MIDDLE EAST: Economies humming from high oil prices

Council (GCC) countries today have some of the strongest economies in the world. The combined real GDP growth of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar last year averaged 6.2%. Together, they hold 22% of the world’s oil reserves while Qatar alone possesses 14% of the world’s proven natural gas deposits. In a...

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UAE: Focus on solar energy as new growth sector

energy sector. The emirate is lining up solar projects including solar-powered water taxis, street lights, parking meters and houses. Water taxis are an important means of public transportation in Dubai while powering street lights with solar energy will help reduce the need for investing in expensive infrastructure. A more ambitious project is a big thermal...

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SOLAR: MEMC to supply Conergy solar wafer under agreement worth up to $8 billion

definitive agreement for MEMC to supply solar grade silicon wafers to Conergy. The deal covers a 10-year period, with pre-determined pricing, on a take or pay basis beginning in the third quarter of 2008. Sales of the wafers over the 10-year period would generate between $7 billion and $8 billion in revenue for MEMC. As...

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US: Alberta’s Energy Minister Mel Knight meet investors over new royalty rates

and Chicago from October 28 to November 4 to address their concerns over Alberta’s new royalty system due to begin in 2009. In his meeting with US government officials, investment firms and industry representatives, he will also highlight investment opportunities and continued security of supply for American consumers under the new royalty regime. The framework...

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AUSTRALIA: Origin Energy issues RFP for Mortlake power station

manufacturers for supply of the first 500MW of open cycle equipment for its proposed 1,000MW gas-fired power station near Mortlake in western Victoria. This is a positive step forward for the proposed development, said Origin. The pricing and delivery schedule for construction of the power station and the associated 78km gas pipeline from the Otway...

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BIOFUELS: Bank says US efforts to develop corn-based ethanol fuel market will boost inflation

increase energy self-sufficiency will do little but drive food prices skywards, said Canada’s CIBC World Markets. In a report, the bank said that to meet the policy goal of significantly increasing US production of ethanol to reduce dependence on imported oil, federal and state governments are extending huge subsidies to ethanol producers to expand capacity...

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AUSTRALIA: Report warns of critical security risks from unstable energy markets

integrate energy security into its foreign and defence policies, a new strategy report warns. The report, “Power plays: Energy and Australia’s security”, by Michael Wesley, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University, highlights the increasing dependence of the country on oil and gas from the unstable Middle East region and the repercussions for...

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CHINA: Gasoline imports rise to eight-year high as domestic output slumped

September as domestic refiners held down production. For the first nine months of the year, gasoline imports were up by almost 310% over the same period last year to exceed 151,100 tonnes. The data sharply reversed China’s status as a traditional big gasoline exporter. Its refineries are geared towards high output of gasoline. Chinese refiners...

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SINGAPORE: Clean Energy Research and Development gets S$50 million injection

(EnergyAsia, November 1, Thursday) — Singapore’s Clean Energy Programme Office (CEPO) has launched a S$50 million Clean Energy Research Programme (CERP) to accelerate research and development efforts to support the growth of the country’s clean energy industry. (US$1=S$1.45). CERP is a competitive funding initiative for Clean Energy R&D, aimed at supporting both upstream and downstream...

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THAILAND: Chevron granted 10-year production extension for concessions in the Gulf of Thailand

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — US energy major Chevron Corp said its subsidiary Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production Ltd, partners and the Thai Ministry of Energy have signed an agreement to extend the production period of four offshore blocks in the Gulf of Thailand for an additional 10 years to 2022. Chevron said the extension...

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VIETNAM: PetroVietnam, local companies to build second refinery

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — State oil and gas firm PetroVietnam has chosen four local firms to help build the country’s second oil refinery. The companies are fuel retailer Petrolimex (10%), Vietcombank (10%), Agribank (10%) and Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (8%). PetroVietnam will hold a 30% stake in the proposed US$6 billion project. Japan’s...

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MARKETS: Yergin concedes possibility of $100 oil, as prices “increasingly decouple” from supply and

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — One of the oil market’s most persistently bearish analysts, consultant Daniel Yergin, has come around to concede that US$100 per barrel oil is now possible. As recent as June, he had predicted that oil prices would move back to the low $60s by early next year. But at a symposium...

