or Sinopec Corp have submitted joint technical and commercial feasibility study for the approval of the planned $900 million expansion of their joint chemical site in Nanjing to the Chinese government. The site is operated by the joint venture BASF-YPC Co Ltd (BYC).   The study calls for the: – expansion of the steam cracker...

million to acquire a minority interest in independent polysilicon producer Nitol Solar Ltd. In a joint statement, the two companies said Suntech will become a stakeholder by acquiring Nitol Solar Ltd’s newly issued ordinary shares. Nitol Solar said its contracts to supply several customers through 2015 are worth a total of $1.5 billion. Suntech is...

said it will invest a total of US$1.67 billion to set up three liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals to meet the country’s rising energy demand. The terminals, to be located in western and eastern Java and North Sumatra, will be supplied by the Bontang LNG export project in East Kalimantan and West Papua’s Tangguh...

130% for their coal supplies from Australia this year. The price of Australian thermal coal is on track to reach US$130 per tonne in April, compared with just $56 per tonne last year. With world demand staying strong, analsyts said coking coal, used in steel production, is set to soar to US$225 per tonne, up...

increases in power tariffs and oil prices implemented by the recent caretaker government. The previous government has taken the bold step of raising the country’s power tariffs and oil prices. In February, power tariffs went up by 9% while the price of gasoline was raised by Rs5 per litre and that of diesel by Rs3.5...

continues to face pressure from the Philippines government to expand and upgrade its 110,000 b/d Batangas refinery. After years of delay, the company is reported to be ready to release a feasibility study favouring overdue new investments for the plant.   The company has been considering a major investment for several years, but it has...

could cut off natural gas supplies to Singapore if bilateral relations worsened. The country’s Antara news agency had quoted a top official at gas regulator BP Migas as saying gas supplies to Singapore could be cut off if the two countries were unable to resolve their differences. It was not the first time that Indonesian...

expected to grow by 2% to 87.5 million b/d for 2008. This is lower by about 80,000 b/d from its previous forecast, taking into account the negative impact of high oil prices, and an expected slowdown in world economic growth this year. The Paris-based watchdog for oil consuming countries said that downward pressures on demand...

spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) assessment to add to its extensive portfolio of energy pricing benchmarks. The weekly global publication, Heren LNG Markets, began carrying a spot LNG price for cargoes delivered to the Far East starting March 7. The price reflects the traded value delivered ex-ship (d.e.s.) into Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China....

shutdowns and lower margins caused its 2007 net profit to fall 17.3% to NZ$112.05 million. (US$1=NZ$1.26). Its revenue was down 16.2% to NZ$338.3 million.   NZ Refining said it will pay a dividend of NZ35 cents per share.  Operating the country’s only oil refinery at Marsden Point near Whangarei, the company is New Zealand’s leading...

to tap the financial clout of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to help build a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The consortium, which includes Australia’s Santos and PNG’s Oil Search Limited, could be seeking as much as $10 billion in debt funding to pay for construction, financing, interest and operating...

stakes in some oil refining and petrochemical projects in China, India and Vietnam. While it has expressed interest, KPC has also indicated there is no guarantee the talks will lead to a decision to invest. KPC is looking for partners to build integrated oil refining-petrochemical complexes. While confident about the prospects of such projects in...

double its oil refining capacity to more than 900,000 b/d with the construction of a new 417,000 b/d plant by 2013.   The project is still in the planning phase, with the engineering and design phase expected to be ready by a year from now. Its cost is still being studied.  Speaking at a recent...

Exchange has designated its petrochemical terminal at Nansha, Guangdong as a physical delivery storage facility for the settlement of fuel oil futures contracts. At the same time Platts, a leading international energy information supplier announced the plan to designate the Group’s 239,783-dwt floating storage unit (FSU), Titan Chios, located in Malaysian waters near Singapore, as...

and Tropicana Trading DMCC have signed an agreement to jointly invest in a US$200 million “world class” oil products storage facility at the Jebel Ali’s Techno Park in Dubai. With an initial 570,000 cubic metres capacity, the facility will store gasoline, gasoil, diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil, as well as offer blending services. Located...

There is no publication today due to a public holiday....

said it has formed a joint venture with its Indian distribution partner to establish a battery assembly and sales operation in Bangalore city. The joint venture has been approved by the Indian government and will be managed by its partner, B. R. Ganesh. The company will assemble Ultralife’s power solutions products and manage local sales...

been rising rapidly, driven by the region’s economic growth but by subsidies that encourage the wasteful use of energy. Oil giant Saudi Arabia has been forced to import refined oil products to meet demand. Its domestic demand surged 15.3% to reach 1.56 million b/d in 2007, according to Washington DC-based consultants PFC Energy. Since 2001,...

cargoes from western markets into the Far East were buyers are prepared to pay higher prices. Analysts estimate Qatar, the world’s largest LNG exporter, could divert as much as 25% of its LNG cargoes from the west to Asia. This could affect volumes of up to 15 tonnes per year by 2015. Spot LNG prices...