INDIA: Government compensated state oil refiners Rs150 billion for Q2 losses

(EnergyAsia, November 23 2011, Wednesday) — The Indian government said it has paid out 150 billion rupees to three state-owned oil refiners for losses incurred for selling fuel below cost in the second quarter of the current financial year. According to the Oil Ministry’s secretary, G.C. Chaturvedi, half of that was paid out to Indian...

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CHINA: Qatargas delivers first Q-Max LNG cargo

(EnergyAsia, November 23 2011, Wednesday) — Qatargas said it has delivered its first Q-Max liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to China. The cargo was delivered by the Bu Samra carrier to PetroChina’s recently commissioned LNG receiving terminal at Rudong in Jiangsu province as part of a long-term supply contract between the two countries signed in (more…)

KAZAKHSTAN: IMF notes strong economic recovery, worries about weak banking sector

(EnergyAsia, November 23 2011, Wednesday) — Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon-fired economy is staging a strong recovery on account of high oil prices and rising agricultural output, but its banking system is a “cause for concern” amid “a rapidly deteriorating external environment”, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This was the pronouncement of an IMF mission led by (more…)

CHINA: Third West-to-East gas pipeline to deliver 30 bcm from Central Asia by 2013

(EnergyAsia, November 22 2011, Tuesday) — China’s third West-to-East gas pipeline network will deliver up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from Central Asia to as far away as southeastern Fujian province when it starts operating two years from now. By 2013, the three networks that make up China’s West-to-East pipelines measuring...

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TURKMENISTAN: Extracts from book, ‘Turkmenistan: Strategies of Power, Dilemmas of Development’

  (EnergyAsia, November 22 2011, Tuesday) — The following are extracts from a new book, “Turkmenistan: Strategies of Power, Dilemmas of Development” (M.E. Sharpe, 2012) by Sebastien Peyrouse. The vast hydrocarbon riches that Turkmenistan enjoys are second in Central Asia only to Kazakhstan. But while there are many potential customers, Turkmenistan has not managed to...

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UPSTREAM: The buck stops here as Chevron accepts responsibility for Brazil oil spill

(EnergyAsia, November 22 2011, Tuesday) — US major Chevron has accepted “full responsibility” for an ongoing oil spill off the Brazilian coast caused by its drilling operations 370 km off the northeastern coast of Rio de Janeiro. As a result of under-estimating the pressure in an underwater reservoir, Chevron said an appraisal well sprung a (more…)

ASIA: ADB and EBRD to increase cooperation in Caucasus and Central Asia

(EnergyAsia, November 22 2011, Tuesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have agreed to increase cooperation on projects to build capacity and promote public private partnerships across the Caucasus and Central Asia. Last week, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and EBRD President Thomas Mirow signed (more…)

VIETNAM: Honeywell secured role as main electrical and instrumentation building contractor for offshore oil project

(EnergyAsia, November 22 2011, Tuesday) — Honeywell said it has secured the role of main electrical and instrumentation building contractor from the Hoang Long Joint Operating Company (HLJOC) for its H-04 wellhead platform in Vietnam’s Te Giac Trang (TGT) offshore field. The award follows Honeywell’s successful completion of work on the field’s first phase earlier (more…)

ASIA: Central Asia ministers celebrate a decade of cooperation including US$17 billion of investments

(EnergyAsia, November 21 2011, Monday) — Ministers from 10 countries spanning the Caucuses, and Central, East and South Asia will gather in Baku in Azerbaijan this week to mark a decade of achievement. According to the Asian Development Bank, this will include US$17 billion of investments in energy, trade and transportation under the Central Asia (more…)

TURKMENISTAN: Talks continue on building new pipeline to export natural gas to Europe

(EnergyAsia, November 21 2011, Monday) — Having tied up sales to China the last two years, Turkmenistan is hoping to export as much as 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year to Europe through a new pipeline that would bypass Russia. The Turkmen plan, which involves tapping into the country’s second largest gas...

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RUSSIA: Gazprom’s capital expenditure could reach record US$51 billion in 2011

(EnergyAsia, November 21 2011, Monday) — Russian energy giant Gazprom and its subsidiaries are on course to claim a world record US$51 billion in oil and gas capital expenditures this year, according to local media reports. The amount includes Gazprom’s programme to invest US$41.4 billion, and nearly US$10 billion in total by its various subsidiaries...

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RUSSIA: Crude exports to continue rising on restructured upstream sector, predicts US consultant ESAI

(EnergyAsia, November 21 2011, Monday) — Thanks to the restructuring of its oil exports including improved taxation, Russia has achieved a “sustainable role” as a global oil power, according to US-based consultant ESAI Energy. In a new multi-client study entitled “Russia Comes of Age: Restructured Exports Strengthen Russia’s Hand in Oil Markets,” ESAI said changes...

