(EnergyAsia, May 25 2010, Tuesday) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed concern with rising petroleum subsidies around the world as they are costly, inequitable and harm national budgets and the environment. In a special paper, it projects that petroleum subsidies, which will benefit higher income households, could reach almost $742 billion by year-end....

(EnergyAsia, May 25 2010, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia does not think world oil production will soon peak, but instead is preparing for a possible decline in demand in the next decade by diversifying its economic base. The oil-rich nation’s lead climate change negotiator Mohammed al-Sabban said it is striving to remain a top energy exporter...

(EnergyAsia, May 25 2010, Tuesday)—The Indonesian government said it will increase energy subsidies beyond what it had budgeted earlier this year with a smaller-than-expected rise in power tariffs. The electricity subsidy could rise by 2.4 trillion rupiah to 56.9 trillion rupiah this year, said chief economic minister Hatta Rajasa. (US$1=9,250 rupiah). The subsidy was originally...

(EnergyAsia, May 25 2010, Tuesday) — Changfeng Energy Inc, a China-based natural gas distributor listed in Canada, has started building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility in Haitang Bay on China’s Hainan Island. The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company is installing four tanks with a total capacity to store 200 cubic metres of LNG. The...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) — State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) has signed a new agreement with Royal Dutch Shell plc and PetroChina Company Limited to explore and produce natural gas in Qatar’s Block D. The partners will jointly explore in an onshore and offshore area of 8,089 sq km located close to the Ras Laffan...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) — Jason Marine Group Ltd (JMG), a Singapore-based leader in marine electronics systems integration, has ventured into South Korea through a partnership with that country’s e-MLX Co Ltd (e-MLX) and businessman Sang Hun Jin. JMG’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Jason Venture Pte Ltd (JVP), owns the majority 51% stake in the newly...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) — By Wayne Madsen for Oilprice.com. The Obama administration, already charged with providing political cover for BP in the Gulf of Mexico mega-oil disaster, is also charged with allowing BP to renege on agreements between the firm, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the state of Indiana to prevent...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) — Wartsila, the Finland-based global supplier of decentralised power plant solutions, said it has been awarded two operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts for two floating power plants that will be used to boost Iraq’s electricity supply. Wartsila said it will have full responsibility for ensuring the efficient running and servicing...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) —Leading key energy players in the US have warned the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that its proposal to curb speculation could drive investors to offshore or unregulated markets. CFTC is pushing for a plan that will limit investment positions of big traders to prevent them from having significant influence...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) — China’s trade with the Americas will be boosted by the US$5.25 billion project to widen and deepen the Panama Canal which will significantly reduce travelling time and transportation costs. The shipment costs of finished goods from China to the US east coast will be cut by an estimated 30%...

(EnergyAsia, May 24 2010, Monday) — The liquefied natural gas (LNG) boom in Australia is expected to generate A$17 billion a year in revenues for the government by 2017, up from A$4.4 billion in 2009, according to a recent report by Goldman Sachs JBWere. (US$1=A$1.13). An estimated A$83 billion worth of LNG projects are scheduled...

(EnergyAsia, May 21 2010, Friday) — Essar Oil, India’s second largest private oil refiner, plans to expand the capacity of its 10.5-million-tonne Vadinar refinery in Gujarat state to 18 million tonnes instead of 16 million.   Essar Oil CEO Naresh Navyar said the company plans to undertake minor modifications to convert a secondary unit into...

(EnergyAsia, May 21 2010, Friday) — India’s two leading private oil trading and refining companies, Reliance Industries and Essar Oil, have expanded their trading infrastructure to beef up their international trading capability.   Reliance Industries, one of the world’s largest refiners, has leased space at the Borco oil terminal in the Caribbean to store and...

(EnergyAsia, May 21 2010, Friday) — An unresolved court dispute in Thailand over health and environmental compliance of energy companies is adding to delays in projects and the restructuring of national energy company PTT Plc. Already, the company has put on hold plans for expansion as a result of the on-going political upheaval and violent...

(EnergyAsia, May 21 2010, Friday) — By the Wayne Madsen Report (WMR) for Oilprice.com.   The growth of dead zones around vital fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico soaked by oil spewing out from a ruptured well has led to a severe shortage of shrimp and marine food supplies in the US.    According...

(EnergyAsia, May 21 2010, Friday) — Sinar Mas Agro Resources Technology (SMART), a unit of the world’s second-biggest palm oil producer, Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources, has reiterated its commitment to achieving sustainable palm oil production amid fresh allegations by Greenpeace that the subsidiary has been felling rainforests in Indonesia. “Within the last few days we have...

(EnergyAsia, May 21 2010, Friday) — Emirates National Oil Co has begun work on upgrading its Jebel Ali refinery, the company’s chief executive said.   The Dubai state-owned company recently added a reformer and a hydrotreater to the 120,000 b/d refinery, the smallest of the UAE’s four.   The US$850 million upgrade would also allow...

(EnergyAsia, May 20 2010, Thursday) — US-based natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp said it has agreed to a private placement of convertible preferred stock to two Asian companies for a total of US$600 million. The buyers are Maju Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, an affiliate of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, and Hampton Asset Holding...

(EnergyAsia, May 20 2010, Thursday) — ICE, the energy futures exchange, said it cleared a record 146 million tonnes of coal through 146,445 coal futures contracts traded in April. The company said the contracts, cleared via ICE Clear Europe, exceeded the previous record of 108,730 lots in January. ICE added that its Rotterdam contract traded...

(EnergyAsia, May 20 2010, Thursday) — Singapore-listed Sembcorp Industries said its first quarter net profit rose 19% to S$158.8 million from S$133.6 million for the same period last year. (US$1=S$1.4). Its turnover rose 12% to S$2.4 billion while return-on-equity was a robust 17.5%, and cash and cash equivalents remained strong at S$3 billion. The marine...

(EnergyAsia, May 20 2010, Thursday) — India’s Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has announced plans to double its cargo handling capacity to more than 90 million tonnes by mid-2013, with emphasis on serving the country’s growing oil, coal and chemicals trade. Chairman Rahul Asthana said the port, which has begun deepening the common channel, has opened...

(EnergyAsia, May 20 2010, Thursday) — Higher natural gas prices and the increasing popularity of shale drilling have improved the prospects for Canada’s gas production. The National Energy Board has reversed its tune and now predict that new shale supplies would more than offset the decline in conventional gas output, meet domestic demand and spur...

(EnergyAsia, May 20 2010, Thursday)— Global jet fuel demand fell by at least one million barrels per day in April as the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland disrupted air travel in Europe and connecting flights around the world. By the second half of April, around 70% of all flights in Europe had been grounded, resulting...