VIETNAM: Government aims to raise Dung Quat refinery’s capacity to 200,000 b/d by 2017

(EnergyAsia, June 30 2011, Thursday) — Vietnam is planning to expand the capacity of its first oil refinery at Dung Quat by more than 50% to around 200,000 b/d by 2017, according to operator Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co. The company said it will the government will need to invest up to US$2 billion...

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OMAN: Oman Oil Refineries renamed Orpic

(EnergyAsia, June 30 2011, Thursday) — Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co has been renamed Orpic. The company said the new name and a rebranding campaign are aimed at reflecting the sultanate’s increasingly modern and inter-linked oil refining and petrochemicals industry which recently was recently restructured to improve efficiency and competitveness. Orpic, formed out...

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JAPAN: JX Nippon gradually restoring operations at Kashima refinery

(EnergyAsia, June 30 2011, Friday) — Japan’s largest oil refiner, JX Nippon Oil & Energy, has restored the bulk of operations at its 252,000 b/d Kashima refinery that was affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Its 145,000 plant in Sendai, the worst hit of the company’s eight refineries, remains closed for repairs, and...

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INDONESIA: Pertamina aims to build storage tanks near Singapore

(EnergyAsia, June 30 2011, Thursday) — Pertamina, Indonesia’s state oil and gas company, is looking to expand its oil storage capacity as a hedge against supply disruption and rising prices. The company is exploring the possibility of building new crude and crude products storage tanks in new locations like Sambu Island in the Riaus and...

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AUSTRALIA: LNG exports to bring in A$36 billion a year, says IEA

(EnergyAsia, June 30 2011, Thursday) — Australia will overtake Qatar as the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer and exporter by 2020, earning a whopping A$36 billion in revenue a year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). In proclaiming that natural gas is entering a “golden age”, the Paris-based agency anointed Australia, which earned...

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SINGAPORE: “Energy Map of Singapore/Johor 2011” and “Energy Industry in Singapore 2011 with directory”

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — The 2011 edition of this map, measuring 120 cm by 90 cm, shows the latest oil, gas, petrochemical, chemical and power and marine installations and plants in Singapore and Johor. First produced in 1999, this unique map contains latest statistical information including oil and power consumption, refining capacities, power (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Economic outlook for Queensland and West Australia tied to LNG industry expansion

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — The economic outlook for Australia’s Queensland state is tied to its massive liquefied natural gas industry (LNG) that is showing no signs of slowing down, say analysts and government officials. The state is expected to pull in another A$10 billion worth of new investments, with half coming from the...

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JAPAN: JX Nippon may shut down Muroran refinery

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — Faced with dwindling domestic oil demand, Japan’s top refiner JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp is looking to shut down its 180,000 b/d Muroran refinery in the north. It has been planning to reduce its crude refining capacity by 200,000 b/d by March 2014 after having slashed around 400,000...

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ASIA: Refiners expanding capacities to position for growth

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — Asian refiners are expanding their capacities and global market share at a time when potential rivals in the US, Europe and Japan are either exiting the business, reducing operations or restructuring their businesses. India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp, Essar, Reliance and IOC, Malaysia’s state-run Petronas and China’s PetroChina and Sinopec...

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CHINA: May oil demand robust at 9.31 million b/d, but growth slowing down and inventories rising, says Platts

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — China’s apparent oil demand in May reached 39.4 million metric tons (mt) or an average of 9.31 million barrels per day (b/d), which was 8% higher year on year, as state-owned enterprises continued to increase output to meet local market supply needs, said energy media Platts. But Platts said (more…)

COMPANIES: BG Group signs agreement with Bank of China for access to US$1.5 billion funding

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — UK’s BG Group said it has signed a key cooperation agreement with Bank of China that allows for it to access up to US$1.5 billion in new funding options to support its expansion in the global gas industry. Building upon their existing commercial relationships, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (more…)

PEOPLE: New appointments at Singapore-based firms, SGX, SMX and BDP

(EnergyAsia, June 29 2011, Wednesday) — Three Singapore-based firms, Singapore Exchange, Singapore Mercantile Exchange and BDP, have named senior executive appointments. Singapore Exchange (SGX) has hired a veteran oil trader for the first time to head its commodities business underlining its attempt to become a leading commodities exchange in Asia. Julie Heng, a gasoline trader, (more…)

INDONESIA: PLN forced to import gas amid depleting domestic supply

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — Faced with depleting domestic supply and rising oil prices, Indonesia’s state electricity monopoly PT PLN said it will have to import a significant volume of natural gas this year. The company is exploring the possibility of importing around 1,000 million standard cubic feet a day (mmscfd) from either Australia,...

