SAUDI ARABIA: IMF expects economy to grow by 6.5% as government focuses on jobs, housing markets

(EnergyAsia, September 23 2011, Friday) — Higher oil prices together with strong support from public spending have helped Saudi Arabia’s economy rebound strongly from the global economic crisis, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). With GDP projected to grow 6.5% in 2011, the fund expects Saudi Arabia to focus on economic diversification and sustained growth...

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MARKETS: IEA now expects 2011 world oil demand to rise by one mb/d, down from previous forecast of 1.2 mb/d

(EnergyAsia, September 23 2011, Friday) — The International Energy Agency has again slashed its forecast for world oil demand growth for 2011 and 2012 in response to the global economic crisis. It now expects 2011 world oil demand to rise by one million b/d to 89.3 million b/d, down from its previous forecast for a...

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CONFERENCE: Asian demand to continue driving world LNG markets, concludes CWC’s Asia Pacific Summit

(EnergyAsia, September 23 2011, Friday) — Energy professionals from more than 50 countries attending this week’s CWC 3rd World LNG Series: Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore confirmed that surging Asian demand will drive the industry’s global development in coming years. More than 270 delegates, with over 70% from outside Singapore, attended the event at the (more…)

CHINA: Residents of Dalian oil-petrochemical hub count rising environmental costs

(EnergyAsia, September 23 2011, Friday) — Residents of the thriving north-eastern Chinese city port of Dalian are increasingly finding out — and pushing back — against the high cost of being a major shipping, oil, gas and petrochemicals centre. In addition to facing regular oil spills in the Bohai Bay, the city’s nearly six million...

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THAILAND: PTT cancels spot order of Qatar LNG cargo after price surge

(EnergyAsia, September 23 2011, Friday) — Stung by the recent surge in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, Thai state energy firm PTT said it has cancelled a million-tonne order from Qatar in favour of alternative suppliers. Asian spot LNG prices have more than doubled to over US$16 million BTU since the March 11 earthquake-tsunami tragedy...

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CHINA: Bank of China (BOC) starts up commodity financing business in Singapore, its first abroad

(EnergyAsia, September 23 2011, Friday) — BOC, one of the world’s largest banks, said it is setting up its first overseas forfaiting and commodity finance units in Singapore in response to growing demand for commodity and general trade financing. The bank said it chose Singapore for its strategic location and active community of commodity traders (more…)

SINGAPORE: Jurong Port appointed to operate new Offshore Marine Centre for three years

(EnergyAsia, September 22 2011, Thursday) — Singapore’s industrial developer and owner JTC Corporation has appointed Jurong Port Pte Ltd to operate and manage the new Offshore Marine Centre (OMC) in Tuas for the next three years. The 13-hectare Tuas View facility is expected to start up next January once Muhibbah Engineering (Singapore) completes its construction...

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SINGAPORE: Wikileaks reports US embassy notes on Island Power’s struggle to access offshore gas pipeline

(EnergyAsia, September 22 2011, Thursday) — Wikileaks has released US embassy notes on Island Power’s struggle to obtain natural gas supply from Indonesia through pipelines owned by Singapore companies. The US embassy reportedly said that for about six years, Temasek and its subsidiaries “deliberately and successfully blocked” efforts by Intergen and local subsidiary Island Power...

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CHINA: Kunlun Energy to start up Dalian LNG terminal soon, CNOOC to build Hainan terminal

(EnergyAsia, September 22 2011, Thursday) — Hong Kong-listed Kunlun Energy said it expects to start up the first phase of its Dalian LNG terminal project in north-eastern China in the fourth quarter while its Rudong, Jiangsu province terminal recently received its first shipment. In its first half earnings report to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,...

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CHINA: US-based AMSC filed criminal and civil complaints against Sinovel

(EnergyAsia, September 22 2011, Thursday) — American Superconductor Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed global power technologies company, said it has filed criminal and civil complaints against one of its largest Chinese customers, Sinovel Wind Group Co Ltd, as part of a series of legal actions it is pursuing in China.  AMSC said Sinovel and other parties had...

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MALAYSIA: Shell launched refurbished Westport terminal, plans expansion

(EnergyAsia, September 22 2011, Thursday) — Shell Malaysia has officially opened its newly refurbished Westport oil terminal in Pulau Indah in Port Klang on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Located on a 25-acre site, the terminal helps serve more than half a million of Shell’s customers at over 900 retail sites nationwide. Last December, (more…)

AUSTRALIA: Thailand’s PTTEP finds natural gas in Timor Sea block

(EnergyAsia, September 22 2011, Thursday) — Thai upstream company, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), said it has found more natural gas in the offshore AC/RL7 block in Australia’s Timor Sea, about 700 km west of Darwin city. The company’s President and CEO, Anon Sirisaengtaksin, said that wholly-owned subsidiary, PTTEP Australasia Ashmore Cartier (more…)

PHILIPPINES: Another oil importer hit with fuel smuggling charges

(EnergyAsia, September 21 2011, Wednesday) — Philippines oil importer Jetti Petroleum has slammed as baseless the charges filed by the Bureau of Customs that it has been using one of its two storage terminals to smuggle and distribute fuel into the country. The company is fighting charges filed by the bureau that it evaded a...

