CHINA: Coal exports plunged more than 36%, imports up nearly 30% in 2012

(EnergyAsia, January 14 2013, Monday) — China’s coal trade deficit widened sharply last year after preliminary data released by the General Administration of Customs showed exports plunged 36.7% while imports rose 29.8% over 2011 levels. In 2011, China exported 14.67 million tons of coal and imported 223.4 million tons million metric tons last year.  ...

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MONGOLIA: Reduced dependence on China with Noble Group’s participation in coal and rail project

(EnergyAsia, January 14 2013, Monday) — Mongolia may have found a way to export coal by sea, thus reducing its current overwhelming dependence on land-based sales to China. Singapore-listed commodities trader Noble Group has agreed to invest in a multi-billion-dollar coal and rail development project in Mongolia that will include the use of a Russian (more…)

US: Crude oil production to rise from 6.4 million b/d last year to 7.9 million b/d in 2014, says EIA

(EnergyAsia, January 14 2013, Monday) — Boosted by increases in onshore basins, US crude oil production is expected to rise from 6.4 million b/d last year to 7.3 million b/d in 2013 and 7.9 million b/d in 2014, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency pinpointed the bulk of new production as taking place...

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CANADA: Petronas unit picks TransCanada to build and operate C$5 billion pipeline to supply LNG terminal

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2013, Friday) — TransCanada Corp has been selected to design, build, own and operate a C$5 billion pipeline to deliver natural gas to a proposed export terminal along the British Columbia coast in western Canada. (US$1=C$0.99). The contract was awarded by Calgary-based Progress Energy, a fully owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s state energy (more…)

CHINA: Association to hold annual coal supply contract talks next week

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2013, Friday) — The China Coal Trade and Development Association will hold the industry’s annual coal supply contracts conference in Haikou City in Hainan province on January 15-18. The association has told coal producers and buyers to submit their contracts and proposals for discussion by January 15. The negotiations are vital for...

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FUJAIRAH: Sinopec Kantons unit acquires 50% stake in storage project from Singapore developer

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2013, Friday) — Hong Kong-based Sinopec Kantons Holdings Limited, which is building an oil storage project in Indonesia and expanding into Europe, has bought a 50% stake in a Fujairah project being developed by Singapore’s Concord Energy Pte Ltd. The Sinopec subsidiary said its fully owned subsidiary, Sinomart KTS Development Limited, will (more…)

CHINA: Market awaits impact of lifting of tax on coking coal exports

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2013, Friday) — The global coal market is awaiting the impact of China’s decision to scrap the 40% tax on coking coal exports since the start of the year. The Finance Ministry may also be considering lifting the export tariff on crude coal to help align domestic prices, hurt by excess capacity...

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INDIA: New Delhi continues to face daily power outages

(EnergyAsia, January 10 2013, Thursday) — Six months after experiencing the world’s largest power blackout affecting more than 650 million people, India continues to struggle with keeping the lights on despite the government’s promise to fix the problem. What was once an issue for inhabitants in the country’s vast rural regions and smaller cities has...

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US: Coal use for electricity generation at 20-year low in 2012, says EIA

(EnergyAsia, January 10 2013, Thursday) — Faced with competition from cheap natural gas, US coal consumption for power generation fell to a 20-year low of 829 million short tons (mmst) in 2012, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2011, the US consumed 932.5 mmst of coal for power generation. But that downward trend will (more…)

INDIA: NGO calls for independent regulator to oversee coal sector, committee to provide solutions

(EnergyAsia, January 10 2013, Thursday) — The Indian government should appoint an independent regulator to oversee the country’s troubled coal sector and a special committee of experts to provide solutions into its worsening energy problems, said a local non-governmental organisation (NGO). In a report on India’s coal sector, Pune-based Prayas Energy Group said an independent...

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INDIA: Ministry takes first tentative step to restructure coal monopoly

(EnergyAsia, January 9 2013, Wednesday) — After years of public pressure, the Indian government has taken the first tentative step to consider restructuring and even spiltting up Coal India Limited (CIL), which is responsible for over 80% of the country’s domestic production and much of its imports. This week, the Coal Ministry issued a tender...

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INDIA: Coal India Limited unlikely to meet production target for FY2012

(EnergyAsia, January 9 2012, Wednesday) — Beleaguered state-owned Coal India Limited (CIL), which accounts for over 80% of the country’s domestic coal output, will provide more ammunition for its critics as it is likely to miss its production target for the current financial year ending March 31. For the first three quarters of FY2012, it...

