(EnerygAsia, February 3 2010, Wednesday) — PetroChina Company Limited, the country’s largest oil producer, is expected to import at least 700 million cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market to meet strong demand triggered by early snowfalls and low temperatures.   The imports, the first for the firm, will be significantly...

(EnergyAsia, February 3 2010, Wednesday) — Singapore needs to provide incentives to promote the use of solar power in the city-state, industry official said. One of them, Christophe Inglin, managing director of photovoltaics systems integrator Phoenix Solar, said Singapore should adopt a ‘feed-in tariff’, an incentive structure that requires electricity companies to buy renewable energy-generated...

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — The world will need to invest US$10 trillion in renewable energy sources over the next 20 years to slow down global warming, according to a new study by the International Energy Agency. The latest estimate is 37% higher than the agency’s projection in its previous annual report on renewable...

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — UK-based marine bunker broker and trader Bridge Oil has named Kelvin Yeo as managing director of its Singapore operations. A bachelor of commerce degree holder with double majors in accounting and finance from the University of Western Australia, Mr Yeo has over 13 years professional experience in the marine,...

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s biggest state refiner, is in talks with the state government of Uttar Pradesh to acquire 50,000 hectares of wasteland in to cultivate non-edible oil seeds such as jatropha and karanjia used for biodiesel production. IOC currently has 30,000 hectares of wasteland in Chhattisgarah and...

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — Leading Chinese rig-builder Yantai Raffles Shipyard Ltd has delivered its first vessel for the year with the completion of a new-built Jebsens ‘Vestnes’ self-unloading bulk carrier. The handy-size vessel measures 175 meters in length and is designed for loading 30,000 tonnes of heavy materials such coal and rocks. Brian...

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — Indian biofuel technology company PRAJ Industries Ltd said it has entered into separate cooperation agreements with Danish industrial enzymes maker Novozymes A/S and Ethiopian firms Ardent Energy Group (AEG) Ethiopia and Eco-Energy S.C. Ethiopia. With Novozymes, PRAJ said it will cooperate on developing enzymatic hydrolysis processes and enzymes in...

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — By Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx The burgeoning electric vehicle EV industry cannot be understood by simply looking at cars. The complete market value is, and will remain, about double the market for cars. The leaders such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan make electric vehicles for many applicational sectors....

(EnergyAsia, February 2 2010, Tuesday) — China’s legislature has amended the Renewable Energy Law to require power grid operators to purchase all the electricity generated by renewable energy producers. The amendment recently approved by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress also grants authority to the State Council energy department to determine the mix...

(EnergyAsia, February 1 2010, Tuesday) — Thailand’s Egco Group will partner with the Thai subsidiary of Hong Kong-based China Light & Power and Japan’s Mitsubishi to develop a nine-billion baht photovoltaic solar-cell farm. (US$1=33 baht). Their equally owned joint venture, Natural Energy Development Co, will develop the plant in Lop Buri in central Thailand. At...

(EnergyAsia, February 1 2010, Monday) — Taiwan has unveiled what it claims to be Asia’s largest solar power plant on a two-hectare site in southwest Kaohsiung county. The one-megawatt facility, which recently began operations, will help Taiwan reduce its carbon emissions by as much as 700 tonnes per year. The state Atomic Energy Council has...

(EnergyAsia, February 1 2010, Monday) — Philippines-listed Oriental Peninsula Resources Group Inc said it plans to invest 2.4 billion peso to construct a mini-hydropower plant in the country’s southwest region. (US$1=46 peso). The firm recently announced it would acquire a 40% stake in affiliate Oriental Energy Power Generation Corp, which has a contract to build...

(EnergyAsia, February 1 2010, Monday) — The best deal from efforts to forge a new global accord on climate change will not likely keep temperatures from rising below 2 degrees Celsius, according to an internal assessment by the UN following the disappointing outcome of the climate summit in Copenhagen last month. To achieve the target...

(EnergyAsia, February 1 2010, Monday) — The first decade of this century was probably the warmest on record, according to the UN weather agency. By late last year, the decade was on track to be the warmest since recording began in 1850, while 2009 was also set to be among the top-five warmest years. Global...

(EnergyAsia, February 1 2010, Monday) — Palm oil producers are expected to increase their focus on the Asian markets following consumer giant Unilever’s decision to stop buying from an Indonesian planter accused of destroying the rainforests. Along with other European firms, Unilever has been under growing pressure from environmental groups such as Greenpeace and Friends...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — A consortium comprising Italy’s Eni, US Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) said it has jointly signed a technical service contract with Iraq’s state-owned South Oil Company (SOC) and Missan Oil Company to redevelop the Zubair field, near Basra in southern Iraq. The signing follows the initialising...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — Exxon Mobil Corporation said its affiliate, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, said it recently signed an agreement with the Iraq Ministry of Oil to redevelop and expand the West Qurna-1 field in southern Iraq. The agreement was signed in Baghdad by representatives of the Ministry of Oil and the West Qurna-1...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — HMS Bergbau AG, the Germany-based international coal trading group with operating expertise in coal mining, logistics and trading, said it has signed an exclusive contract with a coal producer based in Indonesia. The long-term contract with the unnamed company secures the supply of a considerable annual trading amount of...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — US President Barrack Obama’s economic recovery adviser Paul Volcker has argued that risky financial activities including commodity derivative trading should be left to hedge funds while banks should be barred from them altogether. Speaking at a recent business conference in the UK, he said banks should stick to providing...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed a cap on the positions traders can hold on the four most-traded energy futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The cap would be equivalent to a limit of 98,100 contracts across all months,...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — Indonesia’s largest coal mining firms plan to significantly increase production next year to meet rising demand from China and India. An official from PT Bumi Resources Tbk, Indonesia’s leading coal producer, expects its coal production to reach 67.3 million tonnes in 2010, up 14.6% from the estimated 58.7 million...

(EnergyAsia, January 29 2010, Friday) — ABB, the Swiss-based power and automation technology group, said it has recently won an order from the Guangdong Yudean Group to supply the complete process control system for units 3 and 4 of their Hui Lai thermal power plant in China’s Guangdong province. Each of these units has generating...

(EnergyAsia, January 28 2010, Thursday) — The Premier of Canada’s leading oil-producing province, Alberta, has signed a memorandum of understanding covering economic and environmental cooperation with the government of Abu Dhabi, a member of the UAE. The MOU was signed by Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Nasser Ahmed Alsowaidi, chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of...

(EnergyAsia, January 28 2010, Thursday) — US major Chevron Corp said its Australian subsidiaries and Japan’s Nippon Oil Corp have signed a heads of agreement (HOA) for the delivery of 300,000 metric tons per year (t/y) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 15 years from the Chevron-operated Gorgon project in Western Australia state. Chevron, the...