(EnergyAsia, August 13 2010, Friday) — The Omani government is investing US$3.5 billion to raise the kingdom’s crude oil production by 18% to around one million b/d by 2015. This year, it expects to produce around 870,000 b/d for an 8% rise from 2009’s output. To reach its goal, the government plans to step up...

  (EnergyAsia, August 13 2010, Friday) — Without any major new field discoveries, Kuwait’s oil reserves have fallen below 100 billion barrels, according to daily newspaper al-Rai. The OPEC-member country’s small geographical area is seen as limiting its efforts to boost reserves through discoveries. This means that the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter will now have...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Thursday) – Iraq’s crude exports are likely to have risen in July after falling in June on a month-on-month basis as the country grapples to boost oil sales to finance reconstruction of its war-ravaged economy. Falah al-Amri, the head of Iraq’s Oil Marketing Co, said July crude exports could have risen...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Thursday) — Abu Dhabi will account for the bulk of the UAE’s projected 800,000 b/d increase in crude oil production capacity to 3.5 million b/d by 2018. This would exceed an earlier estimate by the International Energy Agency that Abu Dhabi would raise its production capacity to 3.1 million b/d by...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Thursday) — Supported by UAE port officials, Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines has stuck to its findings that one of its very large crude oil carriers, the M Star, was damaged in a terrorist attack late last month. The company said a crew member was injured when its double-hulled vessel...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Thursday) — The Saudi Arabian government has approved a record 1.44-trillion-riyal plan to accelerate the development of the country’s economy over the next five years to 2014, according to state news media SPA. (US$1=3.75 riyal). At 67% above the previous five-year plan, the latest budget will focus on developing the country’s...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Wednesday) – Joint venture partners BP Plc, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Iraq state-owned South Oil Co are looking to raise crude production at Iraq’s biggest oilfield. In a much needed move to help Iraq rebuild its war-torn economy, CNPC said it expects crude production at Rumalia to increase to...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Thursday) — Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd, a fuel wholesaler and distributor operating in China’s Shanxi Province, has reported a 128% increase in total revenue of US$72.9 million for the April-May 2010 period from US$32 million reported for the same period last year. The company said its gross profit for the...

(EnergyAsia, August 12 2010, Thursday) –UAE-based MEC holdings said it expects its coal mine in Indonesia’s Kalimantan province to start operating by end-2012, producing one million tons. For the full year of 2013, the mine is expected to produce 14 million tons, mostly for export to power companies China, India and Indonesia. The company said...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) –– Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrehkar Shirazi said China is offering to participate in the construction of seven new oil refineries in his country to add to the nearly US$40 billion that it has already invested in its oil and gas sector. These consist US$29 billion in upstream projects...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Fuel shortages in Iran are worsening as new sanctions imposed by the West have further tightened the movement of essential goods and services into the country. Traders said Iran was able to import only a fraction of its usual gasoline requirements last month, making domestic travel even harder during...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Foreign companies remain committed to invest in Iraq’s oil and gas projects despite on-going concerns with the country’s political stability and level of violence. Their commitment, backed by the expected long-term US military presence despite talks of an early withdrawal, could add nearly 10 million b/d of new capacity...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Iraq’s central government and Kurdistan are embroiled in a new round of dispute after Baghdad accused the semi-autonomous region of illegally exporting the country’s crude oil and products, and keeping the proceeds instead of returning it to the federal treasury. Iraq’s federal oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani has demanded that...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Keppel FELS Limited, the offshore subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Corp, said it has commercialised its new wind turbine installation vessel design for deeper waters in partnership with leading European fleet owner and operator Seafox Group. Keppel said its multi-purpose self-elevating platform (MPSEP) design has been chosen by the Seafox...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s Linc Energy said it has sold of one of its non-core coal tenements in the Galilee Basin in northwest Queensland to Adani Mining Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s Adani Enterprises Ltd, for a total of A$3 billion. The deal comprised $A500 million in cash and a $2...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s GTL Energy Ltd said it has completed and started up a proprietary ‘first-of-a-kind’, low rank coal-upgrading plant near South Heart in US state of North Dakota.   The Adelaide-based company said it designed the plant as a single module commercial scale plant to provide proof of the cost-efficient...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s coal miners may have to pay out an additional A$7.4 billion over five years as a result of a new 30% mining tax on resource profits, according to an estimate from consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. (US$1=A$1.09). Already battling cost inflation and low productivity, the coal mining industry will...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said it has agreed to provide Indonesia a US$307 million loan to fund its ambitious climate change mitigation agenda. The loan, entitled Climate Change Programme Loan III, will provide assistance for country-wide policy and institutional reforms aimed at boosting Indonesia’s readiness in the...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp said it and China’s Sinopec have agreed to jointly invest US$1 billion to develop oil and gas projects in Africa over the next five years.  Separately, they have agreed to build an oil refinery on the continent. Marubeni said it will also cooperate with...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — The combined value of upstream assets of 650 international oil companies (IOC) and 80 countries are worth just over US$2.6 trillion, said UK consultant Wood Mackenzie in a special report entitled ‘Maintaining the pursuit of upstream value’. In pursuit of further growth, Wood Mackenzie said there has been a...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Thailand has signed an agreement to import 240 million cubic feet a day of natural gas from the Zawtika field in the M9 block in Myanmar from 2013.                  Under the 30-year agreement, Thai upstream company PTTEP will be producing 300 million cubic feet a day of natural gas,...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited (Gazprom M&T), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russia’s statel oil and gas group Gazprom,  said it has acquired the remaining stake in UK automated meter reading (AMR) services company, TruRead Limitd, following an earlier acquisition of a 30% stake in March 2008. For the past...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Russia risks falling behind in the race to supply world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) market as a result of start-up delays to Gazprom’s crucial projects in the Arctic Ocean and Sakhalin while rivals in the Middle East, Norway, Australia and the US steam ahead with theirs. The weak outlook...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Often hit by power shortages, China’s central province of Hubei said it plans to build a storage facility in its capital, Wuhan, to hold up to five million tons of coal as strategic reserves. The planned 800-million-yuan facility, to be built jointly by Wuhan and coal producer Zhong Ping...