CHINA: Oil production could peak in 2015, says local scholar and ASPO member

early a 2015 before going into decline, said a local expert. Pang Xiongqi, a professor and vice president of the China University of Petroleum, predicts that his country’s oil production would peak at around 190 million tonnes while gas output would crest at 120 billion cubic metres in 2035. Adding his voice to the peak...

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CHINA: Refiners resume rationing diesel, gasoline

supplies to the domestic market as fuel shortages remain despite last month’s 8-10% fuel price hikes. The government agreed to the price increases as oil companies have been forced to sell fuel at below market. At the height of the fuel squeeze, many retail outlets in several provinces ran dry, further angering motorists and public...

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SINGAPORE: Chiyoda unit awarded EPC contract to build Vopak tank terminal

construction firm, said subsidiary Chiyoda Singapore (Pte) Ltd has won an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Phase 4 of a tank terminal project from Vopak Terminals Singapore (Pte) Ltd. Chiyoda Singapore will construct a tank terminal for storage, import and export of petroleum and petrochemical products at Vopak’s Banyan terminal site on Jurong...

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SINGAPORE: SPC and Sembcorp launch country’s first CNG retail service

Keppel Group, and Sembcorp Gas said they will jointly introduce the first retail compressed natural gas (CNG) service early next year. The retail price of the CNG will be announced later. The CNG will be supplied and retailed by Sembcorp Gas at SPC’s service station in Jalan Buroh. This will be the first CNG retail...

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SINGAPORE: CIA, Enviro and Energex events focus on instrumentation, renewable energy, climate change

(EnergyAsia, November 28, Wednesday) — Three events, CIA2007, Enviro2007 and Energex 2007, are taking place at the Suntec Exhibition Centre in Singapore this week. ((adsense)) Energex2007, the 12th International Energy Conference and Exhibition, will feature issues and technology for the energy sector today. The conference will discuss topics like energy policy, climate change, renewable energy...

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SINGAPORE: Universal Terminal storage facility passes early test

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — Universal Terminal, Asia’s largest commercial oil storage terminal, passed its first tests when it received and handled its first five cargoes this monthDirector Evan Lim said the 2.3-million cubic metre terminal remains on course to begin full commercial operations next quarter.The US$500-million terminal has started off by receiving its first...

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INDIA: Elecrama 2008 expected to attract 100,000 visitors

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — India’s electrical and industrial electronics industry will hold its annual Elecrama 2008 exhibition at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai city from next January 18 to 22. Organised by IEEMA, the event is the largest exhibition of power, electrical, industrial electronics and allied products in India. IEEMA represents India’s electrical...

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THAILAND: Oil companies get a break

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — The Thai government plans to reduce a levy paid by oil companies as it attempts to delay retail price hikes in the face of soaring crude oil costs.The levy, which is paid into a state fund, would be reduced by Baht 0.40/litre for refined fuels. (US$1=Baht33).Thailand will not revive a...

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NEW ZEALAND: Power firms rake in huge profits

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — New Zealand’s state electricity firms have recorded combined profits of NZ$500 million this year. (US$1=NZ$1.29).The profits come on the back of large increases in power tariffs in recent years.Electricity prices have gone up by 50% for the average New Zealand household since 1999.The profits have provided the companies such as...

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MARKETS: Saudi support keeps oil priced in dollars, says Fimat

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the dollar will likely keep oil prices pegged to the US dollar rather than the Euro, yen or other currencies, said US commodities broker Fimat. Despite growing political and economic pressure to use other currencies to price oil, Riyadh kept faith with the greenback, burnishing its...

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INDIA: Oil companies to start using paper contracts to manage risk

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — After years of resisting, India has finally agreed to allow its state-owned oil companies to trade and hedge futures and forward oil contracts. The Reserve Bank of India said oil refiners will be allowed to hedge their foreign exchange exposures and also trade oil futures up to one year ahead....

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SINGAPORE: Universal Terminal storage facility passes early test

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — Universal Terminal, Asia’s largest commercial oil storage terminal, passed its first tests when it received and handled its first five cargoes this monthDirector Evan Lim said the 2.3-million cubic metre terminal remains on course to begin full commercial operations next quarter.The US$500-million terminal has started off by receiving its first...

