(EnergyAsia, July 20, Monday) — French engineering giant Technip said it has been awarded two major lump sum turnkey contracts by the Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP) to help build a 400,000 b/d grassroots refinery at the Jubail industrial area in Saudi Arabia. The full-conversion refinery will also produce 700,000 tons per...

(EnergyAsia, July 20, Monday) — Russia’s United Industrial Corporation (OPK) said it and Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd have signed an agreement to jointly develop the Elegest coal-field in Russia’s Tyva, which holds one of the richest coal mines in the world with a total reserve of approximately 900 million tons. With the agreement, the...

(EnergyAsia, July 20, Monday) — State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and CNOOC have expressed interest to acquire YPF, the Argentine subsidiary of Spanish oil firm Repsol. CNPC may be willing to pay as much as $14.5 billion for 75% of YPF, but the $19 billion amount implied for a 100% stake is seen as...

(EnergyAsia, July 20, Monday) — Australian upstream company Santos said it is paying a total of A$476 million to boost its coal seam gas (CSG) reserves through new permits in the Gunnedah Basin in northern New South Wales and the acquisition of the assets of CSG producer Eastern Star Gas Limited (ESG). (US$1=A$1.2). Santos expanded...

(EnergyAsia, July 20, Monday) — ConocoPhillips said it and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have signed the agreements to jointly develop the Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi.  ADNOC (60%) and ConocoPhillips (40%) will next form a new company to manage and operate the project to develop the sour natural gas and condensate reservoirs...

 (EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Ezra Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based integrated support and marine services provider for the offshore oil and gas sector, reported a 33% rise in net attributable profit (PATMI) for the nine months ended May 31, 2009. Ezra said its nine-month profit rose to US$43 million from US$32.4 million a year-ago after...

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Nepal’s state oil firm Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said it plans to expand its fuel storage capacity at Kathmandu city to meet rising demand. In a first phase, NOC will boost gasoline storage at its Thankot depot to 5,000 kilolitres, up from currently 1,900 kilolitres. Diesel storage would be increased...

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Malaysia’s electricity demand is set to resume its growth path next year as the government’s latest stimulus and infrastructure spending will filter through the economy. Malaysian power demand is very much driven by the country’s steel and cement industries which are expected to benefit from the stimulus and infrastructure investments....

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Several international contractors for Kuwait’s stalled 615,000 b/d Al Zour refinery project are seeking compensation. Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), which is in charge of the project, said it would refer the claims to its legal department to make appropriate determinations. KNPC had awarded contracts worth over US$8.4 billion to...

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Japan’s oil refiners may be forced to shut down more than 20% of their refining capacity over the next few years in direct response to plunging demand. The shutdown could affect about one million barrels a day in capacity. The Japanese government has projected an annual drop of oil sales...

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina is again floating plans to build up the country’s refining capacity. The latest proposal for 700,000 b/d of new capacity would help the country cut down its rising import bill for refined fuels. Pertamina has been proposing to expand its nearly one million b/d refining...

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — Developers may have to merge Australia’s various coal seam-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects amid weak energy prices and rising costs. The alternative would be for some to the projects to be cancelled. There are four major and three smaller LNG projects in the north eastern state of Queensland. In...

(EnergyAsia, July 17, Friday) — NYSE’s Bluenext and the China-Beijing Environmental Exchange (CBEEX) will sign an agreement as their first step toward setting up an information service as an international platform for clean development mechanism (CDM) projects (carbon offsets). With China possessing more than half of the world’s primary CDM Market in 2008, CBEEX represents...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — Russia’s deteriorating relations with Ukraine and Turkmenistan has helped revive the viability of the Nabucco gas pipeline, said a US-based consultant. Ukraine has been forced to pay more for its gas supplies, thereby keeping Russia from again disrupting exports to Europe, just about the same time when Moscow’s relations with...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — The proposed Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline network (TAGP) to create a Southeast Asian market for natural gas is looking increasingly difficult to achieve, said a Singapore-based analyst. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been discussing the possibility of building an inter-regional gas pipeline for more than two decades...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — Coal-dependent China is planning to boost the role of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix. Policy makers are about to announce that renewable energy will meet between 15% and 18% of the country’s energy need by 2020, up from the previous target of 10%. The increased emphasis on renewable...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — Indonesia’s coal miners expect demand to improve this year.   Most of their customers in China and India are still buying and consuming coal despite the global economic crisis, the miners said. With India’s economy expected to grow by 7% to 8% this year, coal demand could rise to 43...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — Oiltanking Odfjell Terminal Singapore Pte Ltd (OOTS) said it has signed a S$200 million syndicated term loan facility with a consortium of local and international banks. (US$1=S$1.45). Singapore’s DBS and OCBC, and France’s Calyon are the mandated lead arrangers for the six-year facility. DBS Bank Ltd was the sole bookrunner...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — GE has unveiled plans for a “net zero energy home” project which combines its most efficient appliances and lighting, new energy management systems, and power generating and storing technologies in new home construction. When applied together, GE said the system would enable a homeowner to achieve net zero energy costs...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — The consortium formed by French Areva’s transmission and distribution division, and Indonesian electrical equipments contractor PT Multifabrindo Gemilang, has won a 120-million-euro contract with Indonesia’s state utility, PT PLN. (US$1=0.72 euro). Through this contract, Areva said it will help modernise the Indonesian network in line with a 2006 programme to...

(EnergyAsia, July 16, Thursday) — Middle East policy makers must act now to meet their countries’ future gas needs, said a senior consultant from Wood Mackenzie. Speaking recently in Abu Dhabi, Rajnish Goswami, the company’s head of gas and power consulting for the Asia Pacific, said that many Middle Eastern countries face a significant risk...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — Singapore-based Asiatic Group (Holdings) Ltd said its wholly owned subsidiary, Colben Energy Holdings (Vietnam) Ltd, will be teaming up with two Vietnamese companies to complete the development of a hydroelectric power plant project in that country that was announced last year. Colben will work with Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Finance...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — The global economic crisis is hitting Africa’s economies hard, with little prospect for near-term relief. According to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the worst affected are the oil and commodity exporting countries. Oil prices have fallen by around 60% from their July 2008 peak of US$147 per...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — The European Union (EU) has promised to help fund a carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot project in China. At their recent summit, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao asked Europe for help in providing “clean coal” technology. The EU will contribute 50 million euro to the pilot project to test...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — Greenpeace and other environmental organisations are urging Southeast Asian countries to reduce or even stop their use of coal. Several countries in the region are heavily reliant on coal to meet their power needs. However, burning coal is a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, said green groups, which is...