(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries said subsidiary Sembcorp Gas has signed an agreement to import 90 billion British thermal units (Btu) per day of natural gas from Indonesia.Sembcorp Gas signed the conditional US$5.5 billion agreement with producers Premier Oil, KUFPEC, Hess and Petronas for the supply and delivery of natural gas piped (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine, said it is on track to deliver its third of the six Anchor Handling Tug/Supply (AHTS) vessels ordered by its repeat customer, GulfMark Offshore Inc.As with the previous two projects, Keppel Singmarine said it was presented a...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Ezra Holdings Limited, a leading integrated offshore oil and gas support and marine services provider, has reported an eightfold leap in net attributable profit (PATMI) to S$207.4 million for the half-year ended February 29 2008. Its turnover doubled year-on-year to S$136.7 million. (US$1=S$1.35).Group gross profit jumped 101% to S$52.5 million,...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Thailand could miss its 6% growth target for 2008 because of the impact of the rising oil prices on its economy and an ineffective government stimulus package.Oil prices are forecast to stay high throughout 2008 amid tight supplies and continued strong demand from China and India. US crude futures hit...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — First Solar, a US maker of solar panels, has started building its second and third production plants in Malaysia’s Kedah state.The company’s first plant is due to open in April while the others are expected to come onstream by the end of the year. First Solar said it is already...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Indonesia fears that its fuel subsidies could triple this year to more than 13 trillion rupiah as world oil prices continue to hit new highs. (US$1=9,000 rupiah).The government has repeatedly stated it will not raise domestic fuel prices to avoid social unrest in the run-up to the country’s 2009 elections....
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Cambodia is set to join the ranks of oil producing countries in 2011 when it begins pumping from several offshore fields that are estimated to hold hundreds of millions of barrels.In addition to oil, Cambodia also has six blocks of offshore natural gas reserves. US major Chevron is credited with...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon wants nations to rethink their biofuel policies due to the impact of using food crop for fuels on food prices.More arable land is being used to grow biofuel crops at the expense of food production, raising the spectre of steep increases in food prices and the...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — Finland’s Wartsila said it has been awarded a turnkey contract worth 134 million euro by Nishat Power Ltd, an independent power producer that will supply electricity to the national grid in Pakistan. (US$1=0.61 euro). The power plant, to be located in Lahore city, will have a total gross electrical power...
(EnergyAsia, April 16, Wednesday) — IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Beijing Deqingyuan Agriculture Scientific have signed an agreement to help reduce methane emissions from the company’s chicken farm.Methane, a greenhouse gas, is captured from chicken litter and turned into biogas to produce electricity. Through the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto...
(EnergyAsia, April 14, Monday) — Population growth and globalisation has helped boost energy use throughout the world. As demand for oil and gas continues to escalate, the world’s energy thirst has to be met through traditional and unconventional sources. Experience shows that price volatility and alternating boom and bust cycles are harmful to both the (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 15, 2008, Tuesday) — With oil, gas and coal prices at record levels, conference organiser Informa IBC Asia is looking at a busy year ahead. On March 24, two of the group’s senior executives sat down with EnergyAsia for a filmed interview giving an overview of their plans ahead. Rebecca Wolfe, who looks (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — New Zealand’s new biofuel regulations will drive up gasoline and diesel prices in the country when they come into force on July 1, said oil major BP. The company said the bill will drive up its fuel supply cost, leaving it with no choice but to pass on the cost...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — The Huaneng Group said it plans to build China’s largest wind power farm in Fuxin city of northeast Liaoning province. Huaneng, more known for its coal-fired power plants, said it will begin construction of the 200-turbine project in June. It expects the project to help reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — Thai oil refiner and distributor Rayong Purifier has forecast a 10% increase in 2008 sales to 22 billion baht, thanks to increased biodiesel production. (US$1=31 baht). The company is focusing its efforts on a biodiesel plant it is building via a subsidiary, Pure Biodiesel Co (PBC). The plant will produce...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — Indonesia’s PT Perkebunan Nusantara has teamed up with three state-owned firms to build a biodiesel plant in Medan, North Sumatra. The four companies are engaged in palm oil and rubber production. The project is expected to come onstream in 2009 using locally-grown palm oil as feedstock. The developers said they...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has become the first province in the country to supply only biofuel-blended motor fuels. Within a few weeks last month, local authorities started to replace standard gasoline with ethanol-blended fuels. The blends are produced from cassava, a tropical plant widely grown in Guangxi. The blends...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — EnergyAsia has released filmed interviews with four participants at the Third Annual ‘World Renewable Energy Summit’ (WRES) at the JW Marriot hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from March 27 to 28. The filmed interviews with Dr Wolfgang Palz, Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy, Ms Nguyen Thanh Phat (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — Philippine ethanol producer Basic Energy is studying the feasibility of supplying up to 50 million litres/year of ethanol to the local subsidiary of US energy major Chevron. The Philippines government plans to introduce mandatory 5% ethanol blending starting next year, rising to 10% by 2010. Oil companies said they could...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — Indonesia’s President Susilo Yudhoyono has told state oil and gas company Pertamina to get ready to take over the Natuna D-Alpha natural gas-block from ExxonMobil. According to local media reports, the President wants the block to become a major gas producer under the full ownership and control of Indonesians. As...
(EnergyAsia, April 15, Tuesday) — Germany has called off its plan to raise mandatory bioethanol blending to 10% from 5%, due to the large number of cars that would not be able to run on an E10 blend. Industry groups estimate that some 3.3 million existing cars would not be able to use the E10...
(EnergyAsia, April 14, Monday) — EnergyAsia’s filmed interviews with Rotary Engineering, Woodside, Australian High Commission and Shell Global Solutions on the state of the energy industry on www.EnergyAsia.com. Rotary Engineering chairman and managing director Chia Kim Piow shares his thoughts on the oil and gas industry in the face of rising costs, the global competiton (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 14, Monday) — The ‘Middle East Petrochemicals 2008’ conference will be held at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel from June 15 to 17. More than 40% of the global petrochemical capacity will be built in the Middle East by 2011. This would make the region the petrochemicals hub of the world offering the industry (more…)
(EnergyAsia, April 14, Monday) — Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil producer, has spoken openly of its support for solar energy for the first time at an oil conference in France last week. It’s a sign of the times that oil producers no longer worry about being threatened by the development of renewable energy,...
(EnergyAsia, April 14, Monday) — Dubai Group, the leading diversified financial services company of Dubai Holding, said it has invested US$49.5 million for a 30% stake in Malaysia’s GBD Investment Limited (GBDI), which owns the largest biodiesel plant in Southeast Asia. The investment was made by Dubai Ventures, the equity investment company of Dubai Investment...