and industry at a low price has been re-sold for profits of up to Rp5,000/litre from these depots in Depok and Bogor cities....
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — Thai state upstream company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said it has appointed Sirin Nimmanahaeminda as a member of its board of directors and appointed new members of the audit committee, the remuneration committee and the nominating committee to replace those who have resigned. Its board members are...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — New Zealand-based Austral Pacific Energy Ltd said it has secured a US$23 million loan facility and completed the acquisition of Arrowhead Energy Limited. The financing was made through its wholly owned, subsidiary Austral Pacific Energy (NZ) Limited. The loan facility is for a term of four years at commercial lending...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — The Renewable Energy Park set up at the Khandagiri foothills in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar with the support of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy was recently launched by the Chief Minister of Orissa state, Naveen Patnaik. The three-acre park showcases many renewable energy systems including solar cooking, lighting,...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — Australian upstream company Santos has issued a statement on recent media reports in relation to statements attributed to the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, regarding costs claimed to be associated with the Banjar Panji incident. It has been reported that “PT Energi Mega Persada’s unit Lapindo Brantas Inc (the operator)...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — Singapore’s Tanker Pacific Offshore Terminals Pte Ltd has placed two FPSO conversion with Sembcorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard worth a total US$58 million. Jurong Shipyard said the first contract involves conversion of the 92,802 dwt tanker, M.T. Andaman Sea, which will be renamed FPSO Raroa on completion in the fourth quarter of...
(EnergyAsia, January 5) — Indian gas major Gail is looking to a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage project to improve utilisation at its Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad oil products pipeline. When completed in June 2007, the 60,000-tonne underground LPG storage project at Visakhapatnam will boost the line’s throughput. The 600-km pipeline, with a throughput capacity of 1.13...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — US-based Alliant Energy Corp said it has completed the sale of its ownership interest in Alliant Energy New Zealand Limited to Infratil Limited for around US$300 million. After payment of closing costs, the repayment of an intercompany loan with AENZ, and post-closing adjustments Alliant Energy expects to realise net proceeds of...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — Russia’s Rosneft and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are planning to jointly build a 10 million tonnes/year oil refinery project near Beijing. The refinery could come onstream as early as 2010, with CNPC holding a controlling 51% share. The two companies are also about to set up an exploration and...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) is set to end the monopoly of the state oil firms over the supply of aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The airport said that it is considering taking supply from private companies after sending out notices to state oil firms including Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil Corp...
(EnergyAsia, January 3) — Malaysia’s Perak state is looking to attract investors to build a palm oil-based ethanol plant. The proposed RM200 million project would be the world’s first. ($1=RM3.53). So far, Malaysia’s biofuels efforts have focused on using palm oil to produce biodiesel....
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — Canada’s Alcan said it providing solar cookers and pans to 1,000 families residing in the rural Banda Aceh region of Indonesia as part of a contribution with Klimaschutz eV to a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. The parabolic solar cooker harnesses renewable solar energy to boil water, killing bacteria and cooking...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — UK’s Cairn Energy PLC said it has made progress in implementing the flotation of its subsidiary, Cairn India Limited, on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). A total of 538.5 million shares in Cairn India were allotted on December 29, comprising...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — Solarfun Power Holdings, an established manufacturer of both photovoltaic (PV) cells and PV modules in China, said the pricing of its initial public offering of American Depositary Shares (ADS) of US$12.50 per ADS to the public. Each ADS represents five ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, of Solarfun. The...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — Finland’s W’rtsil’ said it has been awarded a contract to supply a 300 MW power plant to Azerbaijan valued at 160 million euro. (US$1=0.73 euro). The multi-fuel power plant will be delivered to state energy company AzerEnerji in late 2008. W’rtsil’ said it will deliver 18 units of the 18V50DF...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — The Asian Development Bank said it backing a project to tap Tajikistan’s power surplus to meet shortfalls in neighbouring Afghanistan through loans to the two countries totaling US$56.5 million. Tajikistan’s annual generated capacity is 4,405 MW, most of which comes from hydropower. An annual surplus of about 1,500 gigawatt-hours is available...
(EnergyAsia, January 4) — Singapore’s Rotary Engineering Limited said subsidiary Thai Rotary Engineering Ltd (TREL) has secured global Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contracts worth S$126million from Map Ta Phut Olefins Co Ltd (MOC), a joint venture between Siam Cement Group and Dow Chemicals, for the construction of its process plant off-site facility in Thailand’s...