UPSTREAM: Water issues cloud surge in US oil output

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2014, Monday) — Thanks to the development of its tight oil reserves, the US boosted crude production to 7.84 million b/d in the fourth quarter of last year to account for more than 10% of the world’s oil output, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency said US tight oil production...

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MARKETS: OPEC raised estimate for 2013 global oil demand to 90 million b/d, forecast for 2014 to 91.14 million b/d

(EnergyAsia, March 31 2014, Monday) — Citing what it calls the improving economic and energy demand outlook for North America and Africa, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has raised its estimate for last year’s global oil demand to 90 million b/d and its forecast for 2014’s demand to 91.14 million b/d. In its...

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MARKETS: Crude oil prices hold steady above US$100 a barrel as Russia-West standoff escalates over Ukraine

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2014, Friday) — Oil prices continue to hold strong despite numerous attempts by traders and US government to boost supply and weaken market sentiments. WTI crude has surged past US$101 a barrel while Brent is moving to reclaim US$108 a barrel as tensions between the West and Russia escalate amid continuing supply...

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MARKETS: EIA lowers latest forecasts for global oil demand growth for 2014 and 2015

(EnergyAsia, March 28 2014, Friday) — After five months of consecutive increases, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has trimmed its March forecasts for global oil demand growth for 2014. The world will consume 91.60 million this year and b/d 92.97 million b/d in 2015, said the US agency’s latest monthly short-term energy outlook, compared with...

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JAPAN: Marubeni agrees to pay US$88 million fine for bribing Indonesian officials over coal-fired power plant project

(EnergyAsian, March 27 2014, Thursday) — Japanese trading company Marubeni Corp said it has agreed to pay a fine of US$88 million after pleading guilty to US charges that it had bribed Indonesian officials to secure a power plant contract in 2004. Marubeni said it had resolved the criminal charges with the US Department of...

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SOUTH KOREA: Energy ministry steps up drive to achieve oil storage, trading hub goal

(EnergyAsia, March 27 2014, Thursday) — South Korea expects to generate US$25 billion per year in revenue from oil storage and trading activities when its three commercial terminals are fully operational from 2021. As part of its plan to turn the country into a global trading and storage hub, the government will grant oil trading...

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US: Trade deficit shrank on declining net oil imports, says EIA

(EnergyAsia, March 26 2014, Wednesday) — The US trade deficit has been shrinking since 2009 as rising domestic oil and gas production has helped slash energy imports, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The drop in net imports of crude and oil products combined was the biggest contributor to the US net trade deficit falling...

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ASIA: Analysts expect LNG prices to rise on Crimea crisis, rising global demand

(EnergyAsia, March 26 2014, Wednesday) — Amid surging global demand and the Russia-West confrontation over Crimea, analysts expect liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices in Asia to soon recover from last month’s dip. According to separate analysis by consultant Wood Mackenzie and UK gas producer and trader BG Group, the global LNG markets could swing in...

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MALAYSIA: Boosted by oil traffic, Johor’s Tanjung Langsat Port expects strong growth for 2014

(EnergyAsia, March 25 2014, Tuesday) — Johor state’s Tanjung Langsat Port (TLP) in southern Malaysia expects to achieve 15 million tonnes of cargo throughput in 2014 after reporting a 47.7% surge last year. The planned start-up of two liquid berths by mid-2014 adding to the port’s existing five will help further attract oil and gas...

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OMAN: OOC plans US$15 billion worth of downstream projects, including world’s largest crude oil terminal

(EnergyAsia, March 25 2014, Tuesday) — State-owned Oman Oil Company (OOC) is planning to invest a total of US$15 billion over the next few years to increase the attraction of Duqm port as an oil centre serving the Middle East. At a recent media briefing by the country’s oil and gas ministry, the company’s deputy...

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OMAN: Oiltanking Odfjell lunched new infrastructure at Sohar Port and Free Zone

(EnergyAsia, March 24 2014, Monday) — Germany’s Oiltanking said its Oman joint venture has launched additional pipeline and jetty infrastructure to speed up the handling of oil products at the port and free zone area in Sohar. Oiltanking Odfjell Terminals Oman (OOTO) has invested US$2.5 million to build and connect a new jetty with other...

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BANGLADESH: Japan’s US$1.18 billion aid to cover construction of coal-fired power plant

(EnergyAsia, March 24 2014, Monday) — The Japanese government said it will help Bangladesh build a coal-fired power plant as part of its provision of a new package of aid totaling US$1.18 billion for 2014. The announcement was made last week following a meeting in Dhaka between visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his...

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MARKETS: Energy sector’s water demand to continue growing, seen exceeding 15% of global consumption, says IEA

(EnergyAsia, March 21 2014, Friday) — With its growing thirst for water, the energy sector looks set to raise its 15% share of global consumption of the resource in the coming years, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighting its growing concern to mark World Water day on March 22. In 2012, the IEA included...

