(EnergyAsia, February 26 2015, Thursday) — Forget about oil prices overshooting to the upside and making a strong recovery even as the growth in global oil supply slows sharply from mid-year, predicts the International Energy Agency (IEA). With the drastically changed market conditions, the agency said it expects the crude oil price to average US$55...
MARKETS: EIA expects global oil supply growth to lag behind demand in 2015 and 2016
(EnergyAsia, February 26 2015, Thursday) — Reflecting the bleak outlook on oil prices, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects a further narrowing of the global supply-demand gap on slowing production growth next year.
MALAYSIA: Petronas new chief Wan Zulkiflee faces immediate challenges on investment decisions amid low oil prices
(EnergyAsia, February 25 2015, Wednesday) — Faced with the prospect of a prolonged oil price collapse, Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas Berhad will demand its incoming chief executive and president to immediately cut costs and make nerve-wracking decisions on the fate of several multi-billion-dollar projects….
OMAN: UK’s Amec Foster Wheeler starts work on design of Ras Markaz crude oil storage tank farm
(EnergyAsia, February 24 2015, Tuesday) — UK’s Amec Foster Wheeler has started work on the front-end engineering design of the Ras Markaz crude oil storage tank farm in Oman following the contract’s award by state-owned Oman Tank Terminal Company (OTTCO) last month. The London-based firm declined to reveal the contract’s value for the project which...
MARKETS: OPEC boosts outlook for 2015 global oil demand, cuts economic growth and non-OPEC supply
(EnergyAsia, February 23 2014, Monday) — Will a combination of rising demand and lower supply growth be sufficient to reverse the slump in world oil prices?
MARKETS: Analysts predict oil market rebalance to take years as stockpiles, production remain high
(EnergyAsia, February 20 2015, Friday) — The global oil markets will remain under selling pressure possibly for the next few years as consumption is not growing as fast as production amid record level of stockpiles, say traders and analysts.
INDIA: Ambitious coal reforms likely doomed by weak market conditions, opposition from green, business and labour groups
(EnergyAsia, February 19 2015, Thursday) — The spirit may be willing but weak market conditions and strong growing opposition from environmental, business and labour groups are combining to block India’s pent-up desire to heal its sickly coal industry.
MARKETS: Storage, the silver lining in oil’s clouded outlook
(EnergyAsia, February 18 2015, Wednesday) — In the latest oil crisis caused by crude prices plunging 50% over the second half of 2014, traders turned to storage to hedge against a protracted supply glut. The same strategy of stockpiling was deployed in 2008 when Brent crude went the other way, surging to a record high of over US$145 a barrel on fears of supply shortages.
CHINA: Energy demand has decoupled significantly from GDP, says Wood Mackenzie economist
(EnergyAsia, February 17 2015, Tuesday) — Breaking from a two-decade trend, China’s demand for energy and other natural resources grew at a significantly slower rate than the 7.4% increase in its GDP last year, said UK consultant Wood Mackenzie. Calling this a “decoupling”, its principal economist for Asia, Cynthia Lim, said the energy sector will...
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: ExxonMobil, InterOil make case for LNG investments as economy set to become world’s fastest-growing
(EnergyAsia, February 16 2015, Monday) — While the oil and gas industry is in retreat around the world, Papua New Guinea is blazing ahead with the planned expansion of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that was launched just months ago and the proposed development of a second greenfield project.
RUSSIA: Local oil producers to survive this year without external funding, says Goldman Sachs
(EnergyAsia, February 13 2015, Friday) — With its large cash hoard of over US$90 billion, most of in US dollars, the Russian oil industry is not in imminent danger of financial collapse and will be able to operate without external funding at the current oil price level for at least a year, said Goldman Sachs.
RUSSIA: Oil production to decline on depletion of reserves and low prices, says top official
(EnergyAsia, Februay 12 2015, Thursday) — Russia’s oil production reached a new peak of 10.6 million b/d last year, putting it well ahead of nearest rivals Saudi Arabia and the US.
MARKETS: Selling resumes at the end of short-covering, Citi predicts US$20 crude
(EnergyAsia, February 11 2015, Wednesday) — Selling has resumed after last week’s show of strength from short-term covering had helped crude prices stage a brief rally. North Sea Brent is trading above US$56 a barrel while US WTI is just about holding onto the US$50 support. Through January, the oil markets clawed back a wee...
SHIPPING: IHS expects maritime casualties to increase as world continues to expand trading fleet
(EnergyAsia, February 10 2015, Tuesday) — IHS, a leading global provider of critical information and insight, said it expects maritime casualties to increase around the world, particularly in hotspots in northeren Europe and Southeast Asia as trading fleets continue to expand. The incidences of hull and machinery damage, wrecking and stranding, ship-on-ship collisions and contact...
MALAYSIA: Johor state agency to take 10% stakes in Pengerang oil and LNG terminals
(EnergyAsia, February 9 2015, Monday) — The Johor state government will acquire a 10% stake in two proposed terminals at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) being developed by Malaysia’s national oil and gas firm Petronas, all targeted for start-up in 2019. In a statement, Petronas said the State Secretary Incorporated Johor (SSI) has also signed...
SHIPPING: UK-based broker Seacurus offers insurance cover for petroleum-related piracy in Southeast Asian waters
(EnergyAsia, February 6 2015, Friday) — UK-based Seacurus said it is offering insurance coverage on pirate attacks against oil tankers, cargoes and crew transiting the South China Sea, Malacca Straits, Indonesian Archipelago and Gulf of Guinea. The cover is being offered to customers’ existing Kidnap & Ransom (KR) insurance policies in response to the rising...
MARKETS: Negative impact of oil price drop on producing countries exceeds benefits for consumers, says World Bank
(EnergyAsia, February 5 2015, Thursday) — On balance, the negative economic impact of an oil price decline on producing countries exceeds the benefits accruing to consuming countries, said the World Bank. In its flagship ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report, it said oil-exporting economies could expect to contract by 0.8 to 2.5 percentage points in the year...
CHINA: Economy receives huge boost from lower oil and gas prices
(EnergyAsia, February 3 2015, Tuesday) — China’s economy is slowing down, but that’s more than offset by the benefits from the sharp decline in oil and gas prices since mid-2014, said analysts. The 55% plunge in oil prices since mid-2014 has helped the country save around US$100 billion in import costs, Lin Boqiang Lin, the (more…)
SINGAPORE: Bunker sales down for third consecutive year, but overall maritime performance improved
EnergyAsia, February 2 2015, Monday) — For the third consecutive year, Singapore reported lower bunker sales in 2014 as trade fell on a combination of tightening credit and confusion following the bankruptcy of a key supplier, the imposition of tighter fuel specifications, better fuel efficiency, and fears of a slowing global economy amid the sharp...