(EnergyAsia, December 29, Tuesday) — China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said it has secured the exclusive rights to build and operate a 771-km pipeline to deliver crude oil from an island off western Myanmar to Yunnan province in China. The company said Myanmar’s Energy Ministry officially signed the documents last week that granted the operating...

(EnergyAsia, December 29, Tuesday) — Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd (BORL) expects to start up its 120,000 b/d oil refinery in Bina in central India next August.   Most of the new plant’s units will be ready by mid-April, but its hydrocracker will only start operating in August.   The refinery will help state-owned Bharat Petroleum...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — Saudi Ports Authority (SPA) has secured contracts with three companies, Saudi National Industrialization Company, Advanced Petrochemical Company and Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem), to store and export petrochemicals from Jubail Commercial Port. SPA’s President, Khaled bin Ahmed Bubshait, signed the contracts with representatives of the three companies last month. Saleh...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — Esso Highlands Limited, an ExxonMobil subsidiary, has awarded two separate engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the development of a 6.6-million-tonne-per-year (t/y) LNG plant in Papua New Guinea comprising two trains and facilities for inlet processing, treating, liquefaction, storage and loading. A consortium comprising Chiyoda Corp and JGC Corp,...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — Papua New Guinea, one of Asia’s poorest countries, is preparing for an economic lift-off in the coming decade after an ExxonMobil-led consortium approved the development of a $15 billion project to produce and export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the region’s fast-growing economies. The project will triple Papua New Guinea’s...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — South Korea’s engineering firm Daewoo E&C said it has begun work on a $1.7 billion engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to build 76 oil storage tanks for the Ruwais oil refinery in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) awarded the contract as part of a $10-billion...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — Singapore-listed BH Global Marine is aiming to expand into Myanmar’s oil and gas industry through a joint venture it has just established with two businessmen from that country. BH Global Marine, which supplies premium lightings, cables and electrical equipment to the marine, oil and gas industries, said businessmen Shwe Nyan...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — Dutch oil and chemical storage specialist Royal Vopak said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zamil Group of Saudi Arabia to develop a joint venture company to serve the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The joint venture aims to develop independent bulk liquid and liquefied...

(EnergyAsia, December 28, Monday) — Dutch oil terminal operator Vopak Horizon Fujairah Limited has tied up with Higher Colleges of Technology-Fujairah (HCT) to offer a training programme in fuel storage. The programme, believed to be the first in the Middle East, will be executed and organised by the HCT, and will be open to UAE...

(EnergyAsia, December 24, Thursday) — Coal India Limited (CIL), the country’s largest coal miner, is under pressure to step up production on growing fears that India will face more power shortages as its power companies are unable to procure enough coal for fuel. A Parliamentary panel wants the government to allocate 138 new coal blocks...

(EnergyAsia, December 24, Thursday) — Royal Dutch Shell has backed out of a proposed $9 billion joint refinery-petrochemical project in China with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) and Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC). KPI, which oversees KPC’s international downstream marketing operations, said Shell’s pullout will have no impact on its plans to proceed with project...

(EnergyAsia, December 24, Thursday) — State-run Coal India (CIL) will invest Rs25 billion to set up 20 new washeries by 2017 to improve the quality of coal, said Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal. The 20 washing plants will have a total capacity to treat 111.1 million tons of coal per year. They include seven plants worth...

(EnergyAsia, December 24, Thursday) — China’s state-owned firms are willing to spend as much as US$50 billion to secure six billion barrels of crude oil reserves in Nigeria, Emmanuel Egbogah, the African nation’s presidential adviser on energy, said. Speaking to reporters, he said the government was in discussions with the Chinese firms including CNOOC Ltd...

(EnergyAsia, December 24, Thursday) — Fresh from helping China and some developing countries torpedo last week’s Copenhagen climate change summit, India will likely give short shrift to environmental concerns as it prepares to step up the use of coal in growing its economy in the coming decade. Like China, India is heavily dependent on coal...

(EnergyAsia, December 24, Thursday) —China’s apparent oil demand in November soared 18.7% from a year ago as the country’s economic recovery picked up momentum, said oil media Platts. This surge in oil demand marked the third straight month that the world’s second largest oil consumer posted double-digit yearly growth in oil demand. Chinese oil demand...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — A Foster Wheeler AG- WorleyParsons Services Pty Ltd joint venture has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by Woodside for Trains 2 and 3 of the Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia. Foster Wheeler said the contract also includes an option for early engineering, procurement, construction...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — The consortium developing Papua New Guinea’s 6.6-million-ton-per-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) project has secured financing worth US$14 billion from various lending agencies and financial institutions. Australia’s Oil Search Limited, a 29% participant in the consortium, said this amount exceeds the estimated US$13 billion of debt required for the project on...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — Large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects will be necessary to meet increasing global demand for natural gas, Tom Walters, president of ExxonMobil Gas and Power Marketing Company, told delegates at the recent International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Doha. Presenting from ExxonMobil’s 2009 Energy Outlook, he noted that despite the...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — World energy demand will increase by about 35% in 2030 compared to 2005, requiring trillions of dollars in investment and a commitment to innovation and technology, said Exxon Mobil Corporation in its new edition of Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030. Rex W. Tillerson, ExxonMobil chairman and CEO, said:...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — A joint venture between Singapore’s marine fuel supplier and storage operator Chemoil and Indian port developer Adani has mapped out its expansion plans for next year. Chemoil-Adani said it will expand its Mundra Port onshore storage capacity by 25% to 120,000 cubic metres by the end of next year. It...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — ExxonMobil may have found the perfect response to those who think the Western world’s largest oil company has reached its limit to growth, doesn’t care for the environment and is not helping the US reduce dependence on foreign oil. In offering to acquire XTO Energy Inc, the largest natural gas...

(EnergyAsia, December 23, Wednesday) — The “Copenhagen Accord” last week has failed to create a legally binding framework for nations to address climate change, and has not properly addressed the key issues of deforestation and adaptation, but it does provide hope for the future, said US-based Conservation International. It is a step forward – agreement...

(EnergyAsia, December 22, Tuesday) — Aegis Logistics, an Indian supply chain company serving the oil and chemicals industries, said it plans to invest up to Rs1 billion to develop inland depots to store chemicals and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the seven states it operates in. (US$1=Rs46). Anish Chandaria, the company’s CEO, said it will...

(EnergyAsia, December 22, Tuesday) — India’s power generating companies which rely heavily on imported coal are expected to take a financial hit from rising international coal prices. Spot prices of coal at Australia’s Newcastle port, a benchmark for Asia, have appreciated by nearly 10% in November, while prices at China’s benchmark Qinhuangdao port, have also...