on account of the global economic recession, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its previous forecast, the IMF had expected world trade to grow by 2% this year. The continuation of the financial crisis, with government policies failing to dispel uncertainly, has caused asset values to fall sharply across advanced and emerging economies, decreasing...
CHINA: CR Gas to invest Kunming joint venture, acquire stake in Wuhan company
plans to expand its city gas distribution business in fast growing cities throughout China. It is proposing to make two strategic investments this month: the acquisition of a majority stake in a Wuhan piped gas distributor, and a joint venture for gas distribution with Kunming Gas Group Company Limited in Kunming city, the capital of...
MARKETS: Schlumberger chief warns reduced investment could lead to lower oil and gas production
Limited, has warned that sharply reduced investments in exploration and production activities could lead to lower future oil and gas supplies. In releasing its fourth quarter financial results, the company said: “The sharp drop in oil and gas prices due to lower demand, higher inventories and the belief that demand will erode further in 2009...
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Japan’s Nippon Oil acquires exploration licences
farmout and alignment agreement with Oil Search Limited (OSL), a Papua New Guinea-based oil and gas exploration company, with an aim to co-operate in the development of natural gas prospects in PNG. NOEX is the wholly-owned upstream subsidiary of Nippon Oil Corporation. With further discoveries and development of gas fields expected in PNG, both companies...
CHINA: Sinopec completed crude storage tanks in Zhejiang
Zhejiang province on China’s east coast. Each tank has the capacity to store up to 954,000 barrels of crude oil. Laset December, Sinopec completed two tanks with a combined capacity of 24 million barrels at Ningbo port, also in Zhejiang province. Its rival, PetroChina, recently completed large crude storage facilities in the northwestern Xinjiang region....
INDIA: No lasting damage from oil workers’ short strike
recent short strike by the country’s oil and gas sector workers. After failing to win major concessions from their short three-day strike early this month, the workers have quietly resumed work at refineries and gas processing plants. Indian Oil Corp said most of its seven refineries are back at operating close to capacity. Its Koyali...
INDONESIA: Jakarta oil depot damaged after explosion
the surrounding areas in West Java and Banten has been seriously damaged in an explosion and fire. There were no reports of human casualties. Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina, which owns and operates the 27-tank depot in Plumpang in northern Jakarta, said a five-million-litre gasoline tank was destroyed in the incident on January 18. Officials...
IRAQ: China’s CNPC begins work on major oilfield
Zhenhua Oil have become the first foreign oil companies to be allowed back to work in Iraq in 30 years. Officials from both countries confirm that the two companies have begun work to develop the Al-Ahdab oilfield in Wasit province in eastern Iraq. The US$3 billion project is a follow-through on a contract signed in...
SINGAPORE: Singapore Petroleum said 2008 profit down 55.4%, reviewing projects
interests (PATMI) for 2008 fell 55.4% to S$229.7 million while revenues rose 26.9% to a record S$11.1 billion. (US$1=S$1.5). World crude oil prices started the year strongly, breaking through US$100 a barrel for the first time and rising to a record US$147.21 on July 11 before crashing to a low of US$33 in December. The...
THAILAND: Fitch assigns ‘AA-’ rating to Thai Oil’s debentures
ratings of ‘AA minus’ to Thai Oil Public Company Limited (TOP)’s new unsecured and unsubordinated debentures with the issue size of 5 billion to 10 billion baht, and up to seven year maturity. It has described the outlook for the issue as stable. The proceeds from these new debentures will be earmarked for working capital,...
VIETNAM: Foreign investors offered up to 49% of Dung Quat refinery
49% of Vietnam’s first oil refinery due to come onstream next month. The Vietnamese government is believed to favour selling part of the refinery in the central province of Dung Quat to companies which can supply crude oil. UK oil major BP, which has significant investments in the country, is reported to be a lead...
