(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Thailand’s Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc (RATCH) said it has signed an agreement with Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction (SKEC) and the Laotian government to jointly develop the Xae Pien-Xae Nam Noi hydropower plant in neighbouring Laos. The 372MW plant will be able to generated 1,927 million kilowatts per hour...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Australia’s upstream company Origin Energy Limited (Origin) has provided an update of its latest performance for the April-June quarter to the Australian Stock Exchange.Some of the key highlights include: • Record sales revenue of A$122.3 million was a record for a single quarter and 4% higher than the previous record...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Climate change is likely to undermine food production in the developing world, while industrialised countries could gain in production potential, said Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf said at the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation Conference in Chennai, India. “Crop yield potential is likely to increase at higher latitudes for...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Energy major BP and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the Clean Energy Commercialisation Centre (CECC). The CECC aims to accelerate the development in China of clean coal conversion technologies and the creation of associated value chain investment opportunities through the commercialisation...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — The China National Offshore Oil Corp, parent of CNOOC Ltd, said it has signed contracts to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to five cities in Fujian province. The company is building its second LNG import terminal in the southeastern Chinese province and expects to start it up in 2009. CNOOC...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — China Holdings Inc, a China-based diversified global asset holding company, said its wholly-owned subsidiary, China Power Inc, has executed an agreement to acquire 100% of Hunan Zhangjiajie Chalinhe Electric Power Co Ltd and its Chalinhe hydropower plant, located in the Lishui River in China’s Hunan Province. China Holdings is involved...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Monday) — Japan is in the process of raising the quality and material standards of wind turbines to withstand the country’s extreme weather conditions. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is drawing up new technical standards to ensure that power-generating wind turbines do not break down...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Finland’s Wärtsilä said it recently received an order to supply and install a 160 MW power plant at the Attock Refinery Ltd site near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. The project will take 15 months to complete and commercial operations are expected to start up in the third quarter of 2008. The...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Lanka Biogen Private Limited is targeting to cultivate the Glicisiria plant on 3,000 acres to provide fuel wood for a proposed 1.5MW biomass-fired proposed plant at Thrappane in Anuradapura district in Sri Lanka. The uncultivated land belongs to 2,500 families living in the Thirppene divisional secretariat area The company is...

(EnergyAsia, August 10, Friday) — Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering Limited has announced a 75% surge in its first half net profit to a record S$28 million. (US$1=S$1.52). The company, which derives much of its business from the oil, gas, power and petrochemical industry, has proposed to pay shareholders an interim dividend of 2.3 Singapore cents per...

There is no publication today, August 9 2007, due to a public holiday....

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Nasdag-listed Spire Corp said it and Gloria Solar Co Ltd, an affiliate of Taiwan’s E-TON Solar Tech Co Ltd, will establish a joint venture to address the growing demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the US. The new JV, Gloria Spire Solar LLC, will be headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts....

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — The Asia Pacific Carbon Fund, managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has raised $151.8 million to help develop clean energy projects in the Asia Pacific region. The seven European countries involved – including Belgium, on behalf of the Flemish region, Finland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland – expect...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — East Asia’s economies are expected to grow by 8.1% this year and 7.9% next year, thanks to continued strong growth in China and most of ASEAN, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). As the region steams along, however, surging capital inflows—which reached a record $269 billion...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Australian upstream company Santos said it has raised its stake in the offshore Bayu-Undan LNG, LPG and condensate development from 10.6% to 11.4% as a result of a formal redetermination process. This is a positive outcome for Santos, with the increase effective immediately and backdated to the commencement of field...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Construction has started on China’s first industrial-pilot underground coal gasification (UCG) project in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The plant is located in the Gonggou coal mine in Wulanchabu City and by 2010 will produce 1.5 million cubic metres/day of syngas, 100,000 tonnes per year of methanol and methane...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Epure International Ltd, a Singapore-listed turnkey water and wastewater treatment solutions provider in China, is developing a customised wastewater treatment system for the conversion of coal into diesel oil. Epure’s wholly-owned Beijing Sound Environmental Engineering Co Ltd secured the RMB5.8 million engineering, procurement and construction contract from Inner Mongolia’s Yitaimei...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Domestic exploration and development spend by China’s three main state oil and gas companies rose from a total of US$12.6 billion in 2004 to US$21.5 billion in 2006, said consultant Wood Mackenzie. In its latest report, Wood Mackenzie said PetroChina, CNOOC Ltd and Sinopec have focused more on their domestic...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Hong Kong-based CLP Group has announced that it will develop a 100.8MW wind farm in India’s Gujarat state at a cost of US$125 million. The Samana project will be the largest wind project undertaken to date by CLP and increases its renewable energy portfolio by almost one third to around...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Siemens Pakistan Engineering Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the German engineering giant, has signed a contract to supply electrical parts for a 50MW wind power project to be developed by New Park Energy Ltd (NPEL) near Gharo. Separately, they have also signed a cooperation agreement for a number of 50MW...

(EnergyAsia, August 8, Wednesday) — Professor Peter Marshall, an expert in offshore technology and engineering, will speak on the subject at a special lecture organised by Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust at the National University of Singapore’s Engineering Auditorium on September 5 at 7 pm. Professor Marshall, a member of the university’s Offshore Engineering Centre for...

(EnergyAsia, August 7, Tuesday) — US-based Cavico Corp said its 50%-owned subsidiary, Cavico Mining, has won a US$20.5 million contract to build an access road and a 1.6 kilometer tunnel for the Nho Que 3 hydropower plant in Vietnam. The 108MW plant is valued at US$137.5 million.Cavico Mining, which is currently listed on the Ho...

(EnergyAsia, August 7, Tuesday) — J. Ray McDermott S.A. said its subsidiary, J. Ray McDermott Far East Inc, has been awarded a contract by PV Gas to install a 16-inch Su Tu Vang-to-Rang Dong gas pipeline in Vietnam’s Cuu Long Basin. The offshore installation work will be performed in 2008 using one of J. Ray’s...

(EnergyAsia, August 7, Tuesday) — US-based Chardan North China Acquisition Corp said its operating subsidiaries, Beijing HollySys Company, Limited and Hangzhou HollySys Automation Limited (collectively referred to as HollySys) and Gifted Time Holdings Limited have signed several new contracts for large control systems for use in the power generation and rail industries in China worth...

(EnergyAsia, August 7, Tuesday) — Thai state upstream company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said it and its partners have been awarded the rights to explore in six offshore blocks in New Zealand. The blocks, located in the Great South Basin, south of South Island, are part of the 40 blocks offered...