CHINA: Longwei Petroleum said it expects to benefit from 4.5% fuel price increase

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2011, Thursday) — Chinese fuel storage and distribution firm Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd said it expects to benefit from the 4.5% increase in gasoline and diesel prices enacted last February 21 by the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). New York Stock Exchange-listed Longwei said the increase, which translates to (more…)

JAPAN: Saudi deal to store oil could be affected by radiation fears from damaged nuclear facility

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2011, Thursday) — Barely two months after signing off on two long-term deals to store crude oil in Japan, Saudi Aramco is watching with concern at the worsening nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima. In February, Saudi Aramco announced that it had agreed to lease tanks from Japan Oil, Gas and Metals...

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MARKETS: Oil prices well supported, predictions for US$200 a barrel on continued MidEast unrest

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2011, Thursday) — Oil prices could reach US$200 a barrel in the short term as a result of the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the deadly earthquake in Japan on March 11, said Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. However, he has made clear that his forecast...

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JAPAN: Refineries to suffer long-term damage from earthquake and tsunami

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2011, Thursday) — Japan may have to increase oil product imports in coming years to overcome the long-term loss of several refineries from the effects of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeastern part of the country on March 11. Up to a third of the country’s 4.5 million b/d...

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JAPAN: LNG producers offer to increase supplies

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2011, Thursday) — Russia, Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia have offered to sell additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Japan to help it overcome the loss of energy supply from several nuclear power plants and refineries damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed to...

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ASIA: Increased imports from Japan, China and India set to boost global LNG demand and prices

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2011, Thursday) — World demand and prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) are set to spike this year on account of higher imports from Japan, China and India. The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 caused the shutdown of several refineries and nuclear power plants, forcing the world’s...

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JAPAN: ExxonMobil resumes operations at Shiogama terminal to facilitate disaster relief

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2011, Wednesday) — ExxonMobil Japan Group said it has resumed operations at its Shiogama terminal allowing for an increase in the delivery of fuel supplies into northeastern Japan, which was struck by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. More than 26,000 people died or are missing after a 9-richter scale quake struck (more…)

INDIA: Shell Global Solutions awarded contract to work with three local refineries

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2011, Wednesday) — Shell Global Solutions said it has signed an agreement with the Centre for High Technology, India (CHT) to improve operational efficiency and business performance of three Indian refineries with a combined capacity of 32 million metric tons a year. The Refinery Performance Improvement Program (RPIP) contract will be implemented (more…)

COMPANY: VTTI CEO sticking to plan for 10 million cubic metres of storage capacity in five years

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2011, Wednesday) — Despite the political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the global financial headwinds, Dutch storage terminal owner and operator VTTI remains confident of nearly doubling its global oil storage capacity over the next five years. While the troubled MENA region remains a key target, CEO...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Aramco and Sinopec signed MOU for 400,000 b/d refinery in Yanbu

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2011, Wednesday) — Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a 400,000 b/d full-conversion refinery in Yanbu city on the west coast of Saudi Arabia by 2014. Saudi Aramco will have a 62.5% stake in the Red Sea Refining Company (RSRC) while Sinopec...

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MALAYSIA: Shell starts construction of diesel processing unit at refinery

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2011, Wednesday) — Shell Malaysia said it has begun building a RM810-million diesel processing unit at its refinery in Port Dickson on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. (US$1=RM3). The company said the new unit will enable the refinery to vary its feedstock options, increase diesel production and improve its profit margin....

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JAPAN: ExxonMobil raised fuel supply to area devastated by earthquake

(EnergyAsia, March 30 2011, Wednesday) — ExxonMobil Group Japan said it has increased fuel supply into its Tohoku region dealer service station network by 140% above levels before March 11 when a 9-richter scale earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of the country. More than 26,000 people died or are missing when the quake struck,...

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CHINA: CNOOC scores record oil and gas production, and net profit for 2010

(EnergyAsia, March 29 2011, Tuesday) — China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd (CNOOC) said it achieved record oil and gas production as well as net profit for the year ended December 31 2010. Its net production increased 44.4% year-on-year to reach 328.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), while its net profit grew 84.5% to...

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CHINA: February oil demand of 9.58 million b/d was second highest on record, says Platts

(EnergyAsia, March 29 2011, Tuesday) — China’s apparent oil demand in February rose 10.1% year-over-year to 36.65 million metric tons (mt), or an average 9.58 million b/d, to record the second strongest demand level, according to leading energy information provider Platts. Based on recent figures released by the Chinese government, the company’s analysis showed oil...

