(EnergyAsia, August 26 2010, Thursday) — PetroChina has poured in its first cargo of 60,000 tonnes of crude oil into a newly complete oil storage terminal in Qinzhou city in Guangxi province in southern China. PetroChina said it will be investing RMB20 billion to fully develop the proposed 20- million cubic metre terminal. The project’s...

(EnergyAsia, August 26 2010, Thursday) — China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, reported an unexpected 6.7% rise in first half net profit to RMB35.46 billion on the back of the country’s continued economic expansion. (US$1=6.79 yuan). In a statement, Asia’s biggest refiner said its revenue for the six months ending June 30 surged 75.4%...

(EnergyAsia, August 26 2010, Thursday) — Caltex Australia Ltd has blamed the country’s strong currency and weaker refining margins for slashing its first-half operating profit by half to A$149 million. (US$1=A$1.15). Australia’s largest refiner said that it might cut jobs in light of continued uncertainty and possible weakness in the refining business for the remainder...

(EnergyAsia, August 25 2010, Wednesday) — Thailand’s leading coal miner, Banpu, has reported a more than 4.5% drop in second quarter earnings to 3.795 billion baht from year ago levels, as a result of lower contribution from a 50%-owned power plant. (US$1=32 baht). Increased income from coal operations in Indonesia and China helped offset the...

(EnergyAsia, August 25 2010, Wednesday) — Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) is selling off its 70% stake in a South Korean refinery to Hyundai Heavy Industries for US$2.2 billion. IPIC has thrown in the towel after losing a protracted two-year legal battle with Hyundai for control of refiner Hyundai Oilbank. Hyundai Heavy will...

(EnergyAsia, August 25 2010, Wednesday) — The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has raised its forecast for the world’s oil demand for 2010 while retaining its earlier expectations for next year’s demand. The cartel said it expects world demand for its crude to average 28.7 million b/d this year or around 52,000 b/d higher...

(EnergyAsia, August 25 2010, Wednesday) — Lack of clarity of government rules and bureaucracy are hampering Indonesia’s ability to fully exploit its mineral resources and raise capital to develop vital infrastructure such as a railway network to better access the coal reserves in Kalimantan on Borneo Island. Companies complain that they often encounter difficulties in...

(EnergyAsia, August 25 2010, Wednesday) — Reliance Industries Ltd and Essar Oil, India’s two main privately owned oil companies, are positioning to acquire BP Plc’s assets in Africa as the UK major seeks to fund its expenses related to the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is looking to sell US$30 billion...

(EnergyAsia, August 25 2010, Wednesday) — A delegation of 20 Chinese coal mine managers is visiting the New South Wales facilities of Australia’s Coal Services Pty Ltd (CS) as part of a major bilateral coal mine safety initiative between the two countries. A group of 20 coal mine managers from China, including representatives of Jizhong...

(EnergyAsia, August 22 2010, Monday) – Attacks on Chinese nationals and their property in Angola by armed groups opposed to the government could chill the budding economic partnership between the two countries. Recent incidents of violence have been reported amid rising resentment that China is hiring its own citizens instead of employing Angolans to rebuild...

(EnergyAsia, August 24 2010, Tuesday) — Investors from Russia and Belarus are planning to invest as much as US$1 billion in Ghana, which is expected to experience a major economic take-off with the start-up of oil production later this year. A delegation of business leaders from the two countries recently called on Ghana’s Vice President...

(EnergyAsia, August 24 2010, Tuesday) — China’s largest refining company, Sinopec, said it has started building 14 commercial tanks to store crude oil in Cezidao in Zhejiang province in eastern China. Completion of the terminal, comprising 13 tanks each with the capacity to store 100,000 cubic metres and one of 500,000 cubic metres, is scheduled...

(EnergyAsia, August 24 2010, Tuesday) — Ghana’s economic growth could top 20% next year, up nearly four times the projected 5.8% rate this year, thanks to the start-up of oil production in the offshore Jubilee field. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and some private economists issued this forecast after taking into account Ghana’s position as...

(EnergyAsia, August 24 2010, Tuesday) — China’s Commerce Ministry has approved an application by China Coal Import & Export Company (CCIEC), a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Coal Group Corp (China Coal), to enter into a A$30 million joint venture with Australia’s MetroCoal Limited. (US$1=A$1.15). The Australian firm said the application must now clear...

(EnergyAsia, August 24 2010, Tuesday) — China is accelerating plans to expand its oil storage capacity as it increases import to take advantage of declining oil prices and diversify out of the US dollar. According to the Xinhua news agency, China’s oil product storage capacity could rise by nearly 50% from last year to reach...

(EnergyAsia, August 24 2010, Tuesday) — Japanese trading house Itochu Corporation said its wholly owned subsidiary, Itochu Oil Exploration (Azerbaijan) Inc, has agreed to purchase an additional interest in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil field development in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The 5.63% stake held by Devon Energy Caspian Corporation in the development...

  (EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — Island Power is expected to begin construction of its long-delayed S$1.2 billion 800MW combined cycle power plant on Jurong Island in the fourth quarter. The plant is scheduled to start up in 2013. India’s GMR Group, which bought over Island Power last year, is expected to finalise the...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — One of the world’s leading suppliers of forwarding and logistics services, the Swiss-based Panalpina Group, last week inaugurated what it claims to be the world’s first logistics complex dedicated to the oil and gas industry. Operated by subsidiary Panalpina World Transport (Singapore) Pte Ltd, the S$15 million facility will...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — Ghana could find itself under the “oil curse” if its people do not tamper their rising expectations when the new Jubilee offshore field starts production later this year. The country’s Justice & Human Rights Institute (JHRI) recently warned that competing groups are making it harder for Ghana to make...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — China’s second-largest oil and gas producer Sinopec is looking to develop its recently acquired deep-water oil assets in Angola, which has emerged as the Asian nation’s largest crude oil supplier in the first half of this year. Sinopec recently completed its 16.77-billion yuan acquisition of a 50% stake in...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — Africa is outpacing the rest of the world in climbing out of economic recession, thanks to reforms implemented in the 1990s, a flexible exchange rate, and growing trade with China. Africa’s economy is expected to grow 4.5% this year, 5.5% in 2011 and 6% in 2012, according to the...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — Australia’s Riversdale Mining has launched an exercise to raise A$337 million at a fixed offer price of A$9.40 per share to pay for the accelerated development of Stages 2 and 3 of its Benga coal project in Mozambique. (US$1=A$1.1). The exercise comprises a A$102 million fully-underwritten institutional placement and...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — BHP Billiton and Hancock Coal Pty Ltd have been awarded contracts to build two major coal terminals at the Port of Abbot Point in Australia’s Queensland state. North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP), which awarded the preferred developer status, said the two new terminals will be located adjacent to...

(EnergyAsia, August 23 2010, Monday) — US major Chevron Corp said it has made a “significant” natural gas discovery in the Carnarvon Basin off the coast of Western Australia. The Acme-1 exploration discovery well is located in the WA-205-P permit area approximately 150 km from Onslow. Drilled in 878 m of water to a depth...