(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — Singapore-listed SP Chemicals Ltd, the fourth largest ion-membrane chlor-alkali producer, said it has received in-principle approval from the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s Office, for its proposal to build a petrochemical project. SP Chemicals is also the fifth largest aniline producer in China. SP Chemicals said it is looking to develop a...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — Shareholders of Australia’s Alinta Limited have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the company’s sale to the Babcock & Brown-Singapore Power International consortium for A$7.7 billion. (US$1=A$1.13). This week, shareholders of Australia’s biggest power and gas transmission line owner cast their votes at three special meetings: Share Scheme Meeting: 88.03% of...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has been selected to negotiate with the US Department of Energy (DOE) following acceptance of its technical study proposal for the department’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) initiative. In response to DOE’s open call for candidate plans, MHI had submitted a proposal...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — A consortium led by Siemens Power Generation (PG) has received a 600 million euro order from Kuwait to extend the Az Zour gas turbine power plant to form a combined cycle station. (US$1=0.74 euro). The plant will be extended in two phases: Unit 1 is scheduled to start commercial operation...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Wednesday) — Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc, Pacific LNG Operations Ltd and InterOil Corporation have signed a shareholder agreement for the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with production to start up in 2012. The shareholders have...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — PetroChina has proposed to invest 6.5 billion yuan in an 8.1-million cubic metre tank to store crude oil in the Xinjiang region in northwest China. (US$1=7.56 yuan). Construction of the project’s first phase, with a storage capacity of one million cubic metres, has started and due for completion by end-2008....

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — Iran is looking to build a small 20,000 b/d refinery in Indonesia. The Iranian government has completed a pre-feasibility for the proposed project in Bojonegara in Serang, Banten province, said Iran’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Behrooz Kamalvandi. Iran will now commission a full feasibility study for the US$400 million refinery. Mr...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — China Energy Limited said it has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Jiutai International Trading Pte Ltd, in Singapore. China Energy owns and operates a large dimethyl ether (DME) plant in China. The subsidiary has been set up to handle DME exports to international buyers and to centralise the company’s procurement of...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited, has secured a repeat contract from Greatship Global Offshore Services Pte Ltd to build two platform supply vessels (PSVs). The two vessels will be delivered between end 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. The vessels...

(EnergyAsia, August 17, Friday) — Swiber Holdings Limited, a Singapore-listed service provider to the offshore oil and gas industry, said it has acquired the entire issued share capital of North Shipyard (Pte) Ltd for S$10.3 million. The acquisition is paid in cash financed through the company’s internal resources. North Shipyard owns a 2.4-hectare shipyard situated...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — A Technip-National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) consortium has been awarded a US$370 million engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Zakum gas processing facilities off the coast of Abu Dhabi. France’s Technip said it will have a 35% share of the contract, which was awarded by Abu Dhabi Marine Operating...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — France’s Alstom said it has won an order for a turnkey 660MW open-cycle gas-fired power plant, Colongra,  located at Munmorah, 120 km north of Sydney, Australia. The contract, worth approximately 250 million euro, was awarded by state-owned utility, Delta Electricity. (US$1=0.74 euro). Alstom said it will be responsible for the...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — Germany’s Siemens and China’s Shanghai Electric are expanding their strategic partnership in the Chinese power plant market with the signing of a general agreement at the recent official opening of a new 120 million euro manufacturing plant in Lingang in Shanghai city. (US$1=0.74 euro). The two companies also announced the...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — Indian oil companies BPCL, IOC, HPCL and ONGC Videsh are considering growing fuel crops in Latin America to produce ethanol. The companies have engaged consultants to look for investment opportunities, with Brazil a primary target. While the Petroleum Ministry will not allow ethanol to be imported into India to protect...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — UK’s AFC Energy plc recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indonesian government relating to the Community Integrated Utility Program (CIUP) project that aims to provide 32 million households with the ability to produce electricity and potable drinking water over the next 10 years. The MOU contains an...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — PT McDermott Indonesia, a subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott, S.A. (J. Ray), said it has won a contract from US energy giant ConocoPhillips to fabricate the North Belut Central Processing Platform (CPP) jacket. J. Ray will undertake procurement of tertiary steel, construction engineering and fabrication of the eight-leg steel jacket...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — Foster Wheeler Ltd said that two subsidiaries in its Global Engineering and Construction Group, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited and Foster Wheeler Arabia Limited, have been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) and program management services contract for the Karan onshore gas processing facilities at Khursaniyah in Saudi Arabia. Foster Wheeler...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — India’s Civil Aviation Ministry is looking to end the local oil companies’ monopoly over the supply of jet fuel at the country’s airports. The ministry wants to implement common-user terminals to be set up at airports throughout India. The supply infrastructure, in particular the hydrants, would be owned by the...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) said its wholly-owned subsidiary, SPC E&P (China) Pte Ltd, has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (uCNOOC) for Block 26/18 subject to final governmental approvals. SPC will operate the block with a 100% participating interest. SPC CEO Koh Ban...

(EnergyAsia, August 16, Wednesday) — Australia’s Arrow Energy NL said it has signed two agreements with leading coal miners in the extensive Binchang Coalfield of Shaanxi province in northern China. These two agreements are the culmination of many months of geological review work and discussions with the mining groups and government organisations. The first is...

(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — Thailand’s state-owned PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said its second quarter net profit fell 2% to more than 7,158 million baht from year-ago level due largely to the appreciation of the baht against the US dollar. Group revenue declined 3% to 22,961 million baht. (US$1=33 baht). The...

(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — Australia’s upstream company Origin Energy Ltd said its proved and probable (2P) hydrocarbon reserves have increased by 42% from 2,436 petajoules equivalent (PJe) to 3,471 PJe. This includes a net increase in Coal Seam Gas (CSG) reserves of 80% or 1,095 PJe to 2,470 PJe. Origin said it confirmed the...

(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — A greater focus on adapting to climate change is required to reduce Australia’s vulnerability, according to a final report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published last week. The report, which covers impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, highlights an array of potential adaptation responses for various regions and sectors...

(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — French engineering firm Alstom said it has won an order worth 125 million euro with Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (DUBAL) for the full turnkey construction of a 150 MW cogeneration* plant in Dubai in the UAE. (US$1=0.73 euro). Alstom will supply engineering, procurement and construction services, along with an Alstom...

(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — Canada’s Dynamotive Energy Systems Corp, a leader in the cellulose fuels business, and Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp have signed a letter of agreement (LOA) to jointly identify and develop opportunities for cooperation. Dynamotive said its agreement with Mitsubishi’s New Energy Business Unit in the Business Innovation Group lays out...