(EnergyAsia, December 23 2010, Thursday) — Dutch oil and chemical logistics firm Royal Vopak said it has raised 20-billion yen through a senior unsecured term loan issuance with an unnamed Asian investor to fund its global growth strategy. The company said the loan has a bullet maturity of 30 years and a fixed coupon which...

(EnergyAsia, December 23 2010, Thursday) — Puda Coal Inc, a supplier of high grade metallurgical coking coal for producing coke for steel manufacturing in China, said it has received approval from the Shanxi Yuncheng Municipal Coal Mine Industry Bureau to expand Dajinhe coal mine in Shanxi province from January 1. Puda said it will double...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Thursday) — Offshore service vessels (OSV) are becoming larger, more specialised and technically sophisticated as a result of the rising demand for more complex deepwater field developments, said Germanischer Lloyd (GL), the Hamburg, Germany-based society providing certification, inspection and consulting services for the energy and maritime sectors. GL made this observation...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Wednesday) — Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) said it is making a full cost-benefit evaluation of implementing smart meters by testing out pilot projects in selected areas of the island state. In response to a letter in a local newspaper, the agency gave the assurance that it will make a rigorous...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Wednesday) — The US is urging the Chinese government to release geologist Xue Feng detained three years ago on charges of stealing state secrets, citing lack of transparency in the handling of his case. Xue, a naturalised US citizen, is serving an eight-year sentence after being convicted in late 2007 of...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Wednesday) — US major Chevron Corporation said the shareholders and governing bodies of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) have unanimously agreed to invest US$5.4 billion to double the export capacity of the Caspian pipeline to 1.4 million b/d by 2015. The 1,500-km pipeline now delivers up to 730,000 b/d of crude...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Wednesday) — Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of London-based Standard Chartered Plc, said it recently raised 800 million renminbi for China Power International Development Ltd from the sale of a five-year corporate bond. (US$1=RMB6.66). The bank said it was the bookrunner and manager for the bond targeted...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Wednesday) — Russia’s energy ministry said it has proposed a 10-year programme to develop the country’s oil and gas industry aimed at stabilising the production of liquid hydrocarbons and maintaining refining throughput at 85% of capacity. The programme seeks to maintain Russia’s crude oil production at between 501 million and 505...

(EnergyAsia, December 22 2010, Wednesday) — Australia may become the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 10 years, overtaking top producer Qatar, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. In 2009, Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia were the world’s leading LNG producers, followed by Australia. Australia’s annual LNG output may surge to 80...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) — ExxonMobil has raised its estimate for production at Iraq’s West Qurna oilfield to plateau at 2.825 million b/d, up from 2.325 million b/d previously. A consortium led by the US major met recently and agreed to develop four additional reservoirs, thus raising production by 500,000 b/d by 2016 from...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) —– Increases in oil reserves may not necessarily result in higher supply in the future, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Without independent verification, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Venezeula sharply increased their estimate of their proven oil reserves in October. These countries may not be able to attract the...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) — Due to the high cost and inefficiency of railway transportation, Russian crude oil exports to China may not grow as rapidly as anticipated despite the start-up of a new pipeline on January 1. The Chinese branch of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline is expected to supply 300,000 b/d,...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) — Russia needs to cut government spending and raise interest rates now or risk stagnant growth and accelerating inflation in the coming years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. The IMF is urging the government to cut its budget deficit more aggressively than currently planned. The IMF has forecast...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) — European traders and refiners are worried over a potential oil shortage in the Black Sea area and central Europe as Russia continues to shift its oil exports to Asia. Over the long term, Russia could ship up to 1.6 million b/d to Asia, supported by newly-built pipelines that connect...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) — Japan has begun to reduce its dependence on the politically unstable Middle East for its energy needs, thanks to the new flow of Russia’s East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) crude this year. Since August, Russia has become Japan’s fourth largest oil supplier with a 9% market share, displacing Iran, which...

(EnergyAsia, December 21 2010, Tuesday) — As part of its international expansion plan, Thailand’s largest energy company PTT Plc is targeting to develop oil, gas and power projects in Vietnam. It is negotiating with PetroVietnam to build an oil refinery in Vietnam. PTT is also keen to export oil products to Vietnam, which is short...

(EnergyAsia, December 20 2010, Monday) — Asia is absorbing all of Mitsui Chemical’s production of a controversial chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA), from its 230,000-tonne-per-year plant on Jurong Island in Singapore. In a recent interview with Business Times, Mitsui Chemicals said its BPA is being used in making industrial products such as equipment casings and compact...

(EnergyAsia, December 20 2010, Monday) — Royal Dutch Shell and Russia’s Gazprom have signed an agreement to cooperate in developing upstream projects in western Siberia and the Russian Far East as well as cooperate in the downstream oil projects in Russia and Europe. Gazprom will also consider participating in Shell’s upstream projects outside of Russia...

(EnergyAsia, December 20 2010, Monday) — The US dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency could come under threat if China and Russia succeed in expanding the use of their currencies in promoting bilateral trade. While Sino-Russia trade amounts to less than US$50 billion a year, a fraction of global merchandise trade valued at more...

(EnergyAsia, December 20 2010, Monday) — Venezuela said China plans to invest more than US$40 billion in the oil-and gas-rich eastern Orinoco belt by 2016. Speaking at a meeting of gas exporters in Qatar early this month, Venezuela Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) is looking to invest in the...

(EnergyAsia, December 20 2010, Monday) — PetroChina plans to build two crude oil storage terminals in China’s southwestern Sichuan province and another one in farwestern Xinjiang. The one-million-cubic-metre terminal will comprise 10 depots each with the capacity to hold 100,000 cubic metres of crude oil in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. Separately, the company...

(EnergyAsia, December 20 2010, Monday) — Houston, US-based Cheniere Energy Partners LP said its subsidiary, Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for China’s ENN Energy Trading Co Ltd to contract 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of bi-directional LNG processing capacity at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish...

(EnergyAsia, December 17 2010, Friday) — Thanks to Asia, world oil demand reached a record high of 88.3 million b/d in the third quarter, and will likely end the year higher than 2008’s pre-recession levels, said UK consultant Wood Mackenzie. The Edinburgh-based consultancy has forecast world oil demand to reach 86.7 million b/d this year,...

(EnergyAsia, December 17 2010, Friday) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has told the US not to interfere in his country’s affairs even as he dismissed US Defence Secretary Robert Gates’ criticism of Russian politics as reported by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. In an interview with CNN’s Larry King, he said that Mr Gates was “badly...