(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — NYSE-listed Superior Energy Services Inc, a provider of production-related services, rental tools and liftboats, has opened a new location in Singapore.  The location will serve as a base of operations for Superior Energy Services’ Marine Division, HB Rentals and Premier Oilfield Rentals and function as a resource for the company’s...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — Australia’s Arrow Energy NL said it has signed two agreements with Indonesia’s state oil and gas company Pertamina and its upstream subsidiary Pertamina EP. Arrow said the agreements reflect an agreed joint approach to the technical evaluation and review of prospective coalbed methane (CBM) blocks leading to potential application, and...

(EnergyAsia, October 2007 – Costa Rica’s pilot project to convert polluting wood residues into a profitable “green” energy source, presents new prospects for timber industries in developing countries, said the UN Food Agricultural Organization (FAO). The project converts large stockpiles of sawdust and other residues from wood industries into wood pellets which can be used...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — Canadian Solar Inc (CSI) said it and China’s Luoyang Polysilicon Company have installed the first BIPV solar glass roof system with glass-on-glass solar modules in Henan Province. CSI was the sole supplier of the solar glass technology, the specialty BIPV modules, and acted as the integrator of the complete solar...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — Singapore-listed Straits Asia Resources Limited said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vital Century Investment, Pacific Communication Corp and Mitsui MatsushimaInternational Pty Ltd to acquire their assets and contracts in relation to a thermal coal mining business located in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. Straits Asia said the parties will...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — Korea’s LG Group has announced its entry into the solar power business. Following a board meeting in September, the LG board said the company would be investing 1.6 billion won to set up a subsidiary, LG Solar Energy. (US$1=920 won). LG Corp plans to later increase the subsidiary’s capital base...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — Scientists at UK’s Durham University recently launched a four-year research and development work to improve the conversion of sun light into energy. The researchers are developing light-absorbing materials for use in thin-layer solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. These cells are at the core of converting sun light into electricity. Materials with...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — Sweden’s Perstorp is acquiring Lonza’s purified isophthalic acid (PIA) plant on Singapore’s Jurong Island for US$138 million. The transaction is expected to close by end 2007. Switzerland’s Lonza said the sale of its subsidiary, Lonza Singapore Pte Ltd, represents another milestone in its strategy to focus on its life science operations...

(EnergyAsia, October 4, Thursday) — France’s Alstom Hydro said it has won a 190-million euro contract to supply mechanical equipment for the construction of a 2,400MW hydropower plant project in Son La province in Vietnam by 2012. (US$1=0.70 euro). The buyer is state Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). Alstom Hydro will design, engineer, manufacture and deliver...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — France’s Alstom said it has acquired a 51% stake in the Wuhan Boiler Company Ltd (WBC), a Chinese company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, for 32.8 million euro. (US$1=0.7 euro). Alstom said the deal was completed after it received approval for the buy-in from the Chinese authorities on July...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — Thailand’s state PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) said it and its joint venture partners recently signed concession agreements for two exploration blocks with the Egyptian government. PTTEP President Maroot Mrigadat said that Egypt’s Petroleum Minister, Sameh Fahmy, signed the agreements for the Rommana and Sidi Abd El...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited, said it has won two conversion contracts worth a total of S$100 million. (US$1.49). The contracts are with Prosafe Production Pte Ltd and Shipping Logistics Incorporated for a long term charter to Perenco S.A. For Prosafe, Keppel...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — LDK Solar Co Ltd, a leading Chinese manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, said it has signed contracts to supply multicrystalline solar wafers and to purchase polysilicon production equipment from Sunways AG. LDK Solar will deliver around one GW of multicrystalline solar wafers to Sunways over a 10-year period starting next...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — US-based PetroSun, Incorporated said it has establishd a new wholly owned subsidiary, PetroSun BioFuels China, to introduce its algae-to-biofuels technology into the country. PetroSun BioFuels China will produce and market algae-based biodiesel and ethanol through a joint venture agreement and an exclusive agency agreement that will be announced this month....

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — Trading house Marubeni Corporation has become the first Japanese member given access to trade in the European Climate Exchange (ECX CFI) contracts. Marubeni is a member of ICE Futures Europe. Established in 1858, the company is a core company of Marubeni Group, is one of Japan’s leading general trading houses....

(EnergyAsia, October, 3, Wednesday) — The world’s wind power capacity is forecast to double to 33,500 megawatts (MW) by 2011, according to Merrill Lynch. Europe will remain the biggest market for wind power but US and Asian markets – in particular China and India – are quickly catching up, said the financial firm in a...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — Supported by the UN Development Programme, Pakistan is aiming to provide 150 villages in Tharparkar district with water powered by solar-generated electricity. Feasibility studies for the project in the district are due to begin this month, paving the way for the project’s implementation next year. The Pakistan Alternative Energy Development...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday) — Chinese, Indian, Thai and other companies doing business in Myanmar should ensure their operations do not contribute to or benefit from human rights abuses, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The country is in turmoil following weeks of deadly confrontation between the repressive military government and the...

(EnergyAsia, October 3, Wednesday)  — Singapore’s Swiber Holdings Limited said it has signed broad cooperation agreements with state-owned Petrovietnam Construction Joint Stock Company (PVC) and Vietsovpetro Joint Venture (VSP) to explore opportunities for exchanging information, cooperation, and technical assistance. The non-exclusive three-year agreements are aimed at strengthening the companies’ position in the oil and gas...

(EnergyAsia, October 2, Tuesday) — The week that the bosses of ExxonMobil and Shell were railing against “unjustifiable” $70 oil, the market sent WTI crude futures crashing through the $80 barrier. As if to mock the doubting Thomases, oil continued to set new record highs almost every day for more than a week after cracking...

(EnergyAsia, October 2, Tuesday) — Three international engineering firms have submitted bids to build Saudi Arabia’s proposed 400,000 b/d refinery in the eastern coastal port of Ras Tanura. Canada’s SNC-Lavalin, Foster Wheeler and Australia’s WorleyParsons submitted bids to undertake project management and engineering of the $8 billion project due for completion by 2011. Saudi Aramco,...

(EnergyAsia, October 2, Tuesday) — High oil prices are hurting US consumers as evidenced by last year’s 0.6% decline in oil consumption to their lowest levels since 2003. The US Energy Information Administration said the country’s oil demand fell to 20.687 million barrels a day as consumers reacted to $70 oil by using less of...

(EnergyAsia, October 2, Tuesday) — Canadian bank CIBC said US crude oil prices are likely to hit US$100 a barrel by the end of next year as rising oil consumption in the world’s leading oil producing nations cuts into their export capacity. Speaking at the recent 6th Annual Association for the Study of Peak Oil...

(EnergyAsia, October 2, Tuesday) — Seventeen international firms have been shortlisted to vie for a piece of the $14.3 billion contract to build Kuwait’s massive 615,000 b/d oil refinery. The project’s cost was sharply raised from only $6.3 billion early this year, making this possibly the most expensive oil refinery to be built. According to...

(EnergyAsia, October 2, Tuesday) — Several mainstream analysts recently raised their forecasts for crude oil prices for this and next year. They cite a variety of reasons including rising geopolitical tensions, continued strong world demand, especially from out of Asia and the Middle East, bad weather in the US Gulf Coast and the declining US...