SINGAPORE: ‘Bunkering: Principles, Management & Operations’ on February 24 to 25
(EnergyAsia, January 29, Thursday) — August Energy Pte Ltd will be holding a workshop on ‘Bunkering Principles, Management & Operations’ in Singapore on February 24 and 25. The course, endorsed by the Maritime Port and Authority of Singapore (MPA), will feature overviews of the bunker and shipping industries in Singapore and Asia. Topics covered include (more…)
SINGAPORE: ‘BIOPOWER Generation Asia’ from March 25 to 26
(EnergyAsia, January 29, Thursday) — Green Power Conferences will be holding the ‘BioPower Generation Asia’ conference in Singapore on March 25 and 26. The conference aims to serve as a platform for participants to discuss issues as well as gain insight into market movements, policy frameworks, financial opportunities, new technologies, supply chain solutions and CDM (more…)
CHINA: ADB provides $2.8 million to strengthen energy sector
Development Bank (ADB) to make its energy sector cleaner and more efficient. ADB said it will provide three technical assistance grants totalling $2.8 million to support government initiatives to reduce sulphur dioxide gas emissions, increase energy savings and strengthen a fund that supports clean energy projects. Over the past two decades, China’s economy has grown...
MARKETS: State spending on infrastructure could hit $35 trillion over the next 20 years, says CIBC
recession, between $25 and $30 trillion of fresh infrastructure investment will be pumped into the global economy over the next two decades, said a major Canadian bank. In a new report, CIBC World Markets described it as governments all over the world “buying jobs”. Senior economist Benjamin Tal said: “And the infrastructure sector is where...
QATAR: Qatargas’s fourth train expected to start up next month
natural gas (LNG) from its fourth train sometime in February, more than six months behind the original deadline. The new train will have the capacity to produce 7.8 million tonnes of LNG, and could contribute to further weakness in the world LNG markets. Producers are reeling from slumping global demand and difficulty in obtaining financing....
MARKETS: Traders using tankers to store more than 80 million barrels of crude oil
crude oil in tankers berthed in the waters of the US Gulf, Asia and the Middle East as part of their trading strategy. With the oil markets in significant contango, traders are able to realise profits simply by buying and storing the oil now and selling them off later in the year. The oil is...
MIDDLE EAST: Israel eyes offshore gas in Gaza invasion, say critics
its recent military invasion of the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv has defended the 22-day war on the grounds that Hamas and other Islamic militant groups had been launching missile attacks on Israel from Gaza. The invasion has resulted in the death of more than 1,300 Palestinians including hundreds of children. Some commentators have alleged that...
SRI LANKA: Army uncovers insurgents’ oil storage
used by the Tamil Tigers militia who appear to be losing ground in their war for a separate state. The storage facility comprising 300 plastic barrels held mostly diesel fuel that was a vital resource in the Tigers’ war effort. The Defence Ministry said they uncovered the underground terminal at a coconut grove in Sri...
SAUDI ARABIA: Oil export revenue at record US$247 billion, says EIA
first 11 months of 2008 on the back of record high oil prices, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Saudi Arabia’s oil earnings placed at the top of OPEC which earned around US$925 billion in the first 11 months, compared with $671 billion for the same period in 2007. In second place is the...
MARKETS: US bailout package will spark inflation, worsen oil supply crunch, said CIBC
(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — To pay for its multi-trillion dollar bailout and stimulus packages, the Obama administration will print money at an unprecedented rate, a course that will drive up inflation and drive down the greenback while shifting a large part of the financial burden onto foreign investors, said CIBC World Markets. In a...
MARKETS: European spot gas prices delinked from oil continuing out to 2012, says consultant
(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — The emerging de-linkage of spot gas prices in Europe from traditional oil-indexed levels will continue out to 2012, posing a challenge to major gas suppliers, said independent energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. Reduced regional demand expectations combined with rising near-term supply will pull prices down to North American price levels,...
MARKETS: OPEC predicts further oil demand decline in 2009
(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — OPEC is predicting that world oil demand will fall further this year to follow on 2008’s decline. In its latest monthly report, the oil cartel said world oil demand fell by 100,000 b/d last year for its first year of negative growth since 1983. It said the erosion in...
QATAR: Energy City to start up next year
(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — Qatar’s Energy City, a global trading hub for the oil and gas industry, is in course to start up in mid-2010, said CEO Hesham Al Emadi. Construction of its infrastructure is 70% complete and international companies are still signing up to set up operations despite the weakness in oil prices....
SINGAPORE: SBF and Temasek Polytechnic launch clean energy test-bedding community
(EnergyAsia, January 28, Wednesday) — The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Temasek Polytechnic (TP) have announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a clean energy test-bedding community (CETC) to encourage the development and adoption of clean energy technologies and solutions among businesses in Singapore. The organisations said the community would provide a platform...