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PHILIPPINES: Petron says ahead of schedule in shift out of Pandacan oil storage operations

(EnergyAsia, September 21 2011, Wednesday) — Petron Corp, the Philippines’ biggest downstream oil company, said it is moving ahead of schedule in shifting its fuel storage operations out of Pandacan in Manila to smaller tanks away from the capital. Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang said that to date, it has spent more than five...

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MARKETS: Amid ample oil supplies, IEA chief rules out another oil stockpile release

(EnergyAsia, September 21 2011, Wednesday) — Amid ample global oil supplies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said there is no reason to ask its 28 nation members to release stockpile any time soon. Maria van der Hoeven, a former Dutch economics minister who took over as executive director of the Paris-based agency on September 1,...

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ASIA: UAE’s Gulf Petrochem plans to store and trade oil in region

(EnergyAsia, September 21 2011, Wednesday) — UAE’s oil trader Gulf Petrochem expects to soon start trading kerosene, gasoil, fuel oil and bunker fuel from its Singapore office to serve the fast-growing Asia Pacific markets. The company presently trades base oil from its six-person Singapore office which could be doubled as it expands its operations. The...

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INDIA: Indian Oil Petronas aims to complete LPG storage terminal at Ennore near Chennai by December

(EnergyAsia, September 20 2011, Tuesday) — The Indian-Malaysian joint venture firm, Indian Oil Petronas Pvt Ltd, expects to complete the construction of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import terminal at Ennore about 25 km north of the East Indian city port of Chennai by December. The company is investing 50-million rupees to build two 15,000-tonne...

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RUSSIA: Oil output reached new high of 10.28 million b/d in August

(EnergyAsia, September 20 2011, Tuesday) — Boosted by production increases at TNK-BP and Gazprom, Russia’s oil output reached a recent high of 10.28 million b/d in August, eclipsing the previous month’s by 20,000 b/d and year-ago levels by 212,000 b/d, said the Energy Ministry. Russia kept the title of world’s leading oil producer, ahead of...

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CHINA: SAC and Metso establish joint-venture power automation company

(EnergyAsia, September 20 2011, Tuesday) — Metso said it has established a joint venture with SAC Guodian Nanjing Automation Co Ltd (previously State Automation Company), to expand in the power automation control systems market in China. SAC will own a two-third stake in the new company which will develop the digital power plant concept focusing...

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MARKETS: DNV report says era of “cheap oil” is coming to an end

(EnergyAsia, September 20 2011, Tuesday) — Another study has concluded that the world’s supply of “cheap” oil is coming to an end soon. In its recently released “Technology Outlook 2020” report, Norway’s DNV group said demand is growing at a faster rate than supply, raising the cost of finding, producing, processing and marketing oil in...

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UPSTREAM: Ernst & Young says access to reserves is biggest risk for oil and gas industry

(EnergyAsia, September 20 2011, Tuesday) — Access to reserves has overtaken uncertain energy policy as the biggest risk facing oil and gas companies today, according to Ernst & Young’s latest Top 10 ranking of industry risks. In releasing its report, “Turn risks and opportunities into results”, Sanjeev Gupta, Asia-Pacific Oil & Gas Leader for Ernst (more…)

SRI LANKA: Colombo Port expanding fuel storage capacity

(EnergyAsia, September 19 2011, Monday) — As a sign of Sri Lanka’s growing economy, Colombo port has started up a new 5,200-tonne oil storage tank and plans to build more to meet rising trade in bunker fuel and other products. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said the Colombo terminal is expanding its tank capacity...

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IRAN: With China’s help, NIOC says nation’s crude oil production could rise 25% to over five million b/d

(EnergyAsia, September 19 2011, Monday) — Helped by investment from China, Iranian officials believe their nation’s crude oil production could reverse recent declines and rise by 25% to exceed five million b/d by 2015. National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) chief Ahmad Qalebani told the state media IRNA that his country is on course to achieve...

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PEOPLE: Aon Energy names ex-ExxonMobil executive as regional director for Asia

(EnergyAsia, September 19 2011, Monday) — Insurance and risk management services provider Aon Corp has appointed former ExxonMobil executive Martin Westacott as regional director for its energy services under Aon Risk Solutions Asia. Mr Westacott, who has 25 years of experience in the upstream and downstream energy and chemical sectors, will focus on key energy (more…)

OMAN: Honeywell UOP-Foster Wheeler technology selected for refinery unit

(EnergyAsia, September 19 2011, Monday) — Foster Wheeler AG said its Global Engineering and Construction Group and Honeywell’s UOP will jointly supply the technology for a basic engineering design package for a solvent deasphalting (SDA) unit at the Sohar oil refinery in Oman. The consortium was awarded the contract by Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Co (more…)