(EnergyAsia, October 18 2010, Monday) — Thai state upstream company PTTEP said it has yet to obtain proof from Jakarta that an oil spill from one of its offshore fields last year caused damage to Indonesian territorial waters. The Indonesian government is seeking compensation of up to 22 trillion rupiah from PTTEP, which operated the...
(EnergyAsia, October 18 2010, Monday) — Saudi Aramco is examining a new formation in the Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia, expecting to uncover significant new reserves. Aramco said tapping into porous rock formations could enable it to raise production at the world’s largest oil field, which accounts for about six percent. An extensive micro-pore...
(EnergyAsia, October 18 2010, Monday) — Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA will have to delay plans to boost oil exports to China after a huge fire badly damaged one of its two main oil terminals last month. China imports around 3% of its crude requirements and 20% of its fuel oil needs from Venezuela and all of...
(EnergyAsia, October 18 2010, Monday) — Using new technology, energy companies could squeeze out as much as 15 billion barrels of oil from mature oil fields in Canada. Canada, which holds about 179 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, holds an additional 77 billion barrels deemed uneconomic to extract using existing technology, according to recent...
(EnergyAsia, October 18 2010, Monday) — Australia could become a leading producer of rare earth metals (REMs) after China began imposing export curbs of the metals which are essential to the production of cell phones, handheld electronic devices, laptop computers, electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels. Major consumers such as Japan, Europe and...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Friday) — A regional oil storage and trading hub in Johor state, and a high speed train between Kuala Lumpur linking Singapore are among more than 100 major projects that the Malaysian government said it is planning to implement over the next 10 years. The projects under the government’s Economic Transformation...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Friday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has successfully launched its clean energy bond to fund its many clean energy projects for the Asia-Pacific region. With tenors between four and seven years, the bond was issued in four tranches denominated in the following currencies: one each in Australian dollars and Turkish...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Friday) — The upstream subsidiary of Malaysia’s state oil company, Petronas, has awarded a RM2.4 billion contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of a large oil and gas terminal to a group linked to Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s family, drawing criticism and opposition from local politicians. (US$1=RM3.08). Samsung-Naim JV,...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Friday) — Vietnam is finding out the hard way that the refining business isn’t for everyone. The government remains snowed under by operational issues involving the existing Dung Quat refinery, while financing and partnership challenges are holding up progress on the proposed Nghi Son project. Like most fast-growing Asian economies, the...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Friday) — Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will need to import another three million tonnes of crude oil a year after completing the expansion of its refinery in Panipat in Haryana state in November. The 12-million-ton-a-year refinery in northern India will be expanded to process to 15 million tons to help meet...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Wednesday) — Singapore is developing its liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG) in phases, starting with an initial capacity to handle over nine million tons with the potential to rise to as much as 12 million tons if the need arises. Due to start up in 2013, the terminal’s capacity already exceeds...
(EnergyAsia, October 15 2010, Wednesday) — China’s natural gas demand could triple over the next 10 years, thanks to increased activity in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors, according to energy consulting firm FACTS. In a recent report, FACTS projects China’s gas demand could reach 25.3 billion cubic feet per day by 2020 compared with...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Thursday) — Vietnam is expected to become a net coal importer within five years as it builds more coal-fired power plants to meet rising domestic demand for electricity. The Southeast Asian nation could see its coal exports decline by three to five million tons a year through 2015 if it meets...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Thursday) — Singapore-listed Mirach Energy said it has begun producing coal at an open-pit mine in Samarinda, the capital of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan. The mine produces sub-bituminous coal of caloric value 5100-5300 Kcal/kg, also known as steam coal, that is generally used for power generation. The 100-hectare contract...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Friday) — ICE Futures Europe said it is planning to introduce new coal options contracts to complement its world‐class suite of coal price risk management tools. The new products, which will consist of monthly options contracts for Rotterdam, Richards Bay and Newcastle, will be launched on November 8. These will consist...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Thursday) — Engineering giant Foster Wheeler AG said a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has been awarded a contract by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation to design and supply two pulverised coal steam generators for the Nghi Son 1 power project for Vietnam Electricity (EVN). The project is located in the central...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Tuesday) — New Delhi-based power company NTPC Ltd is looking to acquire majority stakes in two coal mines in Indonesia, which has emerged as a key supplier of coal to India. The two mines in Sumatra and East Kalimantan could hold a total of up to 1.8 billion tons of coal...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Thursday) — Exxon Mobil Corporation said it has started producing from the Odoptu field at the Sakhalin-1 project off the coast of northeastern Russia. Operated by subsidiary Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL) on behalf of the five-company international Sakhalin-1 consortium, the field is expected to add up to 11 million barrels to...
(EnergyAsia, October 14 2010, Thursday) — The Chinese government has thrown its support behind the country’s first coal price index, which it hopes will enable the industry to hedge its production and trade. State agency National Development and Reform Commission said the weekly Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index (B SPI), which is intended to reflect coal...
(EnergyAsia, October 13 2010, Wednesday) — State-owned Coal India expects to raise as much as 140 billion rupees through an initial public offering that could become the biggest sale ever by an Indian company. (US$1=44 rupees). The company has been given approval by regulators to proceed with the sale of more than 631 million shares...
(EnergyAsia, October 13 2010, Wednesday) — Pulled from different directions by governments, environmental lobbyists and business groups, the global shipping industry is struggling to agree on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new vessels. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said its committee on marine protection could not reach a consensus over technical and operational...
(EnergyAsia, October 13 2010, Wednesday) – Thanks in part to China’s demand for coal and iron ore, Australia posted a record high trade surplus in June. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the country’s trade surplus reached A$3.54 billion in June, with exports up 7% on year to A$26.7 billion and imports flat at A$23.1...
(EnergyAsia, October 13 2010, Wednesday) — Engineering giant Foster Wheeler AG said a subsidiary has signed a 20-year agreement with The Saraswati Industrial Syndicate Ltd to provide an advanced technology license for wall-fired subcritical and supercritical pulverised-coal (PC) steam generators to be sold in India. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The contract...
(EnergyAsia, October 13 2010, Wednesday) — Asia will continue to lead the global recovery over the short term, with the region expected to grow by 8% this year, but the main challenge for Asian policymakers remains managing the exit from stimulus policies, said economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Despite the turbulence in financial...
(EnergyAsia, October 13 2010, Wednesday) — The Malaysian government is looking to build two 1,000-megawatt coal-fired power generation plants in Peninsular Malaysia to meet increased power demand by 2015. The decision, announced by Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui, follows the decision to cancel the controversial proposal to build a costly...