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MARKETS: Experts express doubts over IEA’s strategy shift in releasing stockpile to influence oil markets

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — If International Energy Agency (IEA) members opened their emergency oil stockpiles last week to ward off a global recession, the move marks a major shift in countries’ approach to intervening in the oil market, two industry experts said on the Platts Energy Week, a US independent, all-energy television news...

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CHINA: CNPC unit to start work soon to expand and upgrade Cuba refinery

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — A subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is expected to start work on expanding and upgrading the antiquated 65,000 b/d Cienfuegos refinery in Cuba. Haunqiu Contracting and Engineering Corp will team up with Cuban-Venezuelan oil company Cuven Petrol SA and Technip Itali SA, a unit of the...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Plans to raise, maintain production at nearly 10 million b/d

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia plans to raise its oil production to average nearly 10 million b/d in June and coming months following the failure of the OPEC meeting earlier this month to set a production quota. Citing anonymous sources, news agencies said state Saudi Aramco will proceed to stamp its authority...

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UPSTREAM: Canadian oilsands production to reach 4.9 million b/d, investments to exceed C$2 trillion by 2035

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — Canada could attract more than C$2 trillion worth of investments into its oilsands projects over the next 25 years, according to the Canadian Energy Research Institute. The institute said investors that had postponed projects during the price crash of 2009 have revived plans to expand or upgrade. In its...

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AUSTRALIA: Exxon Mobil-Shell to expand Adelaide terminal by more than 10% by mid-2012

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — Exxon Mobil said it and Shell will expand their jointly-owned Birkenhead storage terminal in Adelaide in South Australia by more than 10% with the construction of a new nine-million-litre diesel tank. Exxon Mobil did not say how much the project would cost when completed next June to bolster Birkenhead (more…)

IRAQ: Honeywell awarded automation contract by North Refineries Company, plans expansion

(EnergyAsia, June 28 2011, Tuesday) — US engineering giant Honeywell said it has been selected by Iraq’s largest refining company as its main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to upgrade the automation systems at its plant in the town of Baiji. The US$9.6 million contract by North Refineries Company (NRC) calls for an upgrade (more…)

SINGAPORE: EV charging station firm Greenlots secures funding

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2011, Monday) — With installations of charging networks for electric vehicles in 11 countries, Singapore-based Greenlots said it has successfully concluded a round of equity financing to help accelerate its global growth. Led by SBI Ven Capital, the overseas investment arm of SBI Group and Japan’s largest independent venture group, and Tembusu (more…)

SINGAPORE: Companies and organisations invited to participate in S$20 million electric vehicle test-bed

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2011, Monday) — Singapore has launched its much-anticipated national system to test and gauge different electric vehicle (EV) prototypes and charging technologies in the city-state’s highly urbanised environment and road conditions before deciding whether to roll it out for mass adoption. Officially launched on June 25, the S$20 million, three-year trial project (more…)

ASIA: Region must take radical steps to promote clean energy production and use, says ADB

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2011, Monday) — With an energy crisis looming, Asian nations must “take radical steps” to increase energy efficiency and invest in renewable energy, said Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda. The Asia Pacific’s strong economic growth and its increasing population are generating the world’s fastest growing demand for energy that could (more…)

MARKETS: Consultant predicts global gas glut to dissipate as early as late 2012

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2011, Monday) — The global oversupply of natural gas could be over by late 2012 instead of 2014/15 as predicted earlier, causing spot prices to spike higher than contract prices in both Asia and Europe, said consultant Wood Mackenzie in its latest ‘Global Gas’ report. “The global oversupply of gas, which was...

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JAPAN: IEEJ raised oil demand growth forecast to compensate for loss of nuclear power

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2011, Monday) — The following is an edited extract from the latest ‘Australian Commodities June quarter’ report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). “The Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) has revised upward its forecast of Japan’s oil consumption for the year to March 31 2012...

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AUSTRALIA: Coal exports to recover strongly next FY after declining this year, says state agency

(EnergyAsia, June 27 2011, Monday) — The volume and value of Australia’s coal exports are expected to recover strongly in the next fiscal year ending June 30 2012 to reach record highs after declining in the current year to June 30 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)....

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