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PHILIPPINES: Work to turn Manila ‘waste’ mountain into fuel for energy

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — Manila’s infamous Payatas mountain of waste could soon be a source of gas and energy.Companies have started work on extracting methane from the pile of decomposing rubbish built over decades of neglect. The effort promises to provide energy as well as carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol.If it goes to...

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INDIA: Iran wants India to pay more for LNG

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — Iran has told India to pay more for its planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases agreed between the two countries in 2005.They had agreed on a price of $3.215 mBtu for the 25-year deal but amid rising oil and gas prices on the world markets, Iran now wants that revised...

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INDIA: IndianOil Corp to reduce oil stockpile to keep cost down

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said it will soon reduce its oil stockpile levels to around 10 days of use from 15 days now as it seeks to cut down operating cost. It expects to save Rs7.5 billion a day from the move. The company faces a liquidity crunch as...

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AZERBAIJAN: BP makes large gas find in Shah Deniz field

(EnergyAsia, November 27, Tuesday) — On behalf of its partners, BP said it has made a major new gas-condensate discovery in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea. The SDX-04 appraisal and exploration well, some 70 kilometres south east of Baku city, was found to have a new high pressure reservoir in a deeper...

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JAPAN: Refineries could have export role amid rising Asian demand

demand for oil products in Asia, especially China, said Fitch Ratings. At the same time, Japan’s oil demand has hardly grown and is forecast to decline with its tight environmental restrictions, ageing population and weak economy. Japanese refineries are located within easy reach of Asia’s markets and are also capable of producing products well within...

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SOUTH KOREA: SK energy to start up 60,000 b/d RFCC unit next April

cracker (RFCC) at its Ulsan complex next April. The RFCC unit will convert imported fuel oil to lighter products like jet fuel and diesel for exports. When it goes into full operation, SK Energy said it will stop exporting fuel oil from its basic refinery....

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SAUDI ARABIA: Kingdom opens underground strategic storage facility in Madinah

Madinah in the central Al Qassim region today. Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed, governor of the region, will be the guest of honour on behalf of Crown Prince Sultan, also the chairman of the Saudi Strategic Storage Program (SSSP). According to the Saudi Press Agency, the Madinah storage site was formally handed over to state...

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CHINA: Fuel crunch prompts export curbs

at its oil refineries in the face of a severe domestic fuel supply crunch. These measures followed last month’s 8% to 10% rise in pump prices to encourage refiners and domestic traders increase supply to help end the nation’s fuel shortages which is threatening to the economy. Planners have told leading downstream companies, China National...

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MARKETS: Estimates of world oil reserves 300 billion barrels too high, says ex-Aramco executive

the kingdom and the world?  In public, officials in state oil and gas company Aramco and the Saudi government insist the country holds 260 billion barrels of oil reserves. No Saudi official has questioned the official statistics of other OPEC members or the world’s oil producing countries.  But, a former top executive of state oil...

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MYANMAR: Thailand’s PTTEP prepares to make big gas investment

to invest over US$1 billion in an offshore gas project in Myanmar. The investment to be made over five years will enable state Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise develop the prospective M-9 Block in Myanmar’s Gulf of Martaban. Drilling is expected to start next year. Myanmar currently supplies some 20% of Thailand’s gas requirements....

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NEW ZEALAND: Strategic oil reserves to be partly kept in Japan

a recent agreement signed by their governments. New Zealand already keeps some of its oil reserves in Australia, the Netherlands and the UK. Under its commitments to the International Energy Agency (IEA), New Zealand must keep stockpile equivalent to 90 days of consumption. Last year, the IEA openly rebuked Wellington for failing to meet its...

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PAKISTAN: UAE to help build US$5 billion oil refinery

Hub in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. IPIC, the investment agency of UAE’s Abu Dhabi, and Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly build a refinery of 200,000 b/d to 300,000 b/d capacity. The plant is scheduled to start up in late 2012. IPIC would hold a 74% stake with PARCO...

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THAILAND: Refiner Bangchak eyes fuel oil exports to boost profits

boost its financial results next year. The exports will likely go to markets in East Asia with deliveries set to start late this year through end-2008. The company has tied up a total of 20,000 b/d of fsales commitments to customers in China, Japan and Hawaii. Bangchak’s relatively old and small 120,000 b/d refinery is...

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