(EnergyAsia, December 6 2010, Monday) — UK consulting group Wood Mackenzie has predicted that the US will surpass Australia and Indonesia as the world’s leading region for coal mergers and acquisitions. Gero Farruggio, head of coal supply research at the Edinburgh, Scotland-based consulting company, said: “Wood Mackenzie’s analysis indicates a global shift in activity towards...

(EnergyAsia, December 6 2010, Monday) — Mercuria Energy Group Ltd said it has acquired a 6,000-hectare coal concession site in south eastern Kalimantan in Indonesia for an undisclosed price. The company said it plans to develop the asset to export two million tons of good quality bituminous coal for export. The new asset represents a...

(EnergyAsia, December 6 2010, Monday) — Australia’s Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ECT) believes it has the technology to enable China to consume coal to meet its rising energy demand while mitigating carbon emissions. ECT CEO Kos Galtos said his company’s coldry technology will enable China to achieve the cost-effective development of domestic lignite reserves for...

(EnergyAsia, December 6 2010, Monday) — UK’s Xstrata Coal and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd (MDP), an Australian subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, have jointly approved the A$1.3 billion expansion of their Ulan coal mine joint venture in Australia. (US$1=A$1.02). MDP, which holds a 10% interest in the Ulan Coal Mines Limited, said the partners will...

(EnergyAsia, December 6 2010, Monday) — The approval of a major coal project by Australia’s Queensland state government has boosted the industry’s prospects in the Surat Basin region, said one of its emerging players. MetroCoal Limited said the Queensland Co-ordinator General’s approval for UK-based Xstrata’s proposed A$3 billion Wandoan project has greatly enhanced the region’s...

(EnergyAsia, December 6 2010, Monday) — Australia’s Linc Energy said it is working at the same time to both sell off and develop its Teresa coal resource, located 17 km north of the major regional town of Emerald in the prolific Bowen Basin. The Brisbane-based company said it has drilled four core holes and planning...

(EnergyAsia, December 3 2010, Friday) — The National Solar Repository (NSR) was launched November 30 by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) in collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic. The launch took place at an industry event co-organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) as well as the...

(EnergyAsia, December 3 2010, Friday) — US-based Peabody Energy said it has named an ex-World Bank official, Arshad Sayed, as President for Peabody Mongolia and India with responsibility for managing the company’s business development initiatives in the two countries. He recently completed a four-year appointment as country manager and resident representative for the World Bank...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Friday) — The Saudi Arabian government plans to extract more crude from Ghawar oil field, the world’s largest single oil field, through the deployment of new technology. The field is believed to hold a significant portion of unrecovered oil residues because of an extensive micro-pore system of hidden passages in carbonate...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Friday) — In line with an expected rise in coal consumption, Indonesia’s state utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is looking to raise coal purchases by 26% next year. The company is preparing to start up new coal-fired power plants next year, helping to boost Indonesia’s coal-fired power plant capacity to...

(EnergyAsia, December 3 2010, Friday) — China’s imports of liquefied natural gas may swell to 25 million metric tonnes a year by 2015 from 5.5 million tonnes last year, according to LNG vessel builder Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. The company’s vice director of business and marketing Shen Ning recently issued this prediction as China is aiming to...

(EnergyAsia, December 3 2010, Friday) — With rising coal demand in China and India, UBS has recommended that investors bet on above average returns for investments in global coal stocks in coming years. China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of coal, the investment bank’s most preferred commodity. India is also among the world’s...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — With any eye to meeting China’s insatiable energy appetite, investors are looking to capitalise on Mongolia’s abundant coal resources. Tavan Tolgoi in the South Gobi desert, which has some of the world’s largest untapped coal reserves, is taking centre stage, with construction of the Oyu Tolgoi mine now underway....

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — Macquarie Research has concluded that oil prices, which have been holding well at US$80 to $85 a barrel, have been solidly supported by robust global oil demand in recent months. In a recent report, it noted: “Oil demand globally is growing faster than anyone (including us bulls) expected. Third-quarter...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — Proposed coal seam gas-to-liquefied natural gas (CSG-to-LNG) conversion projects could lead to the depletion of groundwater in Australia’s Great Artesian Basin. (CSG are also known as coalbed methane or CBM). According to a report by the former technical adviser to the Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Council John Hillier commissioned...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — Russia is working to strengthen political and trade ties with China as it seeks to strike a balance in its relations with the East and the West. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has pursued radical reforms to align its political and economic system with its former...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — Canada’s Cameco said it has signed an agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co Ltd (CGNPC) to supply 29 million pounds of uranium concentrate under a long-term agreement through 2025. CGNPC, China’s largest clean-energy enterprise, operates three nuclear power stations and has the largest number of nuclear power...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — Mongolia is setting up Erdenes-Tavantolgoi Ltd as a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-owned Erdenes MGL to develop and operate the Tavantolgoi coal deposit in the south. The government plans to raise around US$1.5 billion through an initial public offering of 30% of Erdenes-Tavantolgoi. It will give away ownership vouchers, equivalent...

(EnergyAsia, December 2 2010, Thursday) — The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has launched its CDP Cities programme to provide a system for cities worldwide to report on their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related strategies. CDP Cities, in partnership with the C40 and the Clinton Climate initiative (CCI), has asked the largest cities in the world...