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INDONESIA: Global LNG market share down on rising domestic demand, supply growth elsewhere, says EIA

(EnergyAsia, March 21 2014, Friday) — Indonesia is fast losing its share in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market on account of rising domestic demand and growing supplies from other producers, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). From a commanding position supplying more than a third of the world’s LNG in the 1990s,...

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ARCTIC: Greenpeace welcomes EU resolution to protect North Pole from oil exploration, industrial fishing

(EnergyAsia, March 20 2014, Thursday) — Greenpeace has welcomed the European Parliament’s resolution calling for the establishment of a protected area around the North Pole that could ban oil companies and industrial fishing fleets from the region. The environmental long group said the move represents a clear break from the positions of Arctic Council members...

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KUWAIT: Contractors to begin work on US$12 billion of upgrade and expansion of two refineries

(EnergyAsia, March 20 2014, Thursday) — International engineering contractors are preparing to start work on US$12 billion worth of upgrades and expansion of two major refineries in Kuwait. Japan’s JGC and its consortium partners were recently awarded a 1.36-billion-dinar tender to upgrade the 460,000-b/d Mina Ahmadi refinery while UK’s Petrofac and its partners secured a...

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AUSTRALIA: Oil production at 43-year low, natural gas output hits record high, says EnergyQuest

(EnergyAsia, March 19 2014, Wednesday) — Australia’s oil and gas sectors experienced contrasting fortunes last year, with oil production plunging to a 43-year low while natural gas output surged to an all-time high. According to consultant EnergyQuest, the country’s oil production for 2013 plunged 18.6% to 71.9 million barrels or less than 197,000 b/d. This...

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JAPAN: Government steps up funding for coal-fired power plants in the face of US, environmental opposition

(EnergyAsia, March 19 2014, Tuesday) — Underlining its desperate search for energy diversity, Japan is expected to continue support for the development of coal-fired power plants in the face of growing opposition from environmentalists, development banks and the US government. The Obama administration has been quietly pressing the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and...

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UPSTREAM: Surging global oil demand means US shale not a threat to deepwater sector, says consultant

(EnergyAsia, March 18 2014, Tuesday) —- Consultant Douglas-Westwood (DW) doesn’t think the booming US shale sector will threaten deepwater exploration and production efforts by flooding the markets with surplus oil. While many investment banks and government agencies have cast surging shale oil production as a threat to companies focusing on deepwater reserves, the UK firm...

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US: Crude output to rise another 22% after reaching 25-year high in 1989, predicts EIA

(EnergyAsia, March 18 2014, Tuesday) — Thanks to the shale revolution, US crude oil production reached a 25-year high of 7.5 million b/d last year after surging 14.8% from 6.53 million b/d in 2012, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency expects the gains to continue over the next two years, raising production to...

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CHINA: Wison Engineering says chairman arrested on bribery allegations

(EnergyAsia, March 17 2014, Monday) — Hong Kong-listed Wison Engineering Services Co, a major services provider for China’s state-owned oil and gas companies, said Chinese police have arrested its founder and chairman Hua Bangsong on bribery allegations. In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Shanghai-based firm said an unidentified relative of Mr...

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JAPAN: Coal’s share in energy mix to exceed 25%, predicts IEEJ

(EnergyAsia, March 17 2014, Monday) — With Japan’s nuclear power capacity still idle, coal’s share will soon rise to account for more than 25% of its primary energy mix for the first time in about half a century, said the country’s leading energy think tank. In a recent report, the Institute of Energy Economics Japan...

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US: Boosted by December’s record 4.3 million b/d sales, oil product exports surged 11% to 3.5 million b/d last year, said EIA

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2014, Friday) — US refined oil product exports surged 11% to reach an average 3.5 million b/d last year, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). It hit a record 4.3 million b/d last December, the first time that US exports of oil products have exceeded the four-million-b/d ceiling in a single...

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JAPAN: Tepco, Mitsubishi and Tokyo Gas planning to build coal-fired power plants

(EnergyAsia, March 14 2014, Friday) — Japan will look to coal to generate more of its electricity as three large industrial groups plan to build large plants using the fuel by the end of the decade. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) and the Mitsubishi group have begun work on jointly developing and building a new...

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CHINA: Vopak to acquire 30% stake in new industrial terminal in Gulei in Fujian province

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2014, Thursday) — Dutch oil and chemical logistics giant Royal Vopak said it has agreed to acquire a 30% stake in Zhangzhou Gulei Haiteng Jetty Investment Management Company Limited which owns a 890,000-cubic metre petrochemicals storage terminal in China’s Fujian province. http://energycontents.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=301 Vopak said it will acquire the 30% stake in Haiteng...

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