(EnergyAsia, April 28 2010, Wednesday) — Saudi Arabia has emerged as the second-largest source of global oil demand growth after China as the Gulf nation reported its oil consumption rose 22.4% year-on-year in January. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that higher oil consumption in Saudi Arabia will account for 11.7% of global expansion...

(EnergyAsia, April 28 2010, Wednesday) — The US military has warned that there could be a massive oil shortage by 2015, with significant economic and political impact around the world. A Joint Operating Environment report from the US Joint Forces Command noted that by 2012 surplus oil production capacity could disappear entirely, and that as...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — Malaysia has not halted exports of gasoline to Iran but rather has not received new shipment orders since March, said Prime Minister Najib Razak. Mr Najib was clarifying media reports earlier quoting him as saying that Malaysia had officially stopped selling fuel to Iran because of looming US sanctions...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — Saudi Arabia could be interested to invest in Vietnam’s oil refining sector as part of their governments’ agreement to expand trade and investment ties, focusing on oil and gas.   During the recent state visit of Vietnam’s President Nguyen Minh Triet to the Gulf nation, officials signed protocols to...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — BP said it has dispatched a fleet of 32 spill response vessels and five aircraft loaded with 100,000 gallons of dispersant to contain one of the worst oil leakages in the Gulf of Mexico following the April 22 sinking of a giant drilling rig more than 200km south-east of...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — Oil and gas facilities including refineries, pipelines and storage terminals have once again emerged as prized targets for disgruntled groups and terrorists in Asia and the Middle East. In Thailand, Saudi Arabia and India, police have tightened security around such facilities amid warnings that they are being targeted by...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco said it is committed to completing its proposed export-oriented oil refinery project in Yanbu after joint venture partner ConocoPhillips of the US pulled out last week. The companies had planned to start constructing the 400,000 b/d refinery later this year for completion by late...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), a unit of Indian Oil Corporation, said it has decided to expand its refinery base in Manali while delaying plans to build a new one in Ennore Port, located about 24 km north of Chennai Port. CPCL is allocating 100 billion rupees to replace...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — India’s state-owned Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd said it expects to complete the construction of its first strategic crude oil storage terminal in the city port of Visakhapatnam by October next year. The underground rock caverns will have the capacity to store 1.33 million tonnes. Another terminal in Mangalore will...

(EnergyAsia, April 27 2010, Tuesday) — Under seige from trade sanctions and threat of war, Iran has chartered more supertankers to store surplus crude oil, reminiscent of a move that helped triple global freight rates in 2008. Traders said the Islamic regime has added at least seven such vessels to store oil in the Persian...

(EnergyAsia,April 26 2010, Monday) — Singapore-listed Falcon Energy Group Limited (FEG) will proceed to acquire CH Offshore Ltd this week, following on from last month’s approval given by shareholders to its proposal to purchase up to 205 million ordinary shares from Scomi Marine Services Pte Ltd for S$143.5 million in cash. (US$1=S$1.38). FEG had initiated...

(EnergyAsia, April 26 2010, Monday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has developed its proprietary floating production, storage and offloading models for liquefied natural gas (LNG-FPSO), and obtained two kinds of approval in principle (AIP) from major international ship classification societies. With the societies’ recognition of the models’ safety and reliability, MHI...

(EnergyAsia, April 26 2010, Monday) — This article was written by Gregory R. Copley for Oilprice.com. Currency, like all forms of abstract value, is based on trust. And trust itself is based – except among the most naïve – on experience, and the repetitive demonstration of fidelity, whether positive or negative. At present, the US...

(EnergyAsia, April 26 2010, Monday) — This article, the second of a three-part series, was written by John CK Daly for Oilprice.com. The recent unrest in Kyrgyzstan has largely been portrayed as an epic clash between US and Russian interests. That said, interest in events in Bishkek extend far beyond Kyrgyzstan throughout the region. Neighbouring...

(EnergyAsia, April 26 2010, Monday) — Qatar officially launched its Laffan refinery, one of the world’s largest condensate refineries, early this month. The refinery, which began production in September, has the capacity to process 146,000 b/d of condensate supplied by the country’s two leading gas companies, Qatargas and RasGas. The refinery can produce 63,000 b/d...

(EnergyAsia, April 26 2010, Monday) — A UAE naval boat opened fire on a small patrol vessel from Saudi Arabia last month in waters claimed by both countries and Qatar. Two Saudi sailors were reported injured. The Saudi crew surrendered and were delivered into custody in Abu Dhabi for several days before being handed over...

(EnergyAsia, April 26 2010, Monday) — The economies of developing Asia is expected to grow by 7.5% this year and 7.3% next year as its strong recovery from the effects of the global economic crisis is likely to continue through the next two years, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In its Asian Development Outlook...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Friday) — Unable to resolve their disagreements stretching over a decade, Japan’s Mitsui & Co has scrapped plans to jointly build a residue-fluid catalytic cracking unit at the Cilacap refinery with Indonesia’s state-owned energy firm PT Pertamina. The move deals a major blow to the Southeast Asian nation’s efforts to reduce...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Friday) — KIC Oil and Gas, Malaysia’s largest private operator of oil terminals, has invested US$40 million in two new floating storage units converted from very large crude carriers, bringing its total capacity to more than 900,000 cubic metres. The company has also signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Thailand’s...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Friday) — Australia’s Riversdale Mining Limited said the President of the Republic of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza, attended the ground breaking ceremony at the Benga coal project to signify the official opening of the mine. Riversdale, the project’s operator, owns a 65% stake with India’s Tata Steel the remaining 35%. The...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Frisday) — Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Petrobras Internacional Braspetro PIB BV, has acquired from MEO Australia Ltd a 50% participating stake in the Carnarvon Basin’s exploratory block WA-36P in Australia for $39 million. The 1.2 sq km block, in water depth of 500 metres, is situated close to...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Friday) — India’s largest power generation company, NTPC, and its largest oil refiner, Indian Oil Corp, are considering joint projects to produce biodiesel and lubricants. Officials said the two state-owned companies would undertake research and development on an integrated biodiesel unit using biomass. The companies have set up working groups to...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Friday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has received an order from independent power producer (IPP) PT Paiton Energy to build an 815 MW supercritical-pressure coal-fired power generation plant in East Javan in Indonesia. Paiton Energy, a joint venture firm established by companies in Japan, Indonesia and the...

(EnergyAsia, April 23 2010, Friday) — Saudi Arabia’s Arabtank Terminal will add 580,000 cubic meters of oil storage capacity to its terminal in the Red Sea coast port of Yanbu. Construction of the new facility to raise the terminal’s capacity to 851,200 cubic metres will begin in the fourth quarter of this year and is...