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GAS: US non-profit group wants EPA to police pollution from fracking

(EnergyAsia, November 21 2011, Monday) — The US Clean Air Council (CAC) has asked the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to intervene as a result of the failure of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PA DEP) to properly regulate fracking and gas processing pollution that contributes to climate change. Clean Air Council, a non-profit environmental...

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GAS: Fracking production method linked with earthquakes in the UK and US, fuels further opposition

(EnergyAsia, November 18 2011, Friday) — The supply of natural gas from shale and unconventional sources, on which the world is relying to meet its future energy demand, now faces new concerns that the controversial fracturing method of production may have caused localised earthquakes in the UK and the US. Cuadrilla Resources, a British company...

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SINGAPORE: Smart-grid centre, micro-grid project pave way for future electricity system

(EnergyAsia, November 18 2011, Friday) — Singapore has moved forward with its plans for using smart grids and renewable energy sources to develop a robust and efficient future electricity system. The Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) has launched the nation’s S$38-million Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC) to support the development of future smart (more…)

COMPANY: Bechtel involved in major LNG projects contracts in the US and Australia

(EnergyAsia, November 18 2011, Friday) — US engineering giant Bechtel said it has secured contracts involving two major liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the US and Australia. Bechtel said it has been awarded a US$3.9 billion contract by Cheniere Energy Partners LP to provide engineering, procurement, and construction services for two new liquefaction trains (more…)

CHINA: EIG Global Energy Partners to open new office in Hong Kong

(EnergyAsia, November 18 2011, Friday) — EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG) said it will be opening an office in Hong Kong, its fifth, in early 2012. EIG said the new office will position it to take advantage of opportunities for investments in energy, resources and related infrastructure fuelled by demand growth in Asia. It will (more…)

SINGAPORE: Stolt-Nielsen starts up storage terminal on Jurong Island

(EnergyAsia, November 17 2011, Thursday) — Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen has started up the first phase of its S$350 million petrochemicals tank storage terminal on Singapore’s Jurong Island. (US$1=S$1.3). The Oslo Børs-listed company last week launched three gas spheres with the capacity to store 73,000 cubic metres (cbm) at its Tembusu site as part of a bigger (more…)

SHIPPING: Operating costs increase while insurance costs fall, says Moore Stephens

(EnergyAsia, November 17 2011, Thursday) — Annual operating costs in the shipping industry rose by an average 2.2% in 2010, reversing the 2% decline the previous year, said international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens. All cost categories showed an overall increase this time, with the exception of stores and insurance which fell by 4.7%. (more…)

MARKETS: Brent-WTI spread at lowest since March 8 as WTI surged past US$100

(EnergyAsia, November 17 2011, Thursday) — The Brent-WTI spread fell to US$9.29 a barrel, its lowest level since March 8, as the US crude surged 3.2% to a five-and-a-half-month high of $102.59 a barrel. Traders attributed WTI’s climb to an unwinding of long Brent positions, which had taken the spread to a high of US$28 (more…)

ASIA: Guy Carpenter expands regional team with new appointments in Singapore and Sydney

(EnergyAsia, November 17 2011, Thursday) — Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a member of Marsh & McLennan Companies, has announced the expansion of its risk management capabilities in the Asia Pacific region with a number of senior-level appointments. Christian Schirmer has been appointed head of GC Analytics® (more…)

SINGAPORE: Regulator considering electricity futures market

(EnergyAsia, November 17 2011, Thursday) — Singapore is looking to launch an electricity futures market for industry players to hedge their pricing risks and open up new business opportunities for financial firms and traders, said the head of the city-state’s energy regulator. “We see an electricity futures market having the potential to enhance our energy...

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AFRICA: Equatorial Guinea expects Vopak to start up oil storage terminal by end-2013

(EnergyAsia, November 16 2011, Wednesday) — Equatorial Guinea expects Dutch oil and chemical logistics giant Royal Vopak to start building an oil storage terminal in the second half of next year and to complete it a year later. The government of the West African country has awarded Vopak the contract to build and operate the...

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AUSTRALIA: Caltex to close down gasoline unit at Kurnell refinery in Sydney

(EnergyAsia, November 16 2011, Wednesday) — After months of speculation, Caltex Australia Ltd, half owned by Chevron, said it will close one of two gasoline refining units at its Kurnell facility in Sydney. Australia’s largest downstream oil company joins its domestic rivals in throwing in the towel, citing the impact of the strong local currency,...

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CHINA: Gas imports from Central Asia reached 16.9 bcm since pipeline start-up in 2009

(EnergyAsia, November 16 2011, Wednesday) — China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said it has imported a total of 16.88 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from three Central Asian countries through a 2,000-km pipeline since its start-up at the end of 2009. The west-to-east pipeline draws natural gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before...

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