(EnergyAsia, August 4, Tuesday) — Australia’s leading research agency CSIRO and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said they have been jointly awarded a A$1.6 million grant to increase the understanding of genes responsible for growth and yield in grasses for use as bio-energy and food crops. (US$1=A$1.2). The joint research team will identify the...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — World merchandise trade will decline by 10% this year, said the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in a report outlining contingency measures to deal with the global economic crisis. In its 2009 World Trade Report, the WTO said its economists had to revise downward their earlier forecast for   a 9% decline...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — OPEC expects world oil to grow by less than 0.6% or about 500,000 b/d to 84.3 million b/d in 2010, ending two consecutive years of decline. It expects world demand to shrink by 1.6 million b/d this year. Agreeing with the IEA, OPEC said non-OECD will make up the bulk...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and Spain’s Acciona SA, a world leader in renewable energy, said they have signed a memorandum of understanding, for a comprehensive strategic alliance to develop and operate renewable energy projects and share innovation on sustainable solutions worldwide. Both companies have made a firm commitment to promote economic...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — India’s Essar Energy Overseas Limited said it has acquired a combined 50% stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL) from three western oil majors, Shell, BP and Chevron. The Kenyan government holds the remaining 50% stake in the company which operates a four-million-metric-tonne-per-year refinery in Mombasa city. As the only...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — North Delhi Power Ltd (NDPL) and Tata BP Solar said they are joining up to set up solar power plants in New Delhi including rooftop solar plants which will be connected to the electricity grid. The plan envisages the establishment of systems of up to one megawatt capacity. The electricity,...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — Major automakers are preparing to launch the first models in a new generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in 2010, the development of which has been aided by a mix of consumer demand for fuel efficient cars and considerable government incentives. According to a new report from Pike Research,...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — China’s Suntech Power said it will supply solar panels containing its new high efficiency Pluto cells to help power Sydney Theatre Company (STC) as one of several initiatives in STC’s ‘Greening the Wharf’ project in Australia. The 500kW Pluto solar system, which is due for completion in 2010, is slated...

(EnergyAsia, August 3, Monday) — The government of the six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) nations have started work on a comprehensive plan of action to expand and strengthen cooperation in key areas, including energy and human resource development. At the 15th GMS meeting in June, ministers from Thailand, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — State-owned Korea Gas Corp (Kogas) has announced plans to invest 739 billion won to expand its fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage terminal. (US$1=1,240 won). The company said it will soon start work on the terminal in Samcheok, a port city 290 km east of Seoul. It expects to complete...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — Underpinned by compelling long-term fundamentals, the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) business is poised to become a major sector, attracting expenditure of $23 billion through to 2016, said a leading consultant. The findings are contained in “The World FLNG Market Report 2010-2016”, Douglas-Westwood’s latest study, unveiled at the Commercializing FLNG...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — South Korea’s Samsung Engineering said it has secured a $2.6 billion contract to expand the refining capacity of Sonatrach, Algeria’s national oil company. It will rehabilitate the African firm’s oil refinery complex in the Skikda region in the northeast part of the country. “With our extensive project capability close to...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has lowered its growth forecast of OPEC crude capacity to just 1.7 million b/d by 2014 or a little more than half its earlier forecast. The Paris-based agency blames growing “resource nationalism” in some member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Late last...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — The near-term outlook for Asian demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains bleak, according to the latest projections by various analysts.  At the same time, there appears to be no let up in the regional supply glut. Asian LNG imports for May were down 12% from a year earlier. Japan’s...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — Ezra Holdings Ltd, Asia’s largest integrated solutions provider for the offshore oil and gas industry, recently announced ambitious expansion plans that would establish it as a global player in the deepwater subsea segment. As part of its new growth strategy, the Singapore-listed company said it will offer its customers complete...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said the global refining capacity will surpass demand by five million barrels per day by 2014, forcing the temporary or even permanent shutdown of refineries. “Closures in the order of 7 to 10 million b/d will be needed, predominantly in the US, Canada and...

(EnergyAsia, July 31, Friday) — Australia-listed Stuart Petroleum Limited said it continued to improve its financial position during the June quarter of 2009 while progressing its Oliver oilfield appraisal and development project and Port Bonython fuel storage project. Its latest quarterly sales revenue of A$8.2 million and production of 75,236 barrels were in line with...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — Energy pricing media Argus said it has begun assessing Australia’s North West Shelf (NWS) condensate as a differential to Atlantic basin marker North Sea Dated from July 13. This is in response to the increasing use of North Sea Dated-linked prices in Asia-Pacific crude trade. More Asia-Pacific crudes are trading...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — Privately-owned Chinese oil trader Brightoil Petroleum plans to build a 2.2-million cubic metre storage terminal for refined fuels at Zhoushan port in eastern China.   The proposed terminal would increase Zhousan’s product storage capacity to 14 million barrels, according to the company’s agreement with the city port’s local government. Zhoushan...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — Africa’s emerging economic powerhouse, Ghana, is planning to more than triple its oil refining capacity to about 145,000 b/d.   The country’s only refinery, with a capacity of 45,000 b/d, is located near its capital Accra, and covers just 70% of Ghana’s domestic requirement.   The new refining capacity would...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — Chemoil Energy, the Singapore-listed marine fuel supplier and trader, is looking to boost its market share in India.   The company aims to double its sales in India’s Mundra port to 100,000 tonnes per month by the end of 2009, while seeking to expand into other Indian ports at the...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — Brazil’s state oil and gas firm Petrobras and Japan’s Mitsui & Co are studying the feasibility of building and operating an oil refinery in Brazil’s northeastern Ceara state.   The US$11 billion project could add to at least three other proposed refineries, and turn Brazil into a major exporter of...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — Senior energy officials from 13 Asian countries are in Myanmar this week to develop regional ties and focus on stockpiling oil for emergency use. Representatives of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are meeting with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea in Myanmar’s second largest city...

(EnergyAsia, July 30, Thursday) — China’s CNPC said it has concluded separate refinery deals in Algeria and Costa Rica. It said it has completed building a 10,000-b/d condensate splitter in eastern Algeria under an engineering and construction contract worth $385 million. The project started in 2006. The company announced that a subsidiary, China National Petroleum...