(EnergyAsia, January 11 2011, Monday) — Russia is making a multi-billion-dollar bet in building the 4,070-km East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline to export oil to Asia at a time when demand is declining in Europe’s recessed economies. The US$25 billion pipeline, whose second stage is set for completion in 2013, will help Russian oil producers...
(EnergyAsia, January 11 2011, Monday) — The United Energy Group Ltd (UEG), a Hong Kong-based investment group, has won the bidding to acquire British energy giant BP Plc’s energy assets in Pakistan for US$775 million. UEG will pay BP a cash deposit of US$100 million and pay the remaining US$675 million cost on the sale’s...
(EnergyAsia, January 10 2011, Monday) — With Australia’s main coal mining operations in Queensland state damaged by severe floods, China may be forced to review its plans to cap domestic coal production. China had planned to increase coal imports from Australia and other countries following last year’s announcement that it would cap domestic production to...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2011, Friday) — A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd, a Nasdaq-listed provider of distributed power generation systems in China, said it has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with Inner Mongolia Huolinhe Coal Trade Group Co Ltd for a 4×200 megawatt coal-based power-generating plant in China. A-Power, which also manufactures wind...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2011, Friday) — Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Co Ltd (EGCO) has raised its equity stake in the Philippines’ Quezon Power to 52% in line with its goal of boosting its generating capacity and earnings growth. EGCO said it paid a total of US$215 million for the additional shares from Ogden Power Development...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2011, Friday) — Banpu Plc, Southeast Asia’s largest coal miner, is looking to nearly double its coal output to 46 million tonnes this year, according to its chief financial officer. The company is confident of realising this goal as it will be including production from its newly acquired mines in Australia while...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2011, Friday) — Finland’s Wartsila Corporation, a global leader in providing power solutions for the marine and energy markets, said it has secured a new order from Eidesvik Offshore for its fifth liquefied natural gas (LNG) platform supply vessel (PSV). Wartsila said the latest order by the Norwegian firm highlights its status...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2011, Friday) — Canada’s Prophecy Resource Corp said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to supply at least 1.2 million tonnes of coal a year to the JUST Group from its Ulaan Ovoo mine in Mongolia over a three-year period. JUST will re-sell the coal to end users through back-to-back...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2011, Friday) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Asia must watch out for the challenges of inflation and strong capital inflows in 2011. Asia’s economies are expected to collectively grow by around seven percent in 2011, one percentage point slower than last year, but the region will still need to continue...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2011, Thursday) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Pakistan last month have led to trade deals worth US$35 billion between the two countries. The deals are expected to strengthen their strategic ties and help Pakistan’s efforts to mend its economy and battle a debilitating energy crisis. Pakistan, which now meets only...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2011, Thursday) — China and India will import more coal this year to meet their rising demand for electricity, according to separate reports issued by US investment bank Citigroup Inc and commodities trader mjunction Services Ltd. Citigroup has forecast China to raise its coal imports to 233 million tonnes in 2011, sharply...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2011, Thursday) — Indonesia’s oil and gas regulator BPMIGAS said it expects the country’s oil production to reach 970,000 b/d in 2011, up from 947,000 b/d last year. The agency acknowledged that last year’s oil output fell below its target of 965,000 b/d, which it blamed on a combination of bad weather,...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2011, Thursday) — Iceland is interested to jointly develop geothermal power production and use with China to meet the Asian nation’s growing energy demand while lessening its dependence on fossil fuels. According to Iceland President Olafur R. Grimsson, the two countries will use Reykjavik as the model. Iceland’s capital and largest city...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2011, Thursday) — Dwindling coal supplies have been blamed for causing power cuts and blackouts in central China last month, with the prospect of worse to come in the weeks ahead. A surge in power demand due to cold weather strained domestic coal inventories, with two power stations completely running out of...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2010, Thursday) — Transit Holdings Limited (TRH), an Australian Stock Exchange-listed coal miner, said it has agreed to acquire all of Corvus Coal Limited’s coal exploration rights, covering 320,000 hectares in Cordoba province in Colombia. TRH will issue five million fully paid ordinary shares to Corvus upon shareholder approval of the transaction...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2011, Wednesday) — Celanese Corp, a NYSE-listed chemical company, is planning to invest a total of US$350 million to build two plants in China to produce ethanol from coal. Using proprietary technology, each plant has the capacity to cheaply produce around 400,000 tons of ethanol annually for use in industrial chemicals. The...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2011, Wednesday) — Russian energy company Gazprom is seeking China’s commitment to buy natural gas from Western Siberia. According to Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, his company is ready to start supplying gas from its Western Siberia fields to China as early as 2015 provided the two sides can come to a definitive...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2011, Wednesday) — China and Russia are planning to jointly invest in developing hydrocarbon reserves in Asia, Africa and Latin America, said Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko. Companies from both countries have been in talks for some months, and are expected to begin firming up details on specific projects sometime this year....
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2011, Wednesday) — Russia added a record 750 million tons (or more than 5.5 billion barrels) to its crude oil reserves and more than 810 billion cubic meters to its natural gas reserves in 2010, said Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev. The bulk of the new reserves were found in small and...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2010, Wednesday) — Russia strengthened its claim to being the world’s largest oil producer when it boosted output by 2.2% year-on-year to a record 10.15 million b/d output for 2010. This was Russia’s highest annual oil production since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the first time that...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2011, Wednesday) — Australia’s Queensland state has insisted it will proceed with plans to offload its Abbot Point coal terminal, but prospective investors may need time to assess the extent of damage from the record rainfall that has submerged much of its infrastructure. The state government said it had received indicative bids...
(EnergyAsia, January 4 2011, Tuesday) — Bouyed by strong economic growth and demand for power generation, China’s coal imports are likely to rise by 60% in 2011, said stockbroker UOB Kay Hian Ltd. The Asian nation’s coal imports may increase to 265 million tonnes this year from around 166 million tonnes in 2010, it said...
(EnergyAsia, January 4 2011, Tuesday) — China could deplete its coal deposits by 2030 as demand for coal outpaces its domestic production capacity, said Hong Kong brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. In a recent analysis, CLSA estimates that Chinese coal demand is growing by around 10% each year, and that its deposits will be depleted even...
(EnergyAsia, January 4 2011, Tuesday) — Indonesia’s Sumatra Island is set to emerge as one of the world’s leading steam coal producers to meet rising demand from Asia. While Kalimantan is currently far better known as Indonesia’s main coal producing region, analysts said Sumatra has the greater potential as it holds larger deposits and is...
(EnergyAsia, January 4 2011, Tuesday) — Singapore is raising its bets on the upstream oil and gas sector by focusing on providing services and equipment to support exploration and production efforts. As more companies venture into deepwater acreages around the world, Singapore has found itself in a strong position to support their needs. The government...