(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) –– Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrehkar Shirazi said China is offering to participate in the construction of seven new oil refineries in his country to add to the nearly US$40 billion that it has already invested in its oil and gas sector. These consist US$29 billion in upstream projects...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Fuel shortages in Iran are worsening as new sanctions imposed by the West have further tightened the movement of essential goods and services into the country. Traders said Iran was able to import only a fraction of its usual gasoline requirements last month, making domestic travel even harder during...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Foreign companies remain committed to invest in Iraq’s oil and gas projects despite on-going concerns with the country’s political stability and level of violence. Their commitment, backed by the expected long-term US military presence despite talks of an early withdrawal, could add nearly 10 million b/d of new capacity...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Iraq’s central government and Kurdistan are embroiled in a new round of dispute after Baghdad accused the semi-autonomous region of illegally exporting the country’s crude oil and products, and keeping the proceeds instead of returning it to the federal treasury. Iraq’s federal oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani has demanded that...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Keppel FELS Limited, the offshore subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Corp, said it has commercialised its new wind turbine installation vessel design for deeper waters in partnership with leading European fleet owner and operator Seafox Group. Keppel said its multi-purpose self-elevating platform (MPSEP) design has been chosen by the Seafox...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s Linc Energy said it has sold of one of its non-core coal tenements in the Galilee Basin in northwest Queensland to Adani Mining Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s Adani Enterprises Ltd, for a total of A$3 billion. The deal comprised $A500 million in cash and a $2...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s GTL Energy Ltd said it has completed and started up a proprietary ‘first-of-a-kind’, low rank coal-upgrading plant near South Heart in US state of North Dakota.   The Adelaide-based company said it designed the plant as a single module commercial scale plant to provide proof of the cost-efficient...

(EnergyAsia, August 11 2010, Wednesday) — Australia’s coal miners may have to pay out an additional A$7.4 billion over five years as a result of a new 30% mining tax on resource profits, according to an estimate from consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. (US$1=A$1.09). Already battling cost inflation and low productivity, the coal mining industry will...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said it has agreed to provide Indonesia a US$307 million loan to fund its ambitious climate change mitigation agenda. The loan, entitled Climate Change Programme Loan III, will provide assistance for country-wide policy and institutional reforms aimed at boosting Indonesia’s readiness in the...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp said it and China’s Sinopec have agreed to jointly invest US$1 billion to develop oil and gas projects in Africa over the next five years.  Separately, they have agreed to build an oil refinery on the continent. Marubeni said it will also cooperate with...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — The combined value of upstream assets of 650 international oil companies (IOC) and 80 countries are worth just over US$2.6 trillion, said UK consultant Wood Mackenzie in a special report entitled ‘Maintaining the pursuit of upstream value’. In pursuit of further growth, Wood Mackenzie said there has been a...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Thailand has signed an agreement to import 240 million cubic feet a day of natural gas from the Zawtika field in the M9 block in Myanmar from 2013.                  Under the 30-year agreement, Thai upstream company PTTEP will be producing 300 million cubic feet a day of natural gas,...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Gazprom Marketing & Trading Limited (Gazprom M&T), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Russia’s statel oil and gas group Gazprom,  said it has acquired the remaining stake in UK automated meter reading (AMR) services company, TruRead Limitd, following an earlier acquisition of a 30% stake in March 2008. For the past...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Russia risks falling behind in the race to supply world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) market as a result of start-up delays to Gazprom’s crucial projects in the Arctic Ocean and Sakhalin while rivals in the Middle East, Norway, Australia and the US steam ahead with theirs. The weak outlook...

(EnergyAsia, August 10 2010, Tuesday) — Often hit by power shortages, China’s central province of Hubei said it plans to build a storage facility in its capital, Wuhan, to hold up to five million tons of coal as strategic reserves. The planned 800-million-yuan facility, to be built jointly by Wuhan and coal producer Zhong Ping...

(EnergyAsia, Aug 10 2010, Tuesday) – The amount of crude oil spilled into the waters off northeastern China following an explosion of a pipeline and storage terminal on July 16 is far greater and damaging than first reported by the Chinese authorities, said analysts. Consulting its expert, environmental group Greenpeace, said the accident off Dalian...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2010, Friday) — The Iranian government has confirmed it has awarded the development of several upstream phases of the South Pars field to a local consortium, effectively ending the participation of Shell and Repsol for missing deadlines to make financial commitments to the project.   The contract for upstream Phases 13-14 under...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2010, Friday) — Switzerland-based Foster Wheeler AG said its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by Iraq’s Oil Ministry for a new 300,000 b/d grassroots refinery at Nassiriya in southern Iraq. Foster Wheeler, which declined to reveal the contract’s value, said...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2010, Friday) — Kuwait could play an important role in helping BP stay in business as it is considering buying over some of the UK major’s assets as well as increase its shareholding in the company.  The assets include oil and gas producing fields in the Middle East and Asia. State-owned Kuwait...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2010, Friday) — By Claude Salhani for Oilprice.com. Whoever said “it’s all about the economy, stupid,” got it only partially right. It is indeed all about the economy, or at least half of it is about the economy. The rest is about a country’s national interest.    Typically, nations act or react...

(EnergyAsia, August 6 2010, Friday) — The Vitol Group said it is in “exclusive negotiations” with Shell Oil Products Africa for the potential acquisition of the Anglo-Dutch major’s downstream businesses in 19 countries on the continent, subject to final negotiations and regulatory and final company approvals. Vitol said it will make the acquisition in partnership...

(EnergyAsia, August 5 2010, Thursday) — Singaporean marine contractor Coretech Resources Pte Ltd has contracted subsea specialist Sub-Atlantic Asia Pacific (AP) to enhance its growing remotely operated vehicle (ROV) fleet with their first general purpose inspection class. The contract will see Sub-Atlantic supply a 600m free swimming Super Mohawk system on an expedited delivery schedule...

(EnergyAsia, August 5 2010, Thursday) — Greenpeace said its lates investigation have found that Sinar Mas, Indonesia’s largest palm and pulp group, is still destroying the rainforest and failing to keep its promise to protect the country’s forests and peatland. Greenpeace called Sinar Mas “one the most notorious destroyers of Indonesia’s rainforests,” after publishing new...