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KOREA: USEC, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power sign new fuel supply contract

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — NYSE-listed USEC Inc recently signed a US$400 million contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHNP) to sell separative work units (SWU) of enriched uranium for the utility’s operating and planned light-water nuclear power reactors.The new contract with the Seoul-based utility runs through 2013 and covers new deliveries...

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KOREA: Transocean to jointly own and operate two new ultra-deepwater drillships under construction

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — NYSE-listed Transocean Inc said a subsidiary has exercised its option to purchase a 50% interest in a joint venture company with Pacific Drilling Limited for $238 million.The joint-venture company will own two ultra-deepwater Samsung-design drillships that are currently under construction in South Korea.Under the terms of an exclusive marketing agreement,...

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INDIA: Suzlon reports record sales and profits in July-September quarter

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — Suzlon Energy Limited (SEL), the world’s fifth leading and India’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, reported strong results for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.The company reported a 74% rise in consolidated revenues to Rs36.41 billion compared with the same period last year. Revenues from overseas sales stood at Rs22.32 billion,...

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CHINA: SPC completes US$223m acquisition of Bohai Bay field

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) said it has completed its US$223million acquisition of shares in producing oil fields in China’s Bohai Bay.SPC’s share of two production sharing contracts (PSC) which have six producing oilfields is 4,300 barrels of oil per day, bringing its total current oil and gas production to...

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CLIMATE CHANGE: Australian agency confirms decline in uptake of carbon emissions

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — The land and oceans are absorbing a smaller proportion of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, resulting in the growth of atmospheric CO2, according to a paper published today in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.The study’s lead author is Pep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon...

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SINGAPORE: UOP Technology selected for new Jurong Aromatics plant

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) —- UOP, a Honeywell company, said it has been by Jurong Aromatics Corp. PTE Ltd (JAC) to supply technology, basic engineering services and equipment for a new aromatics plant to be built on Singapore’s Jurong Island.Basic engineering design is underway by UOP, and commissioning of the complex is scheduled for 2011....

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CLIMATE CHANGE: UNFCCC chief to make keynote speech at Carbon Forum Asia 2007

(EnergyAsia, October 31, Wednesday) — Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will make the keynote speech in the opening plenary of Carbon Forum Asia 2007 Trade Fair and Conference.Jointly organised by International Emissions Trading Association and Koelnmesse, the event will be held at Singapore’s Suntec International Convention...

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ASIA: UNDP says poor hard hit by high oil prices

forcing them further into poverty, said a report issued here by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). As oil prices climb, the impact on the poor may presage worse to come, according to “Overcoming Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices: Options for Asia and the Pacific.”US crude oil futures surged past US$93 a barrel in Asia yesterday....

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CHINA: Amtech Systems announces new solar orders totaling $17.4 million

systems and related supplies for the manufacture of semiconductors, solar cells and wafers, said its subsidiary, Tempress® Systems Inc, has received new orders worth a total of $17.4 million from the solar cell industry. The orders consist of one new Asian-based customer and follow-on orders from two existing customers, including a 200MW follow-on order from...

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CHINA: CNPC to build 10 million t/y refinery in Chongqing

refinery in Chongqing. The US$3 billion project would help meet the growing oil demand in the Chongqing inland region. Planners said the supplying the region from China’s coastal refineries is not a viable proposition over the longer term. Feedstock for the new project could come from Myanmar, which has estimated recoverable crude oil reserves of...

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CHINA: Oil storage planned for Hainan island

Sited in the Yangpu development zone, it would be able to handle up to 10 million cubic metres of crude oil a year. Local news reports said that Saudi Arabia is interested to build a terminal to handle and store up to 30 million tonnes of crude oil in Hainan that would supply its joint...

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CHINA: CNPC, Russia’s Rosneft to build joint venture refinery in Tianjin city

build a 200,000 b/d oil refinery on a site near the industrial city port of Tianjin. The US$6 billion project also offers potential for integration into a future petrochemical complex. If realised, the project would tie one of the world’s largest oil producers, Russia, to the world’s second largest oil-consuming country. The refinery could begin...

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INDIA: Aegis to double oil storage

storage capacity over the next 18 months. (US$1=Rs39). Aegis is already in talks to acquire terminals and land at Jawaharlal Nehru Port, and the ports of Kandla, Vizag and Paradip, said managing director S.K. Hazra. Aegis currently handles 240,000 kilolitres of oil and chemicals a year at its facilities in Mumbai. It is planning to...

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