diverting their fuel supplies to US naval ships for military use in Iraq. The protestors said the fuel oil and bunker fuel are being used for military purposes in direct violation of Japanese laws. According to Peace Depot, Japan’s maritime forces could have diverted as much as 800,000 gallons of jet fuel to the US...

Shell Petroleum Corp, to help finance a major upgrade at its Batangas refinery. Under the country’s Oil Deregulation Law of 1998, refiners are required to offer at least 10% of their stake to the public through an IPO. Shell has been delaying its IPO for several years. The overhaul of the 110,000 b/d refinery on...

(Lanka’s Trincomalee. Sri Lanka’s consumes around four million tonnes of refined products a year while its only refinery has a capacity of just two million tonnes. IOC’s subsidiary, Lanka IOC, is the only oil company other than state Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) with a retail fuels business in Sri Lanka....

(EnergyAsia, October 30, Tuesday) — Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd has signed a long-term contract with Vopak Terminals Singapore for the storage and handling of butadiene at Vopak’s Banyan terminal on Jurong Island. Shell recently announced it would proceed with the construction of a new butadiene extraction unit on Bukom Island. The project, with an...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — Indonesia’s state oil and gas company Pertamina said it will shut down its 170,000 b/d Dumai oil refinery in Riau for more than a month from early November for maintenance work. The plant represents 16% of Pertamina’s 1.05 million b/d capacity. Saudi Aramco has shut down its 400,000 b/d Rabigh...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — The Middle East could face an oversupply of refined oil products if the region completes all nine giant refineries now being planned, said Lee Dacey of Jacobs Consultancy. Saudi Arabia is expected to build five new refineries while Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Abu Dhabi and planning to construct one each....

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — A German-based group of scientists and energy experts said world oil production peaked at around 83 million b/d last year. In a report analysing the world’s oil fields and published data on proven reserve, Energy Watch Group added that production will begin to decline at around seven percent a year....

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — Malaysian engineering firm Dialog Group Bhd said it has teamed up with Petronas shipping arm MISC Berhad to jointly develop oil storage tank and terminalling facilities at the Port of Tanjung Langsat (PTL) in the southern state of Johor. Dialog will hold a 55% stake in the joint venture firm,...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) —- China’s Ministry of Commerce said it has granted BP a licence to store refined fuels in line with its plan to liberalise the country’s downstream oil industry. The move to allow a foreign firm entry into the lucrative oil storage business is significant as the sector has long been the...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc (PPPI) has broken ground on a one-billion-peso oil depot and distribution terminal at the Batangas Union Industrial Park (BUIP) in Luzon Island. (US$1=44 peso) The new facility in the Calaca area would enable the company to store and distribute gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and fuel oil...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — The world’s leading scientists warn that our addiction to fossil fuels and growing demand for energy is driving nations to war and accelerating climate change. At the same time, around 25% of the world’s population or 1.6 billion people live without electricity and afflicted by “energy poverty”, according to ‘Lighting...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — While record crude prices captured all the attention last Friday, oil product prices also broke new ground in Singapore last Friday. For the first time, bunker fuel prices crossed US$500 per tonne FOB Singapore while diesel exceeded $100 a barrel. US crude oil futures exceeded US$92 a barrel last Friday...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — Indonesia’s crude oil production is now running at around half its 1977 peak of 1.65 million b/d. According to official statistics, Indonesia produced 827,400 b/d of crude oil in September, down from 834,700 b/d a month earlier. The steady decline in Indonesia’s oil and gas output has serious implications for...

(EnergyAsia, October 29, Monday) — Australian upstream company Santos said its third quarter production of 15 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) was 10% lower than the previous corresponding period and 4% lower than the second quarter of 2007. This primarily reflects lower Cooper Basin gas production due to natural field decline, lower oil production...

its emergency oil reserves. A recent year-long study by industrial landlord JTC Corp found that such a project would be feasible. Importantly, it would help reduce the pressure on land in space-constrained Singapore. Costing around S$180 million, the floating terminal could boost the country’s oil storage capacity of some 4.6 million cubic metres by about...

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Sikkim state, which is facing an acute shortage of cooking gas supply.Sikkim has seen a dramatic jump in cooking gas demand. The state receives its LPG supply through Barouni in Bihar, while its fuel supplies come from Assam. Sikkim was hit by a supply squeeze last month when a key...

(EnergyAsia, October 26, Friday) — Companies around the world are responding to the challenges of climate change, resulting in major worldwide economic and industrial restructurings, according to a new survey called the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The restructuring process is reshaping the definition of corporate success including competitive advantage and financial performance. Some 76% of...

(EnergyAsia, October 26, Friday) — China aims to boost the coverage of solar water heating systems by 50% to 150 million sq m by 2010. China already accounts for more than half the world’s solar-heated water consumption. Last year, the coverage of solar water heaters in operation in China was 100 million sq m, supplying...

sources by 2010, reflecting a 66% increase over the previous target. The Malaysian government aims to achieve the target with innovative renewable power purchase deals and increased tariffs offered through state utility Tenaga Nasional. Malaysia has over 400 palm oil mills that could sell electricity to Tenaga. The country wants increased use of biofuels and...

course in China that was co-sponsored by the UN Development Program (UNDP). According to the Hangzhou Regional Centre (Asia-Pacific) for Small Hydro Power (HRC) which provided the training, the course aims to boost knowledge and expertise for small hydropower projects in Africa.The trainees came from 11 African countries including Rwanda, Guinea, Benin and Togo. Africa...

leading global private equity and venture capital company 3i Group plc, has invested US$227 million for a minority stake in India’s Adani Power Private Ltd. The company is a fully-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd, a member of the Ahmedabad, India-based Adani Group. Michael Queen, managing partner of 3i’s infrastructure business, said: “3i India Infrastructure...

South Australia’s Cooper Basin. Company officials said the find could be worth A$10 billion if all of its oil is recovered and oil stays above US$80 a barrel. (US$1 = A$1.11). Even at a 10% recovery rate, the new field should be worth at least A$1 billion at current oil prices. Innamincka is working to...

(EnergyAsia, October 26, Friday) — The OxfordPrinceton Programme will be holding a four-day total risk management course for the oil and derivative markets in Singapore next week starting November 29. Course director Robin Burley will provide a comprehensive summary of the markets together with the techniques and range of trading instruments that are typically employed....

(EnergyAsia, October 26, Friday) — South African companies can more than double the estimated R4-billion they are currently earning from the African oil and gas industry if they explore opportunities thoroughly, said Steve Hrabar, chairman of the South African Oil and Gas Alliance (SAOGA). He said: “Nigeria is supplying 2.2-million barrels of oil a day...

in the Bongkot natural gas concession for 10 years from the Thai government. Bongkot’s concessions 5/2515/9 in block 15 and 3/2515/7 in blocks 16 and 17 in the Gulf of Thailand are operated by PTTEP and its joint venture partners Total E&P Thailand and BG Asia Pacific PTE Ltd. Their shareholdings in the Bongkot Project...