(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — Oman Oil is interested to boost its 2% stake in India’s Bina refinery project to 26%, said the oil minister from the Middle East country. Oman Oil Minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Rumhy said the company could look to pay US$250 million for the increased shareholding after having already invested Rs750...

(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — Sinochem Corp is on track to complete its two-million cubic metre oil reserve in Zhoushan in China’s Zhejiang province next year. A one-million cubic metre terminal is already in operation at the same location. The facility is adjacent to the five-million-cubic metre Zhousan national strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) terminal, one...

(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — The Asian gas oil market could get a temporary boost from the recent booking of a supertanker by UK-based Barclays Bank to store the product. Last month, another bank, JP Morgan Chase & Co, made a similar play when it booked a supertanker to store gasoil off Malta’s coast. The...

(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — The Indian government is considering offering crude oil producers and traders the use of its new strategic underground storage facilities in the ports of Mangalore, Vizag and Padur. According to a study prepared by state Engineers India Ltd, the producers and traders could have the use of up to one...

(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — Dutch commodities trader Trafigura plans to invest US$400 million over the next two years to double its oil storage capacity to 25 million barrels at its sites in Africa, Malaysia, the Caribbean and Middle East. The expansions will be overseen by a wholly-owned subsidiary, Puma Energy. Trafigura is described as...

(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — China paid an average price of US$58 per barrel for the 100 million barrels of crude oil to fill the first phase of its strategic petroleum stockpile. The bulk of the purchases took place between late 2008 and early 2009 after oil prices began sliding from an all-time high of...

(EnergyAsia, July 24, Friday) — Eleven companies have indicated their interest to bid for the right to distribute subsidised gasoline, kerosene and diesel in Indonesia. Among the companies that have acquired documents for the bidding are foreign players Royal Dutch Shell, Malaysia’s Petronas, Brazil’s Petrobras, and local firms PT Aneka Kimia Raya, PT Patra Niaga...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Dutch oil and chemical storage giant Royal Vopak said it commissioned its new 48,200-cubic metre chemicals storage terminal in Vietnam last month. The 35-tank terminal, which can be expanded to 60,000 cubic metres, is located in Phuoc Khanh Ward at the Nhon Trach District in Dong Nai province. Located in...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Oslo, Norway-listed FLEX LNG Ltd said a wholly owned subsidiary has signed an option agreement setting out the terms to acquire control of Jersey-based Minza Oil & Gas Ltd which holds 100% of the production sharing contract for JPDA 06-101(A). The area is located in the joint petroleum development area...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Taiwan plans to expand and promote its energy savings measures to reduce its dependence on imported energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The government will offer incentives to household that achieve sustainable energy savings. Families that manage to cut power consumption for two consecutive years and achieve average saving of 20%...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Saudi Aramco said it proposed joint venture refinery with French major Total is likely to cost less than US$10 billion. The two companies are developing a 400,000 b/d export-oriented refinery project in Yanbu  on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. They postponed a tender last November citing high cost...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Chinese oil officials have successfully built up the country’s first strategic petroleum reserves by buying up much of their crude oil stockpile at low prices of between US$30-$40 barrel between last December and early this year. The fill-up over 30 months was well-timed and implemented to take advantage of lower...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the state-owned oil major, said it is keen to develop an energy alliance with Canada’s oil rich Alberta province. So far, CNPC is only a minor investor in Alberta’s oil sands and bitumen-based petroleum industry. China sees the potential for a tangible, long-term mutually beneficial...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Hong Kong-listed Titan Petrochemicals said its subsidiary, Titan Oil Storage Investment Limited (TOSIL), and US venture capitalist Warburg Pincus will provide up to HK$312.6 million to China StorageCo to expand its onshore storage terminal capacity in China to 2.6 million cubic meters from 1.1 million cubic meters as at December...

(EnergyAsia, July 23, Thursday) — Asian governments have started work to coordinate the development and operation of international rail routes linking 28 countries following last month’s decision to proceed with the Trans-Asian railway network. The proposed 114,000 km of rail routes will offer efficient rail transport services for the movement of goods and passengers within...

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — Singapore-based EOC Limited said it made a “healthy” net profit of US$5.9 million for the third quarter ended May 31, 2009, bringing the net attributable profit for the nine-month period to US$16.1 million. The Oslo, Norway-listed company said its gross margin surged to 53% for the nine-month period, up by...

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — A subsidiary of Singapore’s state investment fund Temasek Holdings has signed a production sharing contract for an oil and gas concession at an onshore field in Indonesia’s Sumatra island. For Orchard Energy, Temasek’s upstream oil and gas company, the deal represents its first venture into the oil and gas industry....

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — Dutch oil storage firm Royal Vopak said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysian engineering firm Dialog Group Berhad to jointly study the feasibility of developing an independent storage terminal for oil products in Pengerang in the southern Malaysian state of Johor. The MoU enables Vopak to...

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — Malaysia’s Eastern Soldar Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd (ESEC) said it has won a RM21.2 million deal to build two storage tanks for Chevron Malaysia. (US$1=RM3.6). The tanks, to be completed next year, are located in Pasir Gudang Terminal in Johor state, and Prai Terminal, Penang. Eastern Soldar is a...

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is mulling plans to fund a refinery project in Uganda. The proposed refinery will supply fuel to the Ugandan domestic market and neighbouring countries in East Africa. The project’s developer will have to contend with Uganda’s high-sulphur crude, making it relatively expensive to...

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — Driven largely by the emerging economies, the world will consume 85.2 million b/d of oil next year, up 1.4 million b/d or 1.7% from this year, reversing two years of losses, said the International energy Agency (IEA). The agency expects this year’s world oil demand to slump by 2.9% or...

(EnergyAsia, July 22, Wednesday) — Japan will store crude oil for Abu Dhabi under a memorandum of cooperation signed by the two governments last month. Abu Dhabi was represented by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) while the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy acted on behalf of Japan. The agreement, to begin in the fourth...

(EnergyAsia, July 21, Tuesday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes China has built up a crude oil stockpile of about 300 million barrels, just four days shy of the recommended level for its members. Expressing surprise at the speed of the build-up, Nobuo Tanaka, IEA’s chief, said he based his calculation on the agency’s...

(EnergyAsia, July 21, Tuesday) — Japan’s Toshiba Corp said its joint venture with JSW, Toshiba JSW Turbine and Generator Pvt Ltd, will manufacture and market steam turbines and generators in India. The joint-venture firm has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the state government of Tamil Nadu allowing it to lease land for the...