(EnergyAsia, March 10, Tuesday) — Swiber Holdings, a Singapore-based offshore oil and gas service provider, has reported a net loss of US$11.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. The company blamed the loss on rising costs, and the delayed deliveries of the pipelay barge, Swiber Concorde, and the dive-support work barge, Swiber Supporter. (US$1=S$1.55)....
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — Russia’s Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd said it has signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan’s Osaka Gas. Sakhalin Energy will supply approximately 200,000 tonnes per year (t/y) of LNG over a period of more than 20 years. As the second largest...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — Singapore-listed Penguin International Ltd recently announced a set of record-breaking financial results for FY2008, with operating profit soaring 36.9% year-on-year to S$11.3 million from its construction, sale and operation of offshore support vessels. (US$1=S$1.55). Revenues experienced strong growth, rising 21.1% year-on-year to S$98.4 million boosted by its shipbuilding and chartering...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — Contact Energy Limited, one of New Zealand’s largest publicly listed companies, said it is seeking to raise NZ$300 million through a retail bond offer, with the ability to accept unlimited oversubscriptions. (US$1=NZ$1.65). The offer opened last week and will close on March 31 2009. The bonds offer investors an interest...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — Australia’s Origin Energy said its underlying profit rose 38% to A$277 million for the six months to December 31 2008. (US$1=A$1.55). Revenue was up by about 10% to A$4.216 billion compared with the same period last year. The comapny said it significantly strengthened its balance sheet through the establishment of...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — Engineering firm KBC Advanced Technologies plc (KBC) said it has opened a branch office in Bahrain. From its new presence in the Almoayyed Tower in Manama city, about 15 minutes from Bahrain International Airport and 45 minutes via King Fahd causeway to Saudi Arabia KBC said it can now provide...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — To assist China in meeting its goals of increased energy efficiency and reduced emissions, GE Energy said it recently signed service and maintenance agreements totalling $128 million for two power plants, including the largest gas turbine combined-cycle power plant in Zhejiang province. GE Energy said it will provide inspections and...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — In a unique project financed by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Indian lawyers and project developers met recently in New Delhi to learn about legal issues surrounding clean energy projects. The project was implemented by the government of Canada’s RETScreen International in association with The Energy +...
(EnergyAsia, March 9, Monday) — ‘Sustainable Development Policy Directory’ serves as a handy reference book which provides essential information on the legal, fiscal and planning frameworks governing the global and local sustainability agenda. Authored by Alan Strong and Lesley Hemphill, the directory is relevant to a range of organisations and individuals from national and local (more…)
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — ‘Oil Refineries in the 21st Century: Energy Efficient, Cost Effective, Environmentally Benign’ is a practical guide for engineers, managers and consultants involved in the refining industry. The book provides a detailed approach to the methodology, information and criteria for analysing energy use, and the economics and environmental impact of refineries (more…)
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — ‘Renewables-Based Technology: Sustainability Assessment’, the first book in the ‘Wiley Renewable Resources’ series, covers a range of sustainability assessment methods and their uses. Sustainability is a key driving force for industries in the energy, chemical, food, packaging, agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors. These days, company reports incorporate quantitative sustainability indicators. This (more…)
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — Chloride Group, a UK-based world leader in secure power solutions, aims to beef up its Singapore operations as the regional headquarters and R&D centre to serve customers in Southeast Asia. The company, which last year opened its Singapore and regional headquarters and training academy in Jurong, is targeting to raise...
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — Singapore’s power market will further open up to competition when a section of its residential users will be allowed to choose their electricity suppliers under a trial next year. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) will offer a portion of the island’s residential electricity market for bidding by the power industry,...
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — TA Oil said it is looking to invest in a wind farm on Guimaras Island in the Philippines. The island is one of 12 sites identified by the Philippine government as suitable for setting up wind farms. TA Oil President Francisco Viray said he expects to launch studies into the...
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — New Zealand-based biodiesel firm Solid Energy may not go ahead with a second stage expansion of its facility in Christchurch. The company said that its subsidiary, Biodiesel New Zealand, is unable to proceed with expanding its one-million-litre-per-year plant to 15-million due to the challenge of raising financing and poor market...
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — The Middle East is not likely to make much progress in advancing solar energy technology as governments have reined in their R & D spending and investment in renewable energy. Analysts said it would take at least five year before meaningful progress would be achieved in the region. Currently, the...
(EnergyAsia, March 6, Friday) — TUV Rheinland said it is offering testing services and design qualification for the IEC 61646 thin film terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules at its new competence centre in Yokohama in Japan. The new service complements both the PV outdoor testing facilities and the crystalline PV module competence centre already in place...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will fund a pilot project to help cities in the region develop transport systems that are better for the environment and affordable to the poor. ADB will provide a project preparatory technical assistance grant of US$2.8 million to fund studies for sustainable urban...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — UK-based Argus said it is the only global energy media to offer daily price assessments for Vietnam’s Sutu Den (Black Lion) crude oil. Sutu Den is likely to become Vietnam’s flagship grade this year, with exports projected to exceed 100,000 b/d in 2009 following a boost to production from the...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — US conglomerate GE will be an anchor partner in Abu Dhabi’s ‘zero-waste’ Masdar city. In a joint statement, GE and Masdar said they will develop a new Ecomagination Centre focused on sustainable business solutions and form a broader R&D relationship that will support the development and deployment of new and...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — Japan’s Sanyo Electric said it will increase production capacity for HIT solar cells by building new production facilities at its Nishikinohama factory in Osaka’s Kaizuka city. The factory currently produces Sanyo’s proprietary HIT solar cells for export to meet rising demand for solar power generation equipment. Construction of the 260MW...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — Sembcorp Industries, a Singapore-listed utilities and marine group, said its 2008 after-tax profit excluding a tax write-back rose 6% to S$507 million from 2007’s S$478 million. (US$1=S$1.55). The write-back of S$48 million was recorded in 2007. Sembcorp said its revenues surged 15% to S$9.9 billion, while its return on equity...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — The Australian government has launched an A$435 million fund to boost renewable energy projects. (US$1=A$1.55). The fund is aimed at promoting the production and use of solar, wind and other renewable technology. Australia has set a long-term target to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. However,...
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — Oil companies in resource-rich nations increasingly realise they must win over investors and focus on national development to deal with the global financial downturn, said non-government organisation (NGO) Revenue Watch Institute. At last month’s global conference of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Qatar, companies voiced anxiety about losing (more…)
(EnergyAsia, March 5, Thursday) — ‘Biofuels: Biotechnology, Chemistry, and Sustainable Development’ by David M. Mousdale. Focusing on these areas where technology meets the marketplace, the book discusses different types of biofuels, the science behind their production, the economics of their introduction to the marketplace, their environmental impacts and their implications for world agriculture. It also (more…)