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UPSTREAM: Russia’s gas industry threatened by shale development in the US and Europe, says consultant

(EnergyAsia, January 9 2013, Wednesday) — Russia’s leadership in the natural gas business could come under threat from rising exploitation and production of shale reserves in the US, and potentially from Europe and other parts of the world. According to US-based GBI Research, shale prospects in Europe may well reshape the continent’s energy market dynamics (more…)

AUSTRALIA: PWCS ready to submit plan for fourth Newcastle coal export terminal

(EnergyAsia, January 9 2013, Wednesday) — Port Waratah Coal Services expects to soon submit its plans for the construction of a fourth terminal, estimated to cost at least A$5 billion, to handle coal exports from Newcastle port in Australia’s New South Wales state. (US$1=A$0.96). The company, which claims to operate the world’s largest coal export...

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UPSTREAM: Greenpeace demands immediate ban on Arctic oil exploration activities, calling it “impossible” to drill safely

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2012, Tuesday) — Environmental groups are demanding that governments impose an immediate ban on all oil and gas exploration activities in the Arctic region in the wake of the grounding of a Shell rig in the remote ecologically-sensitive northern part of the planet. The Kulluk was refloated yesterday and towed away after (more…)

INDIA: Coal India signs fuel supply agreement with 35 power companies

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2013, Tuesday) — State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) said it has signed fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with 35 of the country’s 114 major power companies. The company, which accounts for more than 90% of the country’s coal production and handles the bulk of its import, said it is confident of achieving its...

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SAUDI ARABIA: Aramco to deploy Keppel-built jack-up oil rig for offshore exploration

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2013, Tuesday) — In a belated announcement, Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it has delivered its first KFELS Super B Class jack-up oil drilling rig to a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. Named SAR 202, the rig was delivered 13 days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record (more…)

MARKETS: China, India account for over 75% of world’s planned coal-fired power capacity, says WRI

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2013, Tuesday) — China and India together account for around 76% of the 1.4 billion MW new coal-fired power capacity now being around the world, said Washington DC, US-based World Resources Institute in a recent paper. If fully constructed, the 1,199 new plants will more than offset the loss of older plants...

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PHILIPPINES: Coal, natural gas shortages to worsen through 2015

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2013, Monday) — The Philippines faces a steady worsening in its energy supply outlook through 2015, with coal and natural gas seen as particularly vulnerable in the face of rising demand to fuel the country’s fast-growing economy. The Department of Energy (DOE) is projecting rapid depletion of domestic sources of both fuels...

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INDIA: Coal India Limited under new probe for making excessive profits

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2012, Monday) — State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) has been hit with fresh charges that it could be making excessive profit from rising prices without an attendant increase and improvement in coal supplies. The company, which accounts for over 90% of India’s domestic coal production and much of its imports, has started...

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CHINA: NYSE-listed Longwei Petroleum stock plunged, then suspended after allegations of fraud

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2013, Monday) — China oil storage and distribution company Longwei Petroleum Investment Holding Ltd said it will defend itself against fraud allegations published in a report last week that caused its NYSE-listed stock price to plunge from around US$2.62 a share to US$0.62 before it was suspended. The stock was trading near (more…)

ASIA: Coal seam gas production set to increase sharply to 98 billion cubic metres by 2020, says GlobalData

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2013, Monday) — Unconventional gas is becoming increasingly popular across the Asia-Pacific region as demand for cleaner burning fuel grows among its leading economies. One of the new sources of natural gas is coal bed methane (CBM), also known as coal seam gas (CSG) as it is extracted from coal seams, which...

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CHINA: Sinopec, ConocoPhillips to jointly research development of Sichuan shale gas

(EnergyAsia, January 4 2013, Friday) — China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation or Sinopec, and US oil and gas company ConocoPhillips have begun a joint study to explore and develop in western China’s Sichuan basin over the next two years, the two companies have announced. Sinopec Exploration Southern Co, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned major (more…)

MONGOLIA: Government still investigating coal miner SouthGobi after clearing chief lawyer

(EnergyAsia, January 4 2013, Friday) — The Mongolian government is still investigating Canadian coal miner SouthGobi Resources Ltd over “licensing issues” following last year’s botched attempt by its key shareholder to sell off its stake to China’s aluminum giant Chalco for US$920 million. The Hong Kong- and Toronto-listed company, controlled by a unit of Rio...

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CHINA: Sino Oil and Gas starts selling CBM gas, Shell acquires tight gas block stake

(EnergyAsia, January 4 2013, Friday) — Hong Kong-based Sino Oil and Gas Holdings Limited said it has started selling piped sales of coalbed methane (CBM) gas from the Sanjiao block in China’s Shanxi province while in a separate deal, European major Shell said it has bought into a tight gas block in Sichuan province. Sino (more…)