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AUSTRALIA: Natural gas production, LNG export earnings reached record in 2010

(EnergyAsia, March 29 2011, Tuesday) — Australian natural gas production increased 5.1% from 1,902 petajoules (PJ) in 2009 to a record 1,999 petajoules in 2010 due to rising global demand for the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as growth in domestic gas-fired power generation, said analyst EnergyQuest. In a study, the Australian firm (more…)

CHINA: Vopak adds ICBC to its syndicate of international relationship banks

(EnergyAsia, March 29 2011, Tuesday) — Dutch logistic and storage operator Royal Vopak said it has included Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as mandated lead arranger under the five-year 1.2-billion-euro senior unsecured multicurrency revolving credit facility (RCF), which was recently closed and announced on February 3 2011. (US$1=0.72 euro). The total amount and (more…)

COMPANY: Gazprom unit appoints Nigel Kuzemko as global director of LNG development

(EnergyAsia, March 29 2011, Tuesday) — UK-based Gazprom Global LNG (GGLNG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T), said it has appointed Nigel Kuzemko as global director of liquefied natural gas (LNG) development. Mr Kuzemko will be based in Singapore and report directly to Frederic Barnaud, managing director of Gazprom Global LNG, at (more…)

COMPANY: KPI Bridge Oil expands bunker trading team in Singapore, appoints leader for London team

(EnergyAsia, March 29 2011, Tuesday) — UK-based KPI Bridge Oil, a leading global bunker broker and trader has hired four traders for its wholly-owned Singapore subsidiary and a new team leader for its London office’s fourth trading team. Raj Kumar, Thomas Lee, Amy Choo and Carmen Poh have joined KPI Bridge Oil Singapore, boosting its (more…)

UPSTREAM: Douglas-Westwood sees 79% rise in US$206 billion deepwater expenditure

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2011, Monday) — UK-based energy consultant Douglas-Westwood has forecast a massive 79% growth in the deepwater sector’s capital expenditure to US$206 billion for the 2011-2015 period compared to the previous five years. In announcing the launch of its new deepwater service, the company said drilling and completion expenditure is expected to be (more…)

JAPAN: Greenpeace voices concerns over growing nuclear radiation from Fukushima reactors

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2011, Monday) — Greenpeace International has expressed grave concern over reports of the growing leak and spread of radioactive materials including the isotope Cesium-137 from Japan’s Fukushima power plant damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. More than 21,000 people are dead and reported missing after the 9-richter scale quake (more…)

JAPAN: IATA said jet fuel infrastructure damaged, supplies running low

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2011, Monday) — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said jet fuel supplies are running low in Japan after key jet fuel infrastructure facilities were damaged by the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11. More than 20,000 people are dead or missing after a 9-richter scale earthquake struck...

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AUSTRALIA: Hancock Coal’s mines attract Indian bidders

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2011, Monday) — Three Indian firms, Essar Group, GVK and Lanco Infratech, are interested to acquire Australian energy and resources company Hancock Coal’s two flagship mines. The mines, Alpha Coal Project and Kevin’s Corner, are located in the key Galilee basin with the capacity to produce up to 30 million tonnes of...

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CHINA: NDRC official says strategic oil stockpile equal to one month of imports

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2011, Monday) — The Chinese government’s oil reserves are sufficient to cover just one month’s worth of imports, according to an official with the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Crude oil accounted for about 75% of the state’s strategic reserves while oil products accounted for the remainder, said Wang Qingyun,...

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CHINA: PetroChina expects to raise oil, natural gas output this year

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2011, Monday) — PetroChina Co Ltd expects to raise its crude oil production by two million tonnes and natural gas output by 5%-10% this year, said chairman Jiang Jiemin. On the other hand, China’s second-biggest refiner said its refining business has been suffering losses since the start of the year as a...

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SINGAPORE: Sembcorp awards Jurong Island cogeneration plant contract to Alstom Power

(EnergyAsia, March 25 2011, Friday) — Singapore Exchange-listed Sembcorp Industries said it has awarded a S$900 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Alstom Power Singapore and Alstom Switzerland for the development of the company’s second cogeneration plant on Jurong Island. (US$1=S$1.27). Work on the combined-cycle gas turbine cogeneration facility is due to begin...

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