(EnergyAsia, February 8) — China Aviation Oil Singapore (CAO) said it has signed an agreement to sell off 41% of its 80% stake in Xinyuan to Shenzhen Juzhengyuan Petrolchemical Co. Ltd, already a shareholder in Xinyuan. CAO previously held an 80% share in Xinyuan while Juzhengyuan held 19%, with the remaining 1% held by China...

(EnergyAsia, February 8) — Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is providing a grant of US$2 million to assist in the establishment of an Interministerial Commission for Energy (ICE) in Afghanistan. The commission will help the government optimise the country’s energy resource use and management to meet increasing power demands.   With all aspects of...

(EnergyAsia, February 8) — Australia’s AGL Energy Limited said it has signed an agreements to purchase the 1,280 megawatt (MW) Torrens Island gas fired power station from TRUenergy for A$417m including all development, gas storage and transportation rights. (US$1=A$1.3).   The acquisition will add to AGL’s rapidly growing upstream interests in generation and gas assets...

(EnergyAsia, February 8) — Australia’s Origin Energy Limited said it has completed the acquisition of Sun Retail Pty Ltd from the Queensland state government for A$1,202 million. (US$1=A$1.3). Sun Retail is the largest incumbent electricity supplier in the south-east Queensland growth corridor, supplying some 840,000 electricity customer accounts and 55,000 LPG customers. The acquisition brings...

(EnergyAsia, February 8) — American Superconductor Corporation, an energy technologies company, said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Windtec(TM), has sold a licence for its Model WT1650 wind energy system to China’s Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute (ZELRI), a division of China-Southern-Loric.   The licence includes an upfront fee of approximately $2 million to AMSC as well as...

(EnergyAsia, February 8) — Four workers died and 19 were injured when fire broke out at an oil pipeline in Essar refinery in India’s Gujarat state last week. The fire was quickly put under control, enabling operations to resume shortly after.   Officials said the blaze occurred when workers were welding a pipe at the...

(EnergyAsia, February 8) — Canada must embrace the growing economic opportunities with China if the country wants to maintain a thriving economy and keep pace globally, said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at Canada’s BMO Capital Markets in a report on the powerful shifting forces in China and the global economy.   She wrote: “China’s entry...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — Wind power generating capacity increased by 27% last year, and is expected to increase an additional 26% in 2007. This rapid growth proves wind is now a mainstream option for new power generation, according to a market forecast released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).   Wind’s exponential growth reflects...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — Singapore-listed Chemoil Energy said its subsidiary, Anand Sea Shipping Limited, has bought a single-hulled Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) for use as a floating oil storage. The US$17.3 million carrier was purchased with the company’s recent IPO proceeds. Some of the funds raised will also be used to support current and...

 EnergyAsia, February 7) — US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced plans to provide $1.6 billion in new funding for renewable energy projects, with focus on cellulosic energy research and production as part of the Bush administration’s 2007 farm bill proposals. The proposed funding will support President Bush’s goal of reducing gasoline use by 20%...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — The Thai government plans to tap its oil fund to ensure that biodiesel sells for between 0.50 to 1 baht a litre less than conventional diesel (US$1 = Baht35).             The subsidy is aimed at promoting the renewable fuel in Thailand.   Currently, only PTT and Bangchak Petroleum are selling biodiesel...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — A Dutch court has rejected environmentalists’ objections to a 50-megawatt (MW) power project that will be fed by palm-oil grown in Southeast Asia.   Green lobby groups have been campaigning against BioX Group, which is developing renewable energy power plants in Europe, has been given the go-ahead to build the palm-oil-based...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corp (PNOC-AFC), a wholly-owned unit of the Philippines National Oil Corp (PNOC), has received the greenlight to build biodiesel plants on its 530-hectare industrial park in Bataan, said its President, Peter Abaya. The Office of Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) recently approved its application to allow investors to develop alternative...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — The US will send a trade mission to India and China in April to explore the possibility of selling these two fast-growing economies clean energy technology goods and services.   David Bohigian, US assistant secretary of commerce, will lead the Clean-Energy Technologies Trade Mission to assist US companies export their expertise...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — Denmark’s Vestas said it has received orders from Datang Chifeng Saihanba Wind Power Co Ltd and Yilan Longyuan Wind Power Co Ltd for a total of 187 MW consisting of 220 units of the V52-850 kW wind turbine for two wind power projects in China.   Datang is buying 152 units...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — Trina Solar Limited, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products based in Changzhou, China, said it has agreed to purchase high purity silicon from Germany’s Wacker Polysilicon, the polysilicon division of Wacker Chemie AG on term contract. Wacker Polysilicon will supply Trina Solar with high purity polysilicon over a six-year period starting...

(EnergyAsia, February 7) — Climate scientists have provided the strongest evidence yet that human activities are causing climate change, according to a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) 4th Assessment Report. Research scientist Penny Whetton, with Australia’s CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric, contributed to the report as a lead author on the...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — Denmark’s wind turbine producer Vestas said it has received orders for a total of 81 units of the V80-2.0 MW wind turbine and 31 units of the V90-3.0 MW wind turbine for wind power projects in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.   The orders have been placed by Japanese trading company...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores has launched a “Sustainability 360” environmental initiative, encouraging employees, suppliers, communities and customers to reduce their direct environmental footprint.   Speaking in London at the Prince of Wales’s Business and the Environment Programme, Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott announced the company’s intention to introduce “Global...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — US major ExxonMobil said its net profit rose 9% to a record US$39.5 billion, thanks to record high crude oil prices and a special item of US$410 million for a tax-related benefit. WTI crude oil prices reached a record of more than US$78 a barrel last July.   Chairman Rex W....

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — Chinese module manufacturer Trina Solar said it has signed a long-term supply agreement for polysilicon with DC Chemical (DCC), one of the leading chemical companies in Korea. DCC will supply polysilicon to Trina Solar over a seven-year period with a total contract value estimated at over US$120 million and with shipments...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — Suntech America Inc, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese solar cell manufacturer Suntech Power, said it will immediately begin marketing and selling building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) solar products produced by its MSK Corp unit in the North American market.   “Suntech is one of the fastest growing players in the traditional solar PV...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — State planners are looking at launching a new formula to set the domestic price of oil products that will bring them more in line with international prices. The result of this “crude-plus” formula could be higher fuel prices for Chinese motorists and consumers in the future.   China’s top economic agency,...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — US major ExxonMobil has issued the following response to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s fourth assessment report.             Calling it an “important contribution to informed debate on the issue of climate change”, ExxonMobil said the report process is valuable in that it facilitates the sharing of global scientific...

(EnergyAsia, February 6) — Singapore-based upstream company PEARL Energy Limited said it and partners Horizon Oil (Siam) Ltd and Tana Resources (Thailand) Ltd have been conditionally awarded the petroleum contract for Block G11/48 in the Gulf of Thailand.   PEARLOIL (Thailand) Limited, with a 50% interest in the block, will be